Parra-Lack-Attitude

Written by Cahn D. Cotter

On night that promised so much, came up so little for the re-match between the Tigers V Eels.

Channel 9 highlighted the what could have been match before the actual game started, showing the footage of last years incredible display of football magic.

However this time, the only showcase of brilliance was from one Benji Marshall, and a new recruit Lote Tuqiri. These two players ran the game from the 15 minute mark to the end.
The first 15 belonged to one official Tony Archer, in what was a poor display of refereeing. The way he can take a match away from a team, and then give it to another is amazing. He left burdens on both sides with poor decision making out crucial times which took momentum away from the game and more than that, the fans.

The Eels had the wind taken out of them early with errors and penalties galore, and from there, they lacked energy and passion.

The defense line of the Eels was flat and the play the ball slow. It was like watching school boy League when they past with a "who wants to run the ball".
Kristan Inu was left to take a first hit-up in a set of six early in the second half.

The Tigers made in roads early, dominating the Eels in the ruck with great speed. It took Benji Marshall just 7 minutes to catch Jaryd Hayne out of position again at full-back to see Lote Tuqiri get over for the first.

Than another kick saw the Tigers get another with a sneaky field goal from Marshall to make it 9-0 at half time.

The Eels continued their bad form in the second half until a penalty gave them some momentum, and then Jeff Robson pin-pointing a cross field kick and Reddy finishing it off.

All game the Eels lacked attitude to complete sets, defend, run and kick. The Tigers were enthusiastic, hence them winning.

The Eels need to improve on this before they come up against the Sharks next weekend.

Late News: Mortimer out of Eels V Tigers

Written by Cahn D. Cotter


Daniel Mortimer has been ruled out of tonight's clash against the Tigers.

The Eels 5/8th came down with a late virus and has been scratched. The player who replaces Mortimer tonight is Kris Keating.

It's a huge blow to Parramatta's pre-game, with a shuffle to the side at such late notice.

It is bound to have tipster running to change...

Passion Behind a Broken Door

Written By Cahn D. Cotter

If you want some good advice for this weekends Manly V Newcastle game; tip Manly.

Des Hasler did not have to say one word, well he did, however the video footage said it all. It's his display of powerful passion that will see Manly win over Newcastle this weekend.

20 - 0 in front of the Parramatta Eels, saw a lethargic undisciplined Manly side come to the forefront in the second half.
The week before against the Tigers, Manly again dropped their bundle to lose from 20 points in front.

It left Des Hasler one option, and I agreed with him. Des showed true passion towards his player, something that the Sea-Eagles side lacked in the second half against the Eels.
We all know coaches show enthusiasm behind closed doors, but when a door gets ripped from its hinges like Des did, the players have got to think 'I hope that door is not me next week, I have got to perform.'

Des Hasler is all about Manly. He played with Manly and now coaches them. It is up to Des to show the true meaning of the Guernsey to his players.

Manly will win this weekend, no doubt, for I would not want to be walking into a dressing shed again knowing Coach Hasler is waiting there for me.

If I was coaching Manly, all week I would be showing them that footage of coach Hasler's ripping the door off. The Sea-Eagles will have it in the back of their minds to win or else...

Expect early fireworks as both teams look to stamp their dominance in this clash. The Manly forwards will look to dominate early again and if they do not, expect a bit of biff to lift the mood of the players around.
This is something that past Manly sides have done, if they have lacked energy and momentum.

Who's to say it will not work for them this week.

My NRL Round 3 Tips

Round 2 started boring with the Saints, and ended with a how did they manage to win effort for the Raiders.

It was the in-between football that had everyone talking though. I'll come back to that soon.

I got 6/8 last week, both my tips on Friday Night went against me. The Rabbits, what are they going to do? Demolished week 1 against the Roosters and humiliating, yes, not humiliated, humiliating in round 2 to the Titans in a golden point loss.

The talking point of all this week was Manly. After leading by 20 in both the first two games of the season have been run down from behind. It looks like it could be a long season for the Sea-Eagles.

The Storm triumphant over the Knights which had a rare Billy Slater Sledge.

Another Cowboy victory in the Dairy Farmers fortress and a Manu Vatuvei hat-trick seeing the Sharks steep to a new record low, twelve straight losses.

This week is stepping up to be even harder. The game of the round is Friday nights clash between the Tigers and the Eels. We all remember last years match.

My Tips for Round 3

Wests Tigers V Parramatta Eels - I tip the Eels

Momentum will carry forward this week for the Eels.

It is Fui Fui Moi Moi's 100th NRL game and the big prop will be starting this week, Justin Poore has moved to the bench. Fui Fui will get the Tigers on the back foot early and the Eels will score plenty of early points. Consistency will win them the match at the back end.

I can see back-to-back losses for the Tigers who will slip into an early season slump. They scored plenty of points last week, its the defensive effort that has got me worried. The Tigers were soft on the their try-line letting Aiden Guerra in for 2 easy tries.

Final Verdict The Eels. Just Fui Fui starting in his 100th will get the Tigers on the back foot fast and they will not recover from there.

St George Illawarra Dragons V Nth Queensland Cowboys - I tip the Dragons

Last week I tipped against the Dragons at WIN stadium. This week I will not be doing the same.

It is a long travel for the Cowboys, and even with J.T as a half-back, I think they make to many errors in the forwards. These errors usually happen in their own half or when a try is about to scored.

Saints, as much as I dislike watching them play footy, are clinical. The past two weeks have had an average of 95% completion rates with just 10 errors. It is boring footy, but it seems to work.

Final Verdict The Saints. It's been played at WIN stadium, the only reason. As the season goes on my tips for Saints will not be there, they are going to struggle half way through this year.

Penrith Panthers V Melbourne Storm - I tip the Panthers

Last weeks shock last minute loss to the Cowboys has the seething. The Storm are not playing fundamental football like past seasons yet and almost losing to the Knights proves this.

The Panthers can not wait to be playing football back at home this week, and with the crowd they will topple the Storm out-wide early and up the middle with Kevin Kingston late in the match.

Be aware of the stats though. Melbourne have beaten the Panthers in Penrith since 2005, that is 5 straight losses to the Panthers.

For the Panthers this week, there is no Frank Pritchard or Travis Burns either. But I do not think this will affect them much.

Final Verdict - I am tipping the Panthers because of their unpredictability and the Storm not being the benchmark yet.

Manly Sea-Eagles V Newcastle Knights - I tip Manly

Manly can not continue leading by 20 and losing. Des Hasler is furious.

Debutant last week, star this week Brett Hodkinson will combine with Keiran Foran in the halves and give good ball to the backs Tony Williams and Jamie Lyon.

Manly forwards will also look to dominate up the middle and the Knights lack of experience will give away easy meters. This one is a no-brainer.

Final Verdict - Even though this match is being played at Blue Tongue stadium for all the Central Coast fans, Newcastle without Gidley will implode. Manly will not like walking back into the change rooms if they lose this one.

Gold Coast Titans V Canberra Raiders - I tip the Titans

At Skilled Park, it's hard to go against the Titans.

Canberra last week too many errors, too many tackles, too many everything, but they won against the Broncos. They can not perform like they did last week and expect to win this week.

Final Verdict - Gold Coast will win on completion rates, Scott Prince's kicking game and little Preston's return to Skilled Park.

Brisbane Broncos V NZ Warriors - I tip the Broncos

Unlucky not win last Monday Night, the Broncos at home will impress this week.

The warriors played exciting football last weekend, but it was against the Sharks and they fail to travel well away from NZ.

No Corey Parker this week for the Broncos. He is unlikely to play due to a knee Injury sustained last Monday Night but it should not phase the Broncos attack.

Final Verdict - Backing Broncos. 1 - at Suncorp 2 - Darren Lockyer 3 - Israel Folau

Canterbury Bulldogs V Sydney Roosters - I tip the Roosters

The Roosters are riding a wave of adrenalin – two wins, 80 points scored and a backline that stepped up another notch in Round 2.

Mitchell Pearce has been in scintillating form during the first two rounds, but he’s been ably supported by his fullback, centres, wingers and five-eighth. That’s a lot of man-power in attack.

Canterbury have been lack-luster and this early season slump will continue for a while. David Stagg and Ben Hannant have been performing well for the Dogs, but they lack game breakers.

Final Verdict - The Roosters by plenty. It was funny how all the experts were against the Roosters before this season started. I tipped them to go close to the final 8.
Now that the season is here, the experts are quickly changing there minds - pitiful. It makes me mad.

Cronulla Sharks V South Sydney Rabbits - I tip Souths

Time to perform.

Both teams are on the bottom of the table. Sharks have made big changes this week. I agree with most of them, but it will take time for the to Gel again.

Final Verdict Souths, it is time to perform. If they can improve their defence and Chris Sandow can hold onto the ball, they should have too much firepower for the toothless Sharks, who lack superstars or game changers.

Good Luck to all tippers in Round 3

Cahn D. Cotter

Personal Thanks

I would like to thank Ms. Liz Anderson and the staff at Parramatta for the opportunity to have work experience in the media department.

It was a great to be a part of a friendly team and I appreciated it all the same.
Ms Anderson had me updating the U/20 Players Portfolio, as well as the Round 3 match reports for S.G Ball & Mathews Cup sides.

Thanks once again.

Cahn D. Cotter

To read the Round 3 articles and player portfolio click on the links below:


http://www.parraeels.com.au/default.aspx?s=profile-player-nyc

http://www.parraeels.com.au/default.aspx?s=sg-ball-2009

http://www.parraeels.com.au/default.aspx?s=harold-matthews-cup-2009

Weilding Magic at Canberra

Written by Cahn D. Cotter

The Brisbane Broncos have now failed to beat the Canberra Raiders for 5 years at Canberra Stadium. And after watching the game on Monday Night, I have come to the conclusion that Canberra Stadium has a Voodoo against other teams.

It was a mistake ridden game from the Raiders, but somehow, they still managed to win.

In defense, the Raiders made 341 tackles compared to the Broncos 266. From those 341, the Raiders missed 44 of them. With that huge defensive load, how did they have the energy to score points.

As noted by me before this season, the Raiders have one of the worst error stats in last years competition, and that they better control the ball better this seasons. Well, the errors continued once again for Canberra. 20 of them against Brisbane's 12.
And then there was the penalty count of 7-3.

I am amazed that Canberra with all stats against them, still managed to win.

Canberra Stadium must be wielding a magic sword, because the most astonishing stat of the game was the 21 completions from 39 sets.

Canberra Stadium is a fortress that is still holding strong after all these battles. And with the effort on Monday, I think it will be holding strong for many more years.

Why?

Because with the effort and stats like those above. I ask who can beat Canberra, at Canberra?

Who Who? Moi Moi. Not Hayne.

Written by Cahn D. Cotter

16 - 0 at the half-time siren, the Eels were hoping that that hot Sunday afternoon would end quickly. However Fui Fui had other plans.

I chose to write this article after waiting to see what headlines the supposed experts would write about one man, Jaryd Hayne. And from there I would write my argument.
Unlike those experts, I actually watched that game.

Sure, Jaryd Hayne made that break from his own in-goal. Sure he did a nice little chip and chase play to lead to a controversial try. One thing Hayne did not do, was spark the Eels attack and momentum to win them that game from 20-0 down.

Fui Fui Moi Moi, now the bench player, lead the Eels to victory that day, nobody else. His strong charges towards the defensive line of Manly were courageous, but insane at the same time.

He was denied a try earlier due to a supposive double movement. Than got his just desserts as the wrecking ball charged forward again, this time to score for the Eels. 20-6.

Here some stats for you. In the 49 minutes Fui Fui Moi Moi played, he acquired 13 hit ups, 13 Tackles, 5 Tackle Breaks and one try assists. Not to mention his try.

Jaryd Hayne is a freak, and he proved he can make a game break from anywhere. But honestly, give credit where it is due, not what makes the money.
Fui Fui was the true hero of that game.