On their day, the Parramatta Eels have been renowned for scoring points at will against their opposition. But it was their defensive effort against the South Sydney Rabbitohs on Friday night that earned rave reviews.
Coming off a thumping victory over the Sydney Roosters last week, the Rabbitohs ran on to ANZ stadium on top of the NRL ladder, and apparently on top of their game, judging from the form of key players John Sutton and Chris Sandow.
On the contrary, the Eels ran out against the Rabbitohs with question marks surrounding their ability to play the full eighty minutes on a consistent level.
Although a loss against the Warriors last week at Mt Smart is nothing to be ashamed of, the Eels once again displayed the enigmatic performances that have plagued the side these past couple of seasons.
So it was no surprise in the end to see the Rabbitohs score early against the Eels. In just the fifth minute of the game, Sandow scores his second four pointer in as many weeks to continue South Sydney’s rich vein of attacking form.
What followed however was an Eels side that finally displayed the necessary ingredients to challenge most teams in this competition, let alone a high flying Rabbitohs outfit.
The character and enthusiasm of the Eels defence dented South Sydney’s cause to achieve a replication of last week’s victory against the Roosters.
And when Parramatta five-eighth Feleti Mateo scored a try to even the scores, one knew the Eels were in the right frame of mind to attain victory against the Bunnies.
In the last fifteen minutes of the first half, the Rabbitohs had a mountain of possession on Parramatta’s tryline, and literally threw the kitchen sink at the Eels defence.
In the end however, Parramatta held firm and went into halftime on level pegging on the scoreboard, but were leading their opposition in terms of character and belief.
The Eels defensive effort continued in the second half, frustrating a Rabbitohs attack that ultimately put too much pressure on halves Sandow and Sutton to perform miracle plays.
Although no one doubts their ability to do so, it was always going to be difficult to pull a rabbit out of the hat against a determined, and at times, ruthless Eels defence.
Tackling workhorse Nathan Hindmarsh once again stood tall for Parramatta in times of need, while captain Nathan Cayless also pulled off some hits.
In the backline, Joel Reddy was the best performed player for the Eels, scoring the match winning try in the corner to coincide with his ability to make the right plays in defence.
Indeed Eels coach Daniel Anderson will be pleased with the efforts of his entire team, which was forced to defend for extended periods against a confident Rabbitohs outfit.
Defence often wins big matches and it allowed the Eels to register a morale boosting 14-8 victory against the bunnies at ANZ stadium.
Whether their defensive effort can be repeated for the rest of season 2009 will determine if the Eels are in with a chance of challenging for the premiership.
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