‘It will turn’: Why Clint Gutherson is convinced the Eels can still play finals footy

People are starting to write off the Eels, but a spooky stat from 2019 could be the spark they need to turn things around.

Clint Gutherson remains confident the Eels will play finals footy despite Parramatta sitting outside the top eight after 11 rounds. Picture: Mark Nolan/Getty Images

Eels skipper Clint Gutherson is confident that his side can bounce back from its poor start to the season, adamant that two or three wins in a row would ease the pressure on last year’s beaten grand finalists.

Parramatta has four wins and seven losses through the opening 11 rounds, the exact opposite of their 7-4 start to the 2022 season.

The Eels started well last week but couldn’t match it with the Raiders. Picture: Mark Nolan/Getty Images

The blue and golds are a club that traditionally starts fast, with the Eels 9-2 in both 2020 and 2021 when they made the second week of the finals.

It’s not like they’ve been disgraced in any of their games this season, with the 14th-placed side losing six games by single figures, with their biggest defeat coming against the Broncos when they went down by 10 points.

The Eels have had to deal with injuries to key players – including Shaun Lane who will miss a few games with a hamstring strain – which hasn’t helped considering there were major changes to their forward pack from the team that went within 80 minutes of claiming last year’s title.

It’s why Gutherson remains positive that things can turn quickly for a team that still has all three of its byes and games against teams outside the top eight.

Clint Gutherson has been in great form, scoring nine tries this season, but the Eels are still outside the top eight. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

“It’s just the bounce of the ball in a lot of the games,” Gutherson replied when asked to explain the side’s current position.

“We’re disappointed and would like to be on the other end of where we are, but that’s the way it is and that’s where we stand.

“Every single game this year we’ve been in until the 80th minute, and in five or six of those games, we probably could have won it in the 80th minute.

“A lot of teams in the middle third (of the ladder) are on similar points or one or two games ahead. That’s where we’ve got to look at and we’ve got to continue to play our footy.

“It will turn – it’s going to be hard to turn that – but that’s what we’re here for. We’ve been in this situation and clawed our way back, so that’s what we’ve got to do again.”

The Eels turned their 2019 season around with a shock win over the Rabbitohs in Round 12. Picture: AAP Image/Craig Golding

Gutherson may have been referencing the 2019 season when the Eels were 5-6, coming off three-straight losses and were set to play the ladder-leading Rabbitohs on a Friday night in round 12.

The fullback scored a try that night as Parramatta pulled off the upset, finished fifth that season and smashed Brisbane 58-0 in the first week of the finals.

History doesn’t always mean much, but the Eels are in the exact same position about to face the ladder-leading Rabbitohs on a Friday night in round 12, although they haven’t beaten Souths since that game in 2019.

“If you win two or three on the trot then everyone forgets about it,” Gutherson said.

“You can look at our for and against, and I think we’d be coming fifth if you’re looking at for and against.

“I think that was our biggest loss on the weekend, 10 points. We’re playing good footy, but we’ve got to be doing it for 80 minutes to get the job done.

“That’s what you get marked on, but we’ve just fallen short a few times. It’s up to us to prove that and be the team that I know we can.”

Originally published as ‘It will turn’: Why Clint Gutherson is convinced the Eels can still play finals footy