Eels coach Brad Arthur believes his side’s 27-20 win over the Cowboys was “courageous” and most importantly “shows that the boys do care.”
The Eels had an exciting start to the season, winning two of their first three games, but things began to unravel when Mitchell Moses was ruled out for eight weeks with a footy injury.
Parramatta were upset by the Wests Tigers on Easter Monday and then embarrassed by Canberra the following week.
But a number of changes — and a deep desire to win — changed their fortune at CommBank Stadium on Friday night.
Speaking to the media following the win, Arthur said his troops were “pretty courageous” and believes it sent out a statement on the players’ attitude after he revealed pre-game that he “challenged the boys about being excited to play.”
“It’s hard to be at our best every game but the effort was there and there was a real desire and a real want — we’ve just got to try and find that every week.”
Arthur conceded there may have been “a bit of nerves” and the team might be “a bit down on confidence” hence their shaky start but he was proud of they way they dug in against the Cowboys, who went into Round 6 second on the ladder.
“They just toughed it out, they were courageous and they just kept fighting, which shows they do care and they want it,” he said.
“You can’t turn it around, hang on and beat a team like that… I think they’ve scored the most points in the comp and defence has been a bit of an issue for us, but we scrambled really well.”
Leading the effort for the Eels was their inspirational skipper Clint Gutherson.
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“He does the same for us every week. He’s a winner… he feels like he lets me down, his team down and the club when we lose,” Arthur said.
“He can’t do any more than what he’s doing. I think everyone at our club knows that and appreciates it — I certainly do.”
Arthur shot down questions on whether he’s relieved following a fortnight of speculation around his future, but Gutherson admitted “winning helps everything” when asked about it.
“You lose two in a row, no matter how many you won before that, there’s always going to be talk,” he said.
“All we needed to do to shut that off is win and that’s what we did tonight. But it’s rugby league, you’re back at it next week.”
Key to the Eels’ win was some team changes. Arthur swung the axe following the Raiders loss, dropping Maika Sivo and changing up the halves.
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