NRL 2020: Parramatta Eels’ Maika Sivo on track to be leading try scorer again
Maika Sivo has been on fire in 2020 and is on track to be the leading try scorer in back-to-back years, as the Parramatta Eels left side attack is dominating their opposition.
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When Blake Ferguson takes his place on Parramatta’s right edge on Sunday against Newcastle, he will find himself in unfamiliar territory – tryless and facing every winger’s worst nightmare.
“You don’t want to be doing a nudie run when you’re a winger,” Ferguson laughed when reminded of his 10-month try drought.
“I’m sure it will be fine in a couple of weeks, this week or the week after.”
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Ferguson scored 10 tries from 19 games last season, but he hasn’t crossed the line since the 58-0 thrashing of Brisbane in the first week of the finals last September.
If the NSW Blues flyer doesn’t score against the Newcastle Knights this weekend, it will be his 10th game without a try — the longest drought since his days at Cronulla way back in 2010.
But Ferguson isn’t too concerned about his lean tally if it means ladder leaders, the Eels, are winning football games.
“I honestly don’t really care about scoring tries. Obviously, Maika (Sivo) has been doing a bit of scoring so I’m happy to just win and get us out of trouble. If I get an opportunity to score, then I’ll get one but I’m not too fussed.
“Everyone else is talking about it but I don’t really care to be honest,” he said.
The Eels have heavily favoured their left edge in attack in season 2020 but have been reaping the results.
Of the 33 tries scored in the first eight rounds, 17 have come from the left side of the field and only nine from the right.
If you break the numbers down even further only five of the nine tries have come directly from the right edge combination of Ryan Matterson, Waqa Blake and Ferguson.
Sivo, last year’s top try scorer, scored four tries in one game alone last weekend against North Queensland, taking his 2020 tally to eight.
Parramatta’s willingness to attack down the left corridor has left Ferguson out in the cold on the right edge but the winger insisted it wasn’t a deliberate game plan from coach Brad Arthur.
“It just happens naturally. We don‘t have a game plan just to go to the left side. Everyone in our team has a role to play and Maika has scored some outstanding tries. So it’s just the way the game flows where the boy is being put, we’re not intending to go left all the time it just happens,” Ferguson said.
The Eels will receive a boost on Sunday against the Knights with firebrand forward Nathan Brown returning after spending two weeks on the sidelines for a high shot on Sydney Roosters’ Victor Radley in round six.
It was Brown’s second stint on the sidelines due to suspension this year. In round two, he copped a two-week suspension for a collision with the Gold Coast’s Dale Copley.
But Brown revealed he has no intention of changing his aggressive style of play and that he had the backing of coach Arthur.
“I’m going to be me and I’m going to play like I play, I’m not going to change anything,” Brown said.
Ferguson welcomed the return of Brown and hoped the influential forward could avoid the judiciary for the rest of the season.
“He’s been unlucky the last couple of times with contact issues. But I’m sure he’s done enough work over the last couple of week, he had a good think about what has happened and tried to calm down a little bit in certain situations,” Ferguson said.