Dyldam Parramatta Eels Head Coach Brad Arthur says the Blue and Gold’s effort never faltered in their 22-10 win over the Sea Eagles, even when the home side came at them with energy and intensity.
Click through to see the video highlights from the 22-10 win
The Eels faced a daunting task and little to no field position early in the match, but stayed in the game long enough to shake off a handful of disallowed tries, turn the momentum and stretch out to a 22-10 victory.
“Well, we didn’t have any field position,” Arthur said.
“Our effort for around 6 weeks now has been very good, but I thought they probably played with a bit more energy and out-enthused us.”
“They came at us hard and carried the ball probably harder, and they got off their line harder than us.”
“In the second half I just asked the boys to complete and kick long and make our tackles, and so we learnt really good lessons. We completed high, made our tackles in the second half and fell over the line.”
And while the Blue and Gold now sit on ten premiership points after just seven weeks - two wins ahead of the same stage last season - Arthur says the level of commitment from the side has been strong since the 2015 season.
“Last year our effort was really good, we just didn’t know how to close out games and lost our way a little bit,” Arthur said.
“But it was very rare we walked off the field last year and gave them a spray about effort. We’ve worked hard in the pre season and they’re enjoying their footy.”
