ON A scorching day at Brookvale, Parramatta just never got started. Some individuals just didn’t turn up for the Eels. One in particular should be a huge cause of concern for the fans.

Elsewhere, the Tigers have a selection headache on their hands and Valentine Holmes simply needs to get over himself, writes Greg Alexander.

Is lethargic, unfit Hayne dragging the Eels down the same road as the Titans?

Jarryd Hayne: Unfit, lethargic and taking the Eels down a dangerous road. Source: Getty Images

Round 20

It wasn’t as if Manly ground Parramatta down on Sunday – the Eels were never in it from the first set and the game was over at 18-0.

In those conditions as a player, it’s easy for a game to get away from you. You start to back-pedal mentally and one mistake in defence or attacks seems to breed another. But both sides had to endure the conditions, so let’s not mince words. Some individuals just didn’t turn up for the Eels.

LISTEN: Warren Smith & Matt Russell’s Round 2 Review

I said during the call for Fox League that Jarryd Hayne look a long way off being fit and I stand by it. He started the off-season in pretty ordinary shape and he has a long way to go. He looked lethargic and what Parra fans would be concerned about is that his poor attitude and lack of form seemed to derail the Titans’ season last year.

Hayne was their number one man at the Gold Coast and you could only say his poor attitude had a negative effect on their club. Eels fans are now wondering whether they’re heading down the same path in 2018.

Cleary cannot drop Benji for Reynolds

Benji Marshall has been instrumental in the Tigers’ stunning early-season success. Source: AAP

Wests Tigers coach Ivan Cleary’s sensational start to the season is about to get a whole lot more complicated. Tigers icon Benji Marshall has been the heart and soul of the Tigers’ giant-killing victories over the Roosters and Melbourne. So what does Cleary do when Josh Reynold, the big-money signing who came across to wear the number 6, declares himself fit?

With Reynolds’ return from a hamstring injury slated for as early as this week, I think on form Cleary has to start Benji again at five-eighth and Reynolds on the bench as a utility player, probably at hooker. The Tigers have already been carrying a reserve hooker in Matt McIlwrick, so that’s the least disruptive solution. Dropping Benji on his current form is not the answer – and would be a real downer for Tigers fans enjoying their best start to a season in years.

H ey Holmes, stop spitting the dummy and just play

Valentine Holmes has had a terrible start to the season -- and he only has himself to blame. Source: News Corp Australia

Here’s the most alarming stat for Sharkies fans out of Thursday night’s loss to the Dragons: Valentine Holmes had 5 runs for just 46 metres on the wing. He averages around 108 metres per game, so the Queensland Origin winger played less than 50 per cent of his potential.

It’s simply not good enough. His substandard performance had all the hallmarks of a dummy spit because he was shifted out of fullback for Josh Dugan. Val needs to get over himself in a hurry because the Sharks desperately need his impact coming out of their own end.

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