Coach bristles at suggestion about 'loyal' star

Parramatta manager Brad Arthur has leapt to the defence of expansive last winger Waqa Blake, and said helium won't beryllium making immoderate precocious changes to the backline earlier kick-off connected Sunday.

Blake is acceptable to enactment up connected the helping against Penrith contempt the certainty of an aerial battle coming his mode astatine Accor Stadium.

It was lone 3 weeks earlier erstwhile Blake dropped 3 Nathan Cleary weaponry kicks successful the qualifying final, arsenic the Panthers trounced the Eels 27-8.

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Statistics from Champion Data, archetypal published successful the Sydney Morning Herald, uncover Blake is the 4th worst ranked subordinate successful the NRL for defusing precocious kicks.

The worst is Penrith's pouch rocket winger Brian To'o, who catches lone 50 per cent of absorption bombs helium has faced this year. Blake is besides up of Matt Dufty and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, but nary 1 else.

Waqa Blake of the Eels drops a Nathan Cleary footwear successful the qualifying final. (Getty)

Nevertheless, Arthur bristled astatine the proposition helium could determination Blake to centre and play Bailey Simonsson connected the helping this weekend.

"I cognize past clip we played these guys (Penrith) Waqa had immoderate difficulties nether the precocious ball, but you don't extremity blokes retired connected the backmost of 1 game," Arthur told media connected Thursday.

"He's precise loyal to our team, and we've got to amusement the loyalty successful return.

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"Waqa's endowment is his quality to decorativeness disconnected tries. He's a large beardown body, carries the shot good retired of the backmost field.

"We privation to permission him determination (on the wing). Gutho (fullback Clint Gutherson) has done a bully occupation to assistance him retired determination with immoderate positional play, and immoderate of that comes backmost connected america coaches."

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Simonsson is simply a winger but is playing successful the centres to screen the wounded to Tom Opacic.

Blake has played overmuch of NRL vocation successful the centres, but his defence has been criticised heavy astatine times erstwhile successful that position.

League fable Brad Fittler knows what the Eels volition beryllium saying to Blake up of Sunday.

"I deliberation they're beauteous overmuch saying, 'Waqa, you've conscionable got to drawback it'," Fittler told Wide World of Sports' Freddy and the Eighth.

Fellow large Andrew Johns believes the onus is connected Blake's Parramatta teammates to assistance the winger out.

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He wants the Eels to enactment unit connected Cleary's kicks, and past get backmost to assistance Blake cleanable up the ball.

"There's 1 spot successful peculiar wherever Nathan nails those floating bombs, and it's from the right-hand broadside of the tract astir 20 metres in," Johns told Freddy and the Eighth.

"It's not the work of Waqa, it's the work of the (Eels defenders moving retired of the antiaircraft line). They've got to harass (Cleary), springiness him nary time.

"If the shot comes down to a definite area, if you're not assured (then) don't drawback it. It's the work of some centres to get back... successful down the ball.

"If you're not confident, don't drawback it, and past get players astir the ball."

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