PARRA POWER TO HISTORIC SCORING SPREE
Against the Warriors on Sunday, Brad Arthur's Eels achieved a feat that not even the great Parramatta sides of the 1980s managed.
The Eels' 24-point early blitz was the most points by a Parramatta team in the first 20 minutes since at least 1980.
And let's not forget the Eels won four titles in the '80s and their team included legendary names like Kenny, Sterling, Cronin, Grothe, Price and Ella.
The only black mark on a great afternoon for the Eels was that they didn't really go on with the job.
The gutsy Warriors fought back well from 24-0, winning the second half as the score finished 34-18.
BROOKS RUNS HIMSELF INTO NEW PAY DAY
Luke Brooks has been literally playing for his future in 2021 – and he may well have ensured he will stay on the big dollars in 2022 with his performance against a woeful Knights team on Friday night.
Brooks was the standout in the Tigers' 36-18 thrashing of the Knights for one simple reason: he rediscovered his running game.
Blessed with plenty of pace and a lovely balanced mover, Brooks has been often criticised for not taking on the line.
In a crucial game in the Tigers' season, Brooks ran like a man possessed.
He scored the opening try of Magic Round, running for a total of 168 metres in the game – the second-best haul in his career.
With the Tigers bringing Jackson Hastings on board for 2022, the pressure is on Brooks.
SENSATIONAL SAAB SILENCES TROLLS
For the first month of the 2021 season, Sea Eagles fans were slamming lanky winger Jason Saab at Brookvale and on social media.
Signed from the Dragons on good money, Saab was touted as the next big thing but was out of sorts in a Sea Eagles side that lost its opening four games.
But Saab's form since then has been sensational, scoring in six games straight and combining superbly with fullback Tom Trbojevic on the right edge.
The tallest winger in the game, Saab has bagged 10 tries over the last magical six weeks and is now among the form wingers in the comp.
NO FRILLS KIWI STANDS UP FOR CANBERRA
When Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad suffered a serious neck injury a few weeks back, the struggling Raiders knew he would be hard to replace.
And it's been a tough few weeks for the Raiders, on and off the field, before last weekend's courageous win over the Bulldogs.
Ironically, one of the heroes of the gutsy win was Nicoll-Klokstad's 'no frills' replacement Caleb Aekins.
The 23-year-old Kiwi, in his first year at the club after signing from Penrith, was thrown in at the deep end but has handled himself well.
The Bulldogs win was his breakthrough game. Aekins made 145 running metres, the most by any Raider, and more importantly came up with two try assists.
RESILIENT ROOSTERS AREN'T COOKED YET
You can't help but admire the resilience of the Roosters despite the worst injury list in the NRL.
Jake Friend has retired, Boyd Cordner hasn't played a game all year and his future is in doubt, Billy Smith has also yet to be sighted and Luke Keary, Brett Morris and Lindsay Collins are out for the year.
Sam Verrills, Drew Hutchison and Freddy Lussick were all missing as well against the Cowboys, yet the Roosters still won 30-16, scoring some sparkling tries along the way.
If they get half these blokes back in time for the finals, Trent Robinson's men could well worry the likes of the Storm and Panthers.
WARRIORS NEED TO START SLICK RECRUIT
Warriors coach Nathan Brown admitted last week he didn't quite know what to do with boom youngster Reece Walsh, a recent signing from Brisbane.
Well, I will tell you, Nathan: if you want to win football matches, put the kid in your starting side.
Walsh is a superstar in waiting but was sitting on the bench as the Eels unleashed their early onslaught.
By the time he was thrown into the fray, the game was all but over.
Even so, Walsh was just about the most dangerous player on the paddock and why the Broncos – struggling so badly for playmakers – let him go is one of the mysteries of 2021.
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