Eels ready for wounded Rabbitohs and winger Robert Jennings
EELS winger Bevan French says taking on the Rabbitohs after their first defeat in two months makes them a more dangerous proposition than on the back of their nine-game winning streak.
Eels
Don't miss out on the headlines from Eels. Followed categories will be added to My News.
BEWARE the wounded Rabbitohs.
That’s the mindset Parramatta will be taking into Saturday night’s clash against South Sydney at ANZ Stadium.
The Rabbitohs suffered their first defeat in two months at the hands of the Wests Tigers last weekend.
Eels winger Bevan French says that makes them a more dangerous proposition than when they were riding high on the back of a nine-game winning streak.
He is expecting the Bunnies to come out firing and that they would be doing everything in their power “to get back into the winner’s circle”.
MATTY JOHNS: ‘He lit up and smoked for six weeks’
SPORT CONFIDENTIAL: Bennett speculation hurting Broncos
CONTROVERSY: Sutton admits refs blew Moylan call
The last time these two sides met back in round 15, the Eels were spanked 42-24 with Robert Jennings running in four tries for the Rabbitohs.
French, who will be marking up against Jennings on Saturday night conceded his side wasn’t up to task defensively, saying it wasn’t at an NRL standard.
“We were on different pages in that last game and it was like a training run for them I think,” he said.
“We weren’t connected at all and we sort of have been now in the past month or so and our defence has been a lot better.
“We have improved a lot since the last time we played the Rabbitohs.”
He says a change to their routine in training is beginning to show on the field and has helped them rediscover some of the ‘intent’ that had been missing during the season.
“Most sides leading into games back off the intensity during the week and we sort of just picked that up again and doing a bit more work during the week, that’s getting everyone talking and that’s converting onto the field,” French said.
Nick Campton and Tim Williams carry on about referees, try to make sense of the top eight madness and preview all the action for Round 20.
Subscribe to the League Central podcast on iTunes.
“We are looking forward to finishing off the year with same intent and same focus.”
Coach Brad Arthur has been forced to reshuffle his backline after winger George Jennings suffered a groin injury against Canterbury last week.
The in-form Jarryd Hayne has been named out onto the edge with backrower Brad Takairangi coming into the centre as cover.
French says shifting Hayne out wide won’t blunt his impact on the Eels’ attack.
“It doesn’t matter if he’s centre or wing, he’ll just go looking for the ball,” he said.
“He’s proven he’s back to his best, he’s been pretty dangerous. He’s getting early ball and most of his runs have been him getting into dummy half and just creating a quick play the ball for us.”
The Eels face a tough run home, including games against Melbourne, St George Illawarra and the Roosters but Takairangi says instead of dwelling on the possibility of a wooden spoon, his side was more focused on restoring some pride in the Parramatta jumper.
“That’s definitely a driving force for us,” he said.
“With the sort of squad we’ve got and the talent we have, we shouldn’t be down the bottom. “We’re going to be doing everything we can to make sure we win every one of our last six games.
“There hasn’t been one game we’ve gone into that we weren’t confident of winning.
“We just want to put pride back into the jumper.
“It’s not us, what we’ve been dishing up this year. It’s about pride and accountability because it’s been disappointing.”
Watch every game of every round of the 2018 NRL Telstra Premiership on FOX SPORTS. SIGN UP NOW >