Channel 9 pundit and Canterbury Bulldogs director of football Phil Gould has expressed his concern at the Parramatta Eels' tactics for their Round 25 clash with the Penrith Panthers.
Parramatta coach Brad Arthur had previously discussed resting players ahead of the finals, saying he wanted to go in a different direction to previous seasons and ensure everyone in the squad had a game under their belt ahead of the finals campaign.
The men in blue and gold aren't the only team resting players this weekend, with the Melbourne Storm, South Sydney Rabbitohs and Newcastle Knights also getting in on the action, but Parramatta have gone to the extreme despite a top four place technically still being up for grabs in their local derby.
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All of Clint Gutherson, Junior Paulo, Marata Niukore, Mitchell Moses and Waqa Blake have been left out of the 21-man squad entirely. Will Penisini, Isaiah Papali'i, Nathan Brown and Dylan Brown are also all unlikely to play, only named in the reserves due to a shortage of players.
It means we will see Hayze Perham at fullback, Michael Oldfield in the centres, Will Smith captaining the team from the halves alongside Jake Arthur, and all of Samuel Loizou, Ky Rodwell and Sean Russell added to the bench, while Oregon Kaufusi, Makaheshi Makatoa and Ray Stone are in the starting forward pack.
Speaking on his Six Tackles with Gus podcast though, Gould said he would have handled it differently.
"Let's not build this up into a great local derby," Gould said.
"It's an interesting decision by Brad Arthur, and this is where I may have handled it differently. When I look at what Parramatta produced last week which was so much better than anything they have produced not just this year, but in the last couple of years - I mean their upset win against the Melbourne Storm was thoroughly deserved and they dominated from the early stages of the game.
"Then to dilute that the following week and think I can pick it up again in a fortnight, I don't know."
The toping of resting, and whether the minor premiership means enough, is a contentious one in rugby league circles.
Earlier this week, Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V'Landys said he had no problems with teams resting players from matches at the back end of the season.
For teams not in the top four, resting can tend to make sense given they have no chance of having an extra week off after the first week of finals, however, Gould said he believed Parramatta had taken the easier of the two options.
"It must have been an interesting discussion at Parramatta this week as to whether we keep the momentum going or whether we desperately need the risk," Gould said.
"They have opted for the one where they will be less criticised."
The Eels will take on the Panthers on Friday night at CBus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast.
Parramatta are still an outside chance of making the top four, however, would need the Manly Sea Eagles to lose their Saturday clash with the North Queensland Cowboys.
The Eels could also drop to sixth if the Sydney Roosters beat the Canberra Raiders on Thursday night, however, it would mean little other than a match against the Newcastle Knights in Week 1 of the finals instead of playing one of the Cronulla Sharks, Canberra Raiders or Gold Coast Titans, pending who winds up in eighth spot.
The Penrith Panthers, who have named a full-strength side for this week's clash, are a chance of taking out the minor premiership with a win, however, would need the Melbourne Storm to lose against the Cronulla Sharks.
