Confidence will remedy crisis
By Andrew Johns
Newcastle captain
May 19, 2006
FORGET all the talking and the crisis meetings and the advice from everyone about what is going wrong.
None of it will make a difference because confidence can't be manufactured, and that is what Parramatta is lacking right now.
The only place the Eels ship can be righted after a rough start to the season is on the field during games.
And the buck stops squarely with the players.
Only the players can turn around what the club is going through right now. They are the ones who need to make it happen.
It comes down to pride in performance, both individually and as a team. Everyone has to be in it together.
You can't be potting teammates, potting the coach or putting the knife into the club for whatever reason. All that does is fracture the joint.
Everyone knows the Eels have the players. The quality is there - they just don't have the confidence to dig themselves out of the rut they find themselves in.
Traditionally, when a coach parts company with a club during a tough period, the players respond.
In some instances, they are happy to see him go and all the tension is released, producing improved performances. Or, they may feel guilty about the coach's departure and realise they are more than just partly to blame for the form slump.
Whatever the feeling in the Parramatta camp, Brian Smith's decision this week to cut short his stay should have at least shaken up the players.
Jason Taylor has stepped into the void and made a big early statement by dumping Mark Riddell and Tim Smith to Premier League for tonight's clash with Penrith after some off-field dramas.
It was a big statement because the Eels will already be without New South Wales players Nathan Hindmarsh, Timana Tahu and Eric Grothe.
Taylor will no doubt look to his experienced men to lead the turnaround. Players such as Nathan Cayless, Glenn Morrison and John Morris.
But often you'll find it's the younger blokes who put their hand up in a crisis.
They are the ones who provide the enthusiasm and that has a tendency to rub off on the senior players.
The good part about confidence is that while you can lose it quickly, it sometimes doesn't take much to get it back.
It can be in scoring a great try or protecting your try-line for a few sets of six in a row. The trigger can be something really simple.
The Eels need to find that trigger.
In coming up with a plan to knock over the Panthers tonight, I'm sure JT would have concentrated fairly heavily on his side's kicking game.
It has been poor, and the sad part from the Eels point of view is they could easily have beaten the Bulldogs last weekend had their kicking game been on target.
Forget what anyone tells you. Winning games in this competition is all about applying pressure and you do that by limiting mistakes and kicking well.
Penrith is entitled to be favourite tonight, but the loss of Craig Gower limits the Panthers' points-scoring potential so it becomes a real danger game for the mountain men.
I wouldn't be completely writing off the Eels in this one.
From:
http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,19179995-23214,00.html
