Dyldam Parramatta Eels Assistant Coach Peter Gentle says the Blue and Gold will be expecting a direct attack from the Bulldogs’ forward pack in tonight’s 8th-vs-9th match up at ANZ Stadium.
Gentle says the Eels have no illusions about how fired up the eighth-placed Bulldogs side will be coming off four straight losses.
“The Bulldogs are in a similar position we were a few weeks back,” Gentle said.
“Coming off a feel losses, so we know how desperate they’ll be. They’ve been bagged the last couple of weeks about playing too lateral, and we’re expecting them to come straight down the middle.”
The Eels side will be looking to bag a fourth straight win this week, and Gentle admits preparation for the game has been tweaked slightly to account for the additional load of a short turnaround from the side’s trip to Darwin, and the loss of Junior Paulo (suspension) and Peni Terepo (lee injury) from the forward pack.
“We’ve had to back off a little bit with, not so much the intensity, but the load,” Gentle said.
“But the intensity’s been there and they can’t wait to get out there.”
“The pack takes on a more experienced look this week, which isn’t a bad thing coming up against a pretty experienced bulldogs side.”
“Players will be missed, but players get an opportunity to go after a jumper and keep it.”
The Bandaged Bear Cup kicks off at 7.45pm at ANZ Stadium, click through to buy your tickets!
