Dyldam Parramatta Eels Head Coach Brad Arthur believes his side still has a long way to go from their 42-12 win in Round One to be considered serious contenders in the 2015 Premiership.
“I’m pleased with our application to our defence and our intent with our defence. I’m pleased how we were nice and resilient on our try line,” Arthur said.
“But I’m very disappointed in our lack of respect for the football and ball control. It was not good enough and it’s something we need to fix up straight away.”
“Our attention to detail and the simple fundamentals of the game weren’t good enough and we can’t continue to play like that.”
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Arthur turned to the numbers to back up his analysis of the Blue and Gold win.
“We completed about 67% compared to their 80%,” Arthur said.
“They had more possession than us. At one stage there, they had 46 play-the-balls attacking our try line compared to our 10.”
The 42-12 win was a handsome pay-off for a tough pre-season at Parramatta, and a perfect showcase for the talents of halfback Chris Sandow.
“We’ve worked really hard in our pre-season, like every other club,” Arthur said.
“We knew we needed to have more of a physical presence when we play this year. That was the start of it, but it’s round one and there’s still a long way to go.”
“[Chris] has just trained hard and he’s got a real desire and want at the moment and that was evident. But there were 17 performances out there tonight.”
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The win was also the Eels’ first outing since fullback Jarryd Hayne left the club to pursue an NFL career.
“I don’t think they wanted to make a point without Jarryd,” Arthur said.
“We know what we’ve got here to work with. It’s an opportunity for some of the boys to step up and I thought 17 players stood up tonight.”
The Eels will now look to prepare for their Round 2 clash against the Bulldogs next Friday night at ANZ Stadium.
