EELS STILL IN DEEP

By Ally, 28/6/03
Congratulations to Parramatta. They have pulled off some stunning wins in the past couple of weeks, beating two fairly strong sides, the Warriors and North Qld. Terrific effort by young Michael Witt. This kid is what you want a kicker to be, a good, developing kicker who is awesome under pressure. Two times he has had to clinch the winning goal, and done so magnificently. Top work Michael!! The return of Hindmarsh will see them on their way to scrambling out of the bottom four. The future of Parramatta's youngsters look bright - with newcomers Chris Armit, Michael Witt and ex Manly Junior Shayne Dunley coming along nicely, we are sure to hear their names in coming years. The future of this season, however, looks dim. The Eels have won only - what - 4 games this year? This defiently wasn't helped by major blows to their starting line up, like Hindmarsh out in the first week. Other losses included Vella, Cayless, Green and developing youngster Chris Armit who has played outstanding this year. More congratulations to Jamie Lyon, who is playing against the Knights after his Origin stint. There are also two players that I feel have come along nicely this year, in Dean Widders and John Morris. These two had been outlined at the start of the year as big things for Parra, but we have not heard much of them. Watching them play though, you realise just what goes undervalued at struggling teams like Parra. Widders, who shed 8 kilos in the off season, had to fill the big shoes of ex Eel Ian Hindmarsh, now with the Raiders. Dean has done so efficently and soundly. He gains metres like anything and carries atleast 4 defenders every time he takes a hit up, and it takes that many do drag him down. John Morris, who had a succesful season playing utility for the Knights last year, is now one of Parra's key communicators on the field, directing the play. He is also a great hooker, and currently playing five-eigth. Morris has come along magnificently considering this will be his first full year playing as a permanent first grader. His ability to break back defence is amazing, as he has shown with some polished spirals and bombs. Someone else I must mention is the amazing Matt Petersen. He has played 7 games this year and scored more tries. This young speedster is going places. So, to sum this up in one sentence - the long term Parra looks good, but the short term needs improvement.