Parramatta coach Brad Arthur is copping it from a swarm of social media trolls following a shock round eight loss to North Queensland in Cairns.
The criticism centres on Arthur’s decision to play his son, Jake, at five-eighth while pushing big-money playmaker Dylan Brown to left centre.
But Paul Gallen says fans are focusing on the wrong takeaway from the game – the fact the NRL is currently a two-horse race.
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While Penrith and Melbourne are blowing teams off the park from week to week, no other club in the competition is getting close to doing that.
The Sharks, Eels, Rabbitohs, and Roosters have all suffered surprise losses in the past fortnight.
“Parramatta’s loss to the Cowboys revealed something – the difference between the top two teams and the rest of the competition is just chalk and cheese. Penrith and Melbourne are that far in front it’s not funny,” Gallen wrote in his column for Wide World of Sports.
“That’s not to say teams can’t beat them, but if you do it will be a tight match and you’ve got to be at your absolute best, and hope that the Panthers or Storm are slightly off.
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“As far as the rest of the competition is concerned, just about anyone can beat anyone else.”
The heat is on Arthur after he made the surprise decision to push Brown – believed to be earning upwards of $800,000 to play in the halves – to left centre a fortnight ago.
Parramatta has been plagued by an injury crisis in its backline this season, and Arthur essentially ran out of specialist centres and wingers to play on the flanks.
“On the subject of everyone having an opinion, Brad Arthur copped it from the keyboard warriors for playing his son Jake at five-eighth and moving Dylan Brown to the centres,” Gallen wrote.
“Those critics have conveniently forgotten Parramatta’s injury crisis that has left them without a number of outside backs.
“Not for a second would I believe Brad Arthur would pick anything other than his best combination each week.”
As for the victor, North Queensland is suddenly sitting in third spot on the NRL ladder with five wins from eight games.
Fans are now questioning whether the Cowboys can be serious premiership contenders, having been all but written off before the season began.
“The Cowboys for me are the most improved side in the competition. There wouldn’t have been too many tipping them to finish in the top eight, certainly I wasn’t,” Gallen wrote.
“They’re now third with five wins from eight matches, and they’ll start heavy favourites against Newcastle this week. To miss the finals from here would be an utter failure.
“My only worry is their lack of experience, I thought they were a year or two away from being a force again. With youth and inexperience comes inconsistency, and that may bite them at some stage this year.”
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