Dyldam Parramatta Eels centre Ryan Morgan says he is looking forward to playing the last round of the season against the Canberra Raiders in front of what he hopes is a packed Pirtek Stadium.
“They’re a very good side,” Morgan said of the Canberra side.
“They’ve got a lot of good young talent right across the park and when they turn it on they’re a hard side to beat so I’m expecting big things from them especially being the last game.”
“We spoke about that the last two games are going to be for our fans and Members.” Morgan added.
“They make this club go around and it would be good to see them come out in force on Sunday and we’ll try and send them off with a good win.”
Morgan says the team hasn’t forgotten the loss to the Raiders in Round 26 of last year, which cost the Blue and Gold their finals spot.
“They knocked us out last year of finals contention and that’s still in the back of our minds, so it should be a good game this week,” he said.
“We’re looking to finish the year off well and start into next year.”
The Eels suffered a difficult loss to the Sharks last weekend and Morgan believes the team needs to improve the start to the game.
“That was a tough loss for us,” Morgan said.
“We were in it right up until the end, but … it was the start of the game especially the first half that let us down.”
“We gave away too many points in that first half and our defence wasn’t good enough, so going into this week we just need to get that 80 minute performance.”
As this weekend’s game is celebrating Blue and Gold Army round, the Eels are looking forward to thanking all the fans and the 22,824 Members of the club for their continuous support.
“I’m pretty sure every club says it, but I think we have the best fans in the NRL,” Morgan said.
“Even on road games they follow us and they make us feel welcome and they got those die-hards that are there all the time.”
“It’s just a special thing for us knowing that we have constant support and they turn up every week and just cheer us on, what more can you ask for that’s what footy is all about really.”
The Round 26 clash at Pirtek Stadium kicks off at 2pm with the Eels NYC in action from 11:45am.