Paul Kent slams Eels for allowing ‘unforgivable’ mistake to spark semi-final meltdown
Paul Kent has blasted the Parramatta Eels for allowing Mitchell Moses’ shock missed penalty to completely throw them off their game in their semi-final capitulation.
Paul Kent has blasted the Parramatta Eels for allowing Mitchell Moses’ shock missed penalty to completely throw them off their game in their semi-final capitulation.
The Eels had a penalty goal to square the scores at 20-20 that Moses sprayed and the Rabbitohs scored at the other end of the field off the ensuing set.
Souths extended their lead to 26-18 and went on to win 38-24 to end the Eels’ season, but Kent believes a stronger team would not have capitulated like they did.
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“I think that missed penalty is symbolic of Parramatta’s season,” Kent said on Triple M.
“What I mean by that is there is an ignorance of the one percenters in the game. Those little things that you just have to cross your T’s and dot your I’s.
“To not have anybody there who can chase a ricochet off a goal post. I know he could have tossed it over from where he was, but the fact that Parramatta had nobody there is just symbolic of the way things are going at Parramatta.
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“When things are going all right they just assume that the little things are going to work for them and they don’t need to worry about that because that just takes care of itself.”
The Eels led the competition for much of the early part of the season and hopes were high of a drought-breaking premiership.
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However their season ended with going out in the finals in straight sets for the second time in three years and they still can’t match the top sides for effort and accuracy under pressure.
“They are the things that the Melbourne Storm and the Sydney Roosters never do,” Kent said. “They always make sure there attention to detail is first class.
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“Parramatta’s attention to detail wanders in and out. They paid the price because they have been inconsistent for the last however many rounds and they don’t work on that consistency.
“The consistency comes with those little effort plays. That’s where Parramatta fell over. That did turn the game.
“The Rabbitohs got the ball off that and went the length of the field and scored up the other end.
“That is just unforgivable. For a first grade side to make that kind of error and not have someone there because they all walked back waiting for the kick-off.
“You don’t need everybody there, but you need some there.”
Originally published as Paul Kent slams Eels for allowing ‘unforgivable’ mistake to spark semi-final meltdown
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