Round 21: Eels v Knights preview
After scrapping their way to an away win, the Parramatta Eels return to their fortress Bankwest Stadium as they look to hold off the Newcastle Knights' crusade back into the NRL top 8.
Parramatta would be disappointed with their performance last weekend, even though they took a vital 12-4 victory against the St George Illawarra Dragons. They never managed to reach any glittering heights in their performance, scoring just two tries, with both coming with in the first 25 minutes. After dominating the early stages of the match, the blue and gold looked to be in for a big night but a completion rate of 74% set back the Eels charges on the Dragons line.
The Eels sit sixth currently on the NRL ladder with 11 wins from their 19 matches this season and have had very impressive form when they have been at home this season. Since the opening of Bankwest Stadium, the Eels have only lost one match at the venue and seem to grow an extra leg when they are on home soil.
Newcastle have had a rollercoaster season with patches of bad form that have seen them both towards the bottom of the NRL ladder and then as high as the top four. The Knights are back facing questions over their performances after their 30-6 defeat at the hands of Manly last weekend. They're currently on a five-game losing streak and will need to show plenty of improvement if they want to break free of it.
The Knights have been well beaten in their matches and the slide down the ladder has come with a swing in form, and there has been plenty of talk about disquiet at the Knights over the past fortnight with centre Jesse Ramien coming in for criticism and ultimately sacking from coach Nathan Brown - despite their issues clearly being about more than one player. Newcastle are making their first trip to Bankwest in it's short history.
Last meeting: Round 7 2019 - Knights 28 Eels 14
Who to watch: Eels big-man Brad Takairangi - normally a back-rower - has a successful spell in the centres and now finds himself on the wing where he has had an indifferent start. 'Taka' has taken the spot of the injured Blake Ferguson and will need to fill the spot well given his power as a centre, but the difference in between playing centre and wing can be substantial.
Since returning from representative duty after Origin 3, the form of Mitchell Pearce hasn't been at the levels we saw during the mid-part of the season, and it's something that hasn't helped the Knights in recent weeks. Pearce is seen as the team leader and although Kalyn Ponga can create something out of nothing, Pearce needs to direct the Knights around the park.
The favourite: The Eels head into the match as favourites when the form of the two sides is matched up over recent weeks, and given that the Eels are a better side when they are playing at Bankwest Stadium. The Knights won the last clash between the two sides which throws a spanner in the works.
My tip: The Knights have been poor in recent weeks and in front of a bumper crowd, the Eels should fire at Bankwest Stadium (despite a couple of less than impressive wins), so they should be able to outplay the Knights and get another win. Eels by 10.
