Eels coach Jason Ryles says Parramatta\u2019s fans had every right to boo the team after they slumped to an ugly 52-10 loss at home on Sunday afternoon as their horror injury list grew worse with a couple of head knocks.<\/p>\n
Parramatta has conceded 226 points through the opening six rounds \u2013 the most in the NRL this season \u2013 with the blue and golds picked apart with ease by Gold Coast\u2019s speedy backs.<\/p>\n
The result leaves them in 16th spot, with their fans voicing their displeasure when the full-time siren sounded at CommBank Stadium.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just got 50 put on us at our home ground, so the fans are well within their right to be doing that. They\u2019re a huge part of what we\u2019re doing and it\u2019s disappointing that we performed like that in front of them,\u201d Ryles said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really disappointing. I didn\u2019t see it coming. (There were) some not really good signs there.\u201d<\/p>\n
To make matters worse, Sam Tuivaiti and Kelma Tuilagi both suffered head knocks that will rule them out of their next game against the Bulldogs.<\/p>\n
The Eels have already lost J\u2019maine Hopgood, Matt Doorey and Bailey Simonsson to season-ending injuries, while key spine members Jonah Pezet and Isaiah Iongi will also be sidelined for a few more weeks. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s certainly a challenge,\u201d Ryles said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhenever you get a third of the way through your list, it\u2019s always going to put pressure on performances. But at the same time, it creates opportunity. <\/p>\n
\u201cToday for me was disappointing from the point of view that the spirit wasn\u2019t there. Last week (against the Tigers) I saw some fight that I\u2019d never seen before, and then this week I didn\u2019t see it. <\/p>\n
\u201cSome individuals made some decisions that hopefully they wouldn\u2019t make again, so that\u2019s something that we need to get to the bottom of really quickly. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhoever does come in for those guys that are injured, it\u2019s really important they understand that NRL is a tough business, and if you\u2019re not ready to go right from the start, today happens.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going to blame the injuries (for what happened). They\u2019re there, and teams go through those periods in seasons, but when you get your opportunity, you need to take it. <\/p>\n
\u201cRight across the board, we just need to get to the bottom of why we lacked that desire today, which I\u2019ve not seen at all from this group in the 18 months that I\u2019ve been here. Not for one second. So that was probably the most disappointing part.\u201d<\/p>\n
Veteran prop Junior Paulo is also nursing a knee injury but Ryles says he won\u2019t throw youngsters in just for the sake of it to potentially \u201cjeopardise their future\u201d when they\u2019re not ready for first grade. <\/p>\n
Skipper Mitch Moses was lost for words as they look to bounce back from the demoralising defeat against Canterbury. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t really have many answers for you, to be honest,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe haven\u2019t really started well pretty much the whole year, so our start is a big reason for it. We\u2019ve been losing our start every single game probably this year, and then when you look up at the scoreboard you\u2019re down by 18, 20 and chasing your tail. It doesn\u2019t make it easy there. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think our attack was really good today either, so it didn\u2019t really help.\u201d<\/p>\n