The Parramatta Eels have defeated the Gold Coast Titans 22-12 in tough, warm conditions in Darwin.
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The Titans scored two tries early through Anthony Don and Agnatius Paasi to skip out to an 8-nil lead, before Parramatta struck back with 2 tries of their own to take a 12-8 lead into the break. The Eels’ tries were scored by rookie winger Bevan French and veteran fullback Michael Gordon.
The Gold Coast generally looked to have more options in attack early in the match, but after a slow start the Eels started to look better later in the first half on the back of a glut of possession.
The Titans’ completion rate let them down, and they were also down to 16 men early in the match after Chris McQueen took a knock and went off, never to return.
Konrad Hurrell, who was playing his first match for the Titans after leaving the Warriors mid-season, also went off early in the second half with an injury and didn’t return.
Parramatta scored the only try of the second half after Corey Norman put Kaysa Pritchard away. In the end it was a 3 tries to 3 victory for the Eels, with Michael Gordon’s good night with the boot proving crucial.
Final score
Parramatta 22
Gold Coast 12
Stats
Try scorers (Parramatta): Bevan French, Michael Gordon, Kaysa Pritchard
Top metres gained (Parramatta): Manu Ma’u (146), Semi Radradra (146)
Top tacklers (Parramatta): Danny Wicks (33), Tepai Moeroa (29)
Try scorers (Gold Coast): Anthony Don, Agnatius Paasi
Top metres gained (Gold Coast): Nene Mcdonald (198), Luke Douglas (130)
Top tacklers (Gold Coast): Ryan James (44), Nathan Friend (32), Luke Douglas (32)
The Roar’s NRL MVP votes
3 – Corey Norman (Parramatta) – Had to shoulder the Eels’ playmaking responsibilities pretty much on his own now in the absence of a specialist halfback. Put Kaysa Pritchard over for a try to seal the match in the second half, and his kicking game was solid.
2 – Luke Douglas (Gold Coast) – A big effort in hot Darwin conditions to get through more metres than any other Titans’ forward with 130, as well as coming up with 32 tackles.
1 – Manu Ma’u (Parramatta) – Made the most metres of any forward on the field with 146, while also making 25 tackles in the Darwin heat.
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