Parramatta produced an inspiring defensive display to cling on for a 13-6 victory over Cronulla on Saturday night in the inaugural Johnny Mannah Cup.
The NRL rivals were united before the match joining the crowd in honouring Mannah, who passed away in January following a battle with cancer, with a moment’s applause.
The occasion brought out the best in Parramatta co-captain Tim Mannah, who produced a whole-hearted performance on a night named after his younger brother.
Mannah, as well as a brace of tries to centre Ryan Morgan, helped inspire the Eels to a courageous win – bouncing back from last round’s 50-0 thrashing at the hands of the Sydney Roosters.
The match itself failed to reach any great heights, with both teams struggling to find their spark or polish in attack and looking far more comfortable defending their own line than crossing the opposition’s.
Cronulla desperately missed the influence of star playmaker Todd Carney (foot), with his replacement Chad Townsend finding the chest of Jarryd Hayne far too regularly with his kicking game.
The Eels scored the only points of the second half, through a 59th minute penalty goal to Chris Sandow – and then a field goal to five-eighth Luke Kelly.
They had a four-point advantage from a mostly dour first half that was highlighted by two fortuitous tries.
Morgan was the beneficiary when a Hayne grubber ricocheted off Cronulla’s Townsend and into the arms of Kelly who sent Morgan over for his second of the evening.
Morgan had earlier shown great pace to get on the outside of Ben Pomeroy and cross out wide for an unconverted try.
Pomeroy finished the match on the bench, taken off with 20 minutes remaining despite not appearing to pick up an injury.
Morgan’s tries were split by a remarkable effort from Cronulla’s Michael Gordon.
The talented fullback regathered a messy bomb before putting in a kick of his own which bounced awkwardly, hitting the crossbar before Eels’ halfback Chris Sandow juggled it into Gordon’s welcoming arms.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
"He's a winner, his side's on top of the table - where's Parra?"
Nicho Hynes is on track to get his first No.7 jersey for NSW with new coach Michael Maguire set to ignore a late push…
The NRL’s crackdown on kick pressure has officially jumped the shark after a crucial call went Cronulla’s way with Storm star Harry Grant ending…
To paraphrase Bill Woodfull, there were two teams out there at Shark Park on Sunday but only one of them was playing wet-weather footy.…
Nicho Hynes has not quite made an undeniable case to be Nathan Cleary’s halves partner for NSW but he should be the first five-eighth…
There is only one way for Cronulla to shake off their reputation for being flat-track bullies. They are off to an impressive start in…
