Previewing tonight’s game against South Sydney, Dyldam Parramatta Eels assistant coach Peter Gentle has pointed to the middle of the park as the first place South Sydney will aim up in attack.
In our Unibet game day preview, Gentle says while the Rabbitohs will be looking to make an impact with their massive forward pack, the Eels have been focussing on their own back yard in preparation for the clash after a disappointing loss to the Warriors in Round 18.
“Fortunately it’s been a short week so we get a chance to get back on the pitch pretty quickly,” Gentle said.
“[Last week] we didn’t handle the adversity really well. We didn’t show any patience at all, we didn’t work our way into the game. A 5-0 penalty count dictates that you need to be very good defensively and we weren’t; we had opportunities to get in the grind and we didn’t.”
And with the 2014 State of Origin series done and dusted, the Queensland and NSW fullbacks will come face-to-face again this week as Jarryd Hayne returns for the Eels, and Greg Inglis returns for the Rabbitohs.
“We get Jarryd back and they get Greg Inglis back so that’s a good match up in itself,” Gentle said.
“There’s some big boys there [in the Rabbitohs side] and it’s no secret that they’ll be coming straight through the middle.”
“But we get a bit of experience with Jarryd coming back in, and a couple of older heads back in the forward pack.”
Tonight's Eels v Rabbitohs clash kicks off at 7.40pm, and as part of #RiseForAlex Round, the NRL will be donating $1 to the RiseForAlex Fund for every NRL fan who attends a match over the weekend. Click through to buy your tickets to the game!
