Kearney looks at positives

Parramatta coach Stephen Kearney has urged his players to look at the positives after losing out to Wests Tigers by the narrowest of margins.

The Eels looked all at sea trailing 31-0 with less than 20 minutes to go in the clash on Sunday but rallied in the final quarter to bring the score back to 31-30 at the final whistle.

Kearney lamented a poor first-half, which saw his side concede three unanswered tries.

“If you’re going to turn over half the ball you get against a side like the Tigers you’re going to make it really hard for yourself,” Kearney told the club’s official website.

“And that’s what we did – we had something like a 53 per cent completion rate at the end of the first half, and you just put too much pressure on yourself.

The performance of playmaker Ben Roberts, who wasted a certain try by dropping the ball with the line at his mercy, was labelled “disappointing” by Kearney.

“I know it’s difficult to take some positives out of the position we’re in.”

“Today we gave ourselves an opportunity with 20 minutes to go, but until we fix up the part where we’ve got to complete better than 50 per cent and guys have to take ownership of making their tackles, then we’ll keep hitting the same walls.

“That’s the important thing for us, but the last 20 minutes is certainly something for us to be positive about and for us to work on.”

Things will not get any easier for the embattled Eels, who will face Canterbury at Parramatta Stadium on Friday.