Xavier Savage enjoyed one of his best games in lime green against the Eels.Credit: Getty
SLIPPERY SLOPE FOR THE EELS: More of the same for Parramatta, and in the worst way possible. The same errors and disjointed performance that cost them in a tense loss to the Tigers were gobbled up by the Raiders. And the difference was there for all to see on the scoreboard. Their defensive statistics blew out late as the weight of possession and an extra 109 tackles compared to Canberra took their toll.
But a lack of cohesion out wide, with Dylan Brown and Bailey Simonsson targeted on the Eels left edge, and the Raiders able to bust through too many tackles that hit and didn’t stick, will have Brad Arthur especially filthy - it’s the exact opposite of how he coaches his sides.
Reagan Campbell-Gillard will be waiting on Monday morning’s charge sheet as well after being cited twice in the dying minutes for separate high tackles.
The Eels have a difficult run ahead too as they slip down to 14th and the wrong end of a seven-team pile-up with 2-3 records. North Queensland (home), the Dolphins (in Darwin), Manly (away), a round nine bye, Broncos (home) and Melbourne (away) await.
HALVES AND HALF NOTS: Parramatta have much bigger issues than no Mitch Moses, though they are missing their star No.7 like nothing else. Dylan Brown was all effort, especially with a couple of valiant try-saving attempts, but his kicking game was no match for Canberra in Moses’ absence and couldn’t keep the Eels in it. A game-managing halfback he just isn’t and the problem for Parramatta is where on earth do they turn to find one?
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On the other side of the ledger, there’s half a dozen NRL rivals who would kill to get their hands on what Canberra have in Jamal Fogarty. A steady, seasoned playmaker with a pinpoint kicking game and confidence in steering his side around the paddock. On his own, he’s not a premiership-winning No.7. But like Aidan Sezer in the previous Raiders generation, in the right team he’s got the ability to keep a premiership contender on track.
MATT’S ON THE MONEY: Canberra added another year to Matt Timoko’s deal late last week, keeping NRL rivals well away from the young Kiwi with an extension until the end of 2026. The deal has another two-year option to it as well and the club would love to lock it in right now after his impressive rise over the past 18 months. The Raiders outside backs all fired as they skinned the Eels on the flanks - Timoko, James Schiller and Xavier Savage all finished with more than 200 run metres each. Timoko’s combination with fellow youngster Schiller especially looked the goods.
Never better than when they traded passes for Timoko’s 42nd minute try - complete with spinning acrobatic putdown as Brown tried to fling him across the sideline. His try-assist for Hudson Young, beating several tired defenders right through the middle, wasn’t a bad follow up either.
WHAT THEY SAIDEELS COACH BRAD ARTHUR: “I didn’t think [the loss] was effort-based or soft. It was around some big moments when we didn’t nail the fundamentals of the game… If you don’t have much ball, you’re not giving [our halves] much opportunity… I thought Dylan was very good again tonight, he kicked well, he ran well, he scrambled well. When you’ve got everyone across the board not owning their fundamentals it does put pressure on Dylan. But [bringing in uncapped halfback Ethan Sanders] is not going to help us.”
RAIDERS COACH RICKY STUART: “The reason I get so cranky after games like last week is because I know what sort of football team I’ve got. If we weren’t a good football team it wouldn’t bother me as much, losing. All week we’ve spoken about what’s our reaction been, and I’ve got to give them credit… I’ll single out one bloke… I’ve visualised Xavier Savage for two and half to three years, doing what he did tonight. That’s why I’ve been patient and I’ve cuddled him and tried to get into his potential. But it’s only one game, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves, but I know the footballer Xavier Savage is. And then you look at those other boys, those outside backs, I put a lot of pressure on our outside backs tonight and they all aimed up”.
