Round 8 Parramatta Eels v Wests Tigers

[TITAN PETE]

SUNDAY

Parramatta Eels v Wests Tigers at Parramatta Stadium, 3:00pm (local). #NRLPARWST

EELS: Jarryd Hayne, Ken Sio, Cheyse Blair, Willie Tonga, Luke Burt, Ben Roberts, Chris Sandow, Tim Mannah, Matthew Keating, Mitchell Allgood, Nathan Hindmarsh (C), Joseph Paulo, Reni Maitua. Interchange: Casey McGuire, Fuifui Moimoi, Justin Poore, Matt Ryan

TIGERS: Tim Moltzen, Beau Ryan, Joel Reddy, Chris Lawrence, Lote Tuqiri, Benji Marshall, Tom Humble, Aaron Woods, Robbie Farah, Keith Galloway, Adam Blair, Liam Fulton, Matt Bell. Interchange (from): Blake Ayshford, Ben Murdoch-Masila, Matt Groat, Ray Cashmere

[TITAN PETE]

Eels feel for NRL teammate Sandow

Rob Forsaith AAP Tue, Apr 24, 2012 - 1:16 PM


Parramatta have rallied around Chris Sandow with veterans Justin Poore and Reni Maitua saying the besieged playmaker is copping too much blame for their NRL team's poor form.

Both Poore and Maitua on Tuesday expressed sympathy for Sandow over the intense scrutiny he's been under and urged teammates to lift and secure a win that would help ease that pressure.

While most of the Eels were given the representative weekend off to freshen up, Sandow was told to play for Wentworthville in the NSW Cup in an effort to rediscover his touch.

A shoulder injury meant the 23-year-old missed the clash, but with Parramatta last on the ladder and having just one win for the season, questions over Sandow's form and barbs about his weight have gathered pace.

Poore suggested Sandow - signed from South Sydney last year amid great expectations - was being unduly singled out.

"I don't think it's fair. It's all 17 of us - not one bloke. You can't come and blame him," the prop said ahead of his side's derby clash with Wests Tigers on Sunday.

"Chris's coping a lot of the blame, but it's all of us, not just him.

"I actually feel for him because I've been through that. I've had that tag and it's not a nice place to be.

"There's a lot of talk and I think it is just a lot of talk. He's fine, his shoulder is a little bit sore.

"He's a quality player. I know he's copping a lot of criticism but he's a quality player and I love playing with him."

Poore said every one of his teammates had to lift - not just Sandow.

"Obviously we've all got things to work on and we just have to work as a team.

"Collectively as a team we just have to stick by him and everyone's just got to do their job.

"If everyone can get their job done, we'll get a win."

Maitua, who won a premiership with Canterbury in 2004, also implored the side to rally around their halfback.

"I feel sorry for Chris because he plays in such a key position in our team. I think a lot of our form's been down individually - including myself," Maitua said.

"So I think he's going to take most of the spotlight. It's just unfortunate that he's copping most of the bagging because I think we could point out a few people."

[TITAN PETE]

Eels v Tigers preview

NRL.com Thu, Apr 26, 2012 - 9:05 AM
Parramatta Eels v Wests Tigers
Parramatta Stadium
Sunday 3pm

All eyes will be on beleaguered Chris Sandow to see how he responds to the external – and internal – criticism of his game through the first quarter of the season for struggling Parramatta.

The halfback was looking forward to spending a few days off with family and friends in his hometown Cherbourg last week before coach Stephen Kearney ran the red pen through that idea, with only a shoulder strain preventing Sandow from suiting up for the Eels’ feeder club in the NSW Cup.

Kearney admits he expects more from the marquee player and the pair met during the week to thrash out ways he might return to the stellar form that had the Parramatta faithful confident their decades-old search for a superstar No.7 was over.

Certainly the last-placed Eels, with a 1-6 record and coming off the back of successive losses, need a jumpstart to their season which is in danger of flat-lining even at this early stage. In particular their attack needs to go from pedestrian to excitement machine in a hurry – points-wise the Eels are experiencing their worst season since 1993 (just 13 a game).

The good news is they face off against the opponent they have enjoyed more success against than any other – they’ve beaten the Wests Tigers in almost two-thirds of their 24 clashes.

Nonetheless the 13th-placed Tigers will be buoyed by their 30-point whitewash of the Panthers and will be hoping for a ‘quick kill’ here to catapult them back to the periphery of the top eight.

In team changes, Eels veteran Luke Burt is back in the fold this week, with winger Cheyse Blair shifting to centre to cover for the injured Esi Tonga. Their only other variation to last week’s 17 sees Tim Mannah start at prop with Fuifui Moimoi to be injected off the bench.

Tim Sheens has made just one alteration to his squad, with Junior Moors making way for the return of Matt Groat on the bench.

Watch Out Eels: Prolific tryscorer and former Eel Joel Reddy will be hoping to transfer his prowess to his new Tigers jersey: the centre scored 18 tries in just 35 games at Parramatta Stadium in his seven years in the gold and blue. Reddy has two tries in five games for the Tigers but is really making his presence felt creating second phase, leading the team with 10 so far.

Benji Marshall will be licking his lips at the prospect of putting a team-mate through close to the Eels’ try line. Marshall was back to his best last start against the Panthers, contributing three try assists and two line-breaks. But it’s the statistics that show Parramatta’s vulnerability to opposition playmakers that would be his greatest source of joy – the Eels have let in a competition-high 13 tries from opposition passes. Marshall ranks second behind Cooper Cronk for try assists (with 11) and second for line-break assists (with eight – all of which have come from passes).

Danger Sign: The Eels had better get ready for a Benji assault, especially his no-look passes hitting runners like Adam Blair or Liam Fulton. Parra have conceded the most tries inside their 10-metre zone by far, with 22 put past them (five more than next worst Canberra).

Watch Out Wests Tigers: He may have a target on his back that’s drawing plenty of fire from critics but Chris Sandow will relish the opportunity to grab a season-best game against a favourable foe. To date the pint-sized No.7 has won four of seven encounters with the Tigers and they certainly bring out the best in his attacking game, with more try assists (eight) and line-break assists (five) tallied against the black-and-golds than any other opponent.

Sandow just needs to show greater composure when in the attacking zone – he ranks fifth for line-break assists among all No.7s (with four) but is way behind his peers for try assists (just three). If he does away with his rush-of-blood plays his form will quickly return.

The Tigers shouldn’t get complacent when kicking ‘down-town’ – although Parramatta have tallied the fewest line-breaks of all they have recorded the most line-breaks from a kick-return (three). And the Tigers have tallied the second-fewest ‘good chases’ of kicks. Need we say it – fullback (at least this week) Jarryd Hayne’s the Eels’ danger man (four tries, four line-breaks, two line-break assists and two try assists).

Elsewhere, hooker Matt Keating will fancy having a dig from close to the try line given the Tigers have leaked a competition-high five tries from dummy-half.

Danger Sign: They may have scored just three tries from kicks but the Eels could do worse than go to the air on the flanks given the Tigers are defusing cross-field bombs just 50 per cent of the time. That’s a better chance of a return than ‘odd’ or ‘evens’ on a roulette wheel…

Fuifui Moimoi v Keith Galloway: A battle between two fearsome front-rowers slowly warming back to form.

It’s no surprise that when Moimoi is advancing the Eels find their groove in attack. The Parramatta cult hero ranked second among props for territory in 2011 with 137 metres a week and his 57 punishing tackle busts were the third most in his position. Yes, he’s been struggling for momentum but the signs are there he’s on the brink of a standout showing, averaging 98 metres so far. Expect his five tackle busts to escalate dramatically over the coming weeks.

Meanwhile Galloway made the Four Nations squad last year on the back of solid service (110 metres and 19 offloads). He revved up against the Panthers in only his third game in 2012, adding 104 metres. He has just two offloads on his stats sheet but is capable of a brace here.

The pair love facing off: last time they met Moimoi made 132 metres from 13 hit-ups and Galloway 142 metres from 15 hit-ups.

Where It Will Be Won: Posting points. Forget that both sides are doing it tough in defence, with the Tigers missing the second-most tackles in the comp (35) and the Eels close behind with 32 misses every 80 minutes – they’re both doing it even tougher in attack! It will all boil down to which unit can make their passes stick and come up with the requisite razzle-dazzle to stay ahead of their opponent on the scoreboard.

Consider this: the Tigers make the fewest metres each week (1163 metres), make the second-fewest line-breaks (3.1) and concede the most line-line-breaks (5.6). Meanwhile the Eels score the fewest points, tries, and make the fewest line busts (three).

The History: Played 24; Eels 15, Wests Tigers 8, drawn 1. The honours are even four games apiece from the past eight clashes. The Eels won the most recent contest at Parramatta Stadium (22-6 last year) and hold an 8-4 advantage at the ground.

The Last Time They Met: The Wests Tigers won 31-12 at Allianz Stadium in Round 24 last year, their sixth consecutive win in a nine-victory streak towards the back end of 2011.

The home side had the contest in control when they led 16-nil at halftime following tries to Blake Ayshford, Matthew Utai and Benji Marshall inside the 27-minute mark. But the Eels rallied after the break, bridging the scoreline to 16-12 through tries to Chris Hicks and Ben Smith and with still almost half an hour of play left.

However, a poor one-on-one defensive effort from Jarryd Hayne on opposition centre Ayshford saw the Tiger brush aside his opponent and race 50 metres to score his second try of the game and give the home side a comfortable 22-12 buffer. A penalty and field-goal built on their lead before Benji Marshall looped a wonderful cut-out pass for Beau Ryan to ice their cake.

Missed tackles killed the Eels – they missed a whopping 50 on the afternoon and conceded seven line busts to the red-hot Tigers who were best served by fullback Tim Moltzen (173 metres, a try assist and eight tackle-breaks) and five-eighth Marshall who ran 114 metres and broke six tackles.

Jarryd Hayne contributed two try assists for the Eels but missed six important tackles – while centre Justin Horo was a turnstile in defence, missing 10 tackles.

Match Officials: Referees – Ashley Klein & Gavin Morris; Sideline Officials – Ricky MacFarlane & Adam Gee; Video Referee – Steve Clark.

The Way We See It: We expect a more spirited display from Parramatta but the Tigers finally rediscovered how to make the ball sing for them in attack when totally dominating the Panthers last round. If they retain that level of confidence they’ll be tough to topple. Wests Tigers by eight points.

Televised: Channel 9 – Delayed 4pm; Fox Sports 2 – Delayed 6pm.

[TITAN PETE]

Hindmarsh backs Sandow's NRL dumping

Steve Jancetic AAP Fri, Apr 27, 2012 - 1:03 PM




Sandow will play park football with Wentworthville on Saturday in a desperate move by Kearney to help the $550,000 star recruit find some form, which has mirrored that of the Eels with a 1-6 start to the season.

The former South Sydney halfback was to play for the Magpies last weekend while the Eels enjoyed a break due to the representative weekend, but when that move was scuppered by a shoulder injury, it was assumed Sandow would return to the top grade for Sunday's crunch game against Wests Tigers.

He was named in the No.7 on Tuesday, but will now play in the second-tier competition with veteran Casey McGuire to slot into the halves.

"He's down on confidence and this will hopefully bring him back," Hindmarsh said of Sandow.

"It wouldn't have been an easy call for Steve to make but I trust Steve's judgement, it's his decision.

"Hopefully it will only be a week and we'll see him back to the Chrissy that we know."

[TITAN PETE]

Sheens blasts Tigers despite win over Eels

By Joe Barton AAP Sun, Apr 29, 2012 - 6:32 PM

Wests Tigers coach Tim Sheens labelled his team's 31-30 NRL victory over Parramatta on Sunday as rubbish after the Tigers conceded 30 unanswered points in the final 13 minutes of the match.

The Tigers were on track for consecutive shutouts, after defeating Penrith 30-0 last round, until unheralded Eels prop Matt Ryan scored in the 67th minute to give the inexplicably loyal crowd something to cheer about.

That try sparked a landslide as Parramatta piled on four more tries through Willie Tonga, Ken Sio, Jarryd Hayne and finally Cheyse Blair in the 80th minute - all of which were converted by the recalled Luke Burt.

Not to mention the disallowed tries to Fuifui Moimoi and Sio in that same period.

And while it meant the last placed-Eels drew to within one point by the fulltime whistle, it could do nothing to stop them falling to their seventh loss of the season.

Yet it was Sheens who was the more ropeable coach after the match, admitting his men clocked off - and were lucky to get home courtesy of a Benji Marshall field goal before the halftime break.

"We were very disappointed - 31-0 with 14 minutes to go and you let them score and get within a point," Sheens said.

"It's just rubbish.

"The only positive is the win.

"... It was attitude, for sure. We just clocked off - there's no doubt."

The Tigers were on cruise control, going ahead with first-half tries to Chris Lawrence, Beau Ryan and Liam Fulton, before a second-half double to bench forward Ben Murdoch-Masila looked to have ended the game with 20 minutes to play.

"Nonetheless, we look at the first 60-odd minutes and know we did something good, and played well and looked like some sort of a premiership side," Sheens said.

"The last part of it, we looked like an A-Grade side."

Tigers skipper Robbie Farah, who set up Lawrence's first try with a clever inside ball, was equally frustrated: "We had an opportunity there to post two 30-0 wins consecutively, which would've been great to get our season underway.

"We just let that slip now. There's a lot of work to be done."

Parramatta hooker Matt Keating said the team needed to look past the loss and take the positive from their unlikely fightback into Friday night's clash with Canterbury.

"It makes you realise you've got to play for 80," he said.

"We have to take confidence out of that last 20-minute block and take it into Friday night against the Dogs."

The Eels were without star recruit Chris Sandow, who was dropped by coach Stephen Kearney to lower grade side Wentworthville, but watched the game from the sideline.

His replacement, Casey McGuire, had a forgettable afternoon and was on report twice - for high tackles on Tim Moltzen and Farah - while teammate Mitchell Allgood was on report for a high shot on Benji Marshall.