Emotions were running high well before kick-off between Parramatta and South Sydney, with the Eels returning home to play for points once again in 2016.
Parramatta fans turned up early and in plenty of numbers, even standing up to send their team back into the sheds post warm-up. The energy was palpable, the passion visible in the eyes of the blue and gold army, what a night for footy!
Parramatta started the game as you would have expected, with plenty of hard running and hitting. They had the better of the early stages, dominating possession and field position, but the Rabbitohs’ defence stood up to the early test.
A few minutes later, and on the back of two straight penalties, Souths crossed to score the opener. Journeyman Michael Oldfield dived over after a lovely set play to the right-hand side. It was simple numbers, a four on three proving too much too handle.
The Rabbitohs extended their lead 17 minutes in with a penalty goal through Adam Reynolds. The ten minutes that followed was scrappy, with both sides dropping the ball on several occasions and looking tired following an emotional start to the game.
Greg Inglis did land a dodgy forearm on the head of Kenny Edwards 25 minutes in, but nothing came of it. No report and no further action to be taken from all reports.
The penalty on the back of the hit proved costly, however, as the Eels capitalised. A lovely cross-field kick from half Corey Norman found a ‘Flying Fijian/Aussie’ who caught well above his head to score.
It was the turning point in the first half, followed up by an inspirational charge down from now starting hooker, Isaac De Gois. De Gois was huge all night, he led from the front in defence and played almost the full 80 in a sign that he is ready to take over the reins.
With 36 minutes ticked over, Parramatta were still down by two. That was until the ball went left and found a damaging Manu Ma’u. He managed to step, offload in the tackle, and find a flying Michael Jennings who streaked clear. The NSW dynamo drew the fullback and threw a lovely ball to Semi Radradra who crossed for his double.
The next set was safety first from Parramatta, and the last tackle option was a nothing kick. Alex Johnston found it a little more difficult to handle, spilling the ball. It was a poor error and summed up his night. He will be better for the run but almost cost Souths two points with a few costly errors. He would be punished following this drop, as a sweeping play to the right saw Vai Toutai barge over to score.
The second half started much like the first ended, with the Eels crossing again. A simple back-line move to the left saw Radradra grab number three for the night. It was a bad read in defence and the Bunnies quickly found themselves down 20-6.
A costly handling error soon after was all Souths needed to hit back. With a set 20 metres out they scored quickly, Kirisome Auva’a scoring untouched in the corner. It was again a simple try, with Parramatta unable to scramble sideways quickly enough.
The try of the season was denied in the 51st minute, as Paul Carter charged down a Norman kick, grubbered with the ball hanging over the sideline, all to be called back for a Reynolds knock on as he dove to score.
It appeared to break the back of the Rabbitohs, and all 16,013 fans were letting them know it. To rub it in, rugby convert Junior Paulo forced a line drop out with a superb last tackle kick. Souths’ night appeared over.
Enter Luke Keary. He came on late and sparked a comeback. It started with an offload to Inglis, who broke down field. The pressure that came on the back of this was too much, and after back-to-back sets Parramatta cracked. Bryson Goodwin the beneficiary and try scorer.
It was a tense last few minutes, the Eels holding on with under five minutes to go. Again Inglis and Keary were involved, as Souths went left again. This time Inglis held off two, some how offloaded, and Goodwin hit Keary with a questionable pass to scoot away to score.
Beau Scott did well to keep him wide, but the kick was good, giving the Rabbitohs a 22-20 lead with 50 seconds to go. The short kick-off was ruled a knock on and the game was done. Souths with the huge comeback late to steal one.
The highlight of the night though was the lovely tribute to Nathan Peats in the ninth minute, with every fan on their feet for a minute’s applause to thank him for his loyal service. I bet he shed a tear up on the Gold Coast watching his now former team do battle.
After the game, coach Brad Arthur said he was aware of the gesture prior to kick-off, and added “it was nice from our fans, they obviously appreciate what Nathan’s done for the club”.
Arthur was happy with the side’s performance, but conceded they let one slip.
“We won all the stats, our completion was good, possession, we had a bit of ball attacking the try line there, we were just a bit down on our execution of our plays. I thought the effort and commitment was first class, at 20-6 we need to be better.”
Souths coach Michael Maguire was over the moon with the result.
“There was a lot against us there, I guess everyone wants the fairy tale and I feel for them, and I guess that creates the swell of momentum against you and that’s why I’m proud of the players,” he said.
I’ll leave it to Michael Gordon to add the final touches.
“In the end it was definitely one that got away.”
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