Jarryd Hayne

JARRYD Hayne brought two left boots to the Grand Final. Has there ever been a more tragic footy omen?

The kid from Minto, whose whole life had been preparing for this night, chucked his gear in his kitbag, got on the bus and only realised when it was too late that his signature red boots were both the same.

Parra officials ran around looking for spares. The Eels were gone before the band struck up the national anthem.

Continue reading "It had its moments, but the NRL final was a snore" »

When Fuifui Moimoi was penalised for stripping the ball from holding on to Billy Slater in last night’s NRL grand final, it brought a sudden halt to a late surge by the Eels with four minutes to play.

Moments earlier Moimoi had scored in the corner, carrying two Storm players over the line with him on his hulking frame after barging through the defence in a 22m run. It marked the apogee of the Eels’ resurgence against a Melbourne side that was in control for most of the game.

Before the penalty, the Eels needed a converted try tie the game and force extra time. The way they were playing it looked possible. But with ball now in hand, the Storm kicked downfield and calmly positioned themselves for the field goal. Greg Inglis delivered. Job done for the Storm; fairytale over for the Eels.

Continue reading "When does a bad refereeing decision really count?" »

Parra can win this. All the predictions of Melbourne’s class overwhelming the baby Eels will count for nought when the smoke from the fireworks clears and the ref looks across to the timekeeper.

Grand Finals are the ultimate leveller and are often won by players you’ve never heard of, who get out in the middle and realise decades of training, injury and going home early comes down to this.

Here’s what I reckon the Eels need to do to take the silverware back to Church Street on Sunday night.

Continue reading "Eight things the Eels should do, to win by 8" »