Highlights: Coote stars as Cowboys beat Eels

He has the same strain of determination, similar to Thurston, where he will just somehow be where he needs to be by reading the play and sheer determination to get to the play.

you guys need better arguments? That is only the second time all year when the Cows have won the penalty count .... the Cows are still the worst penalised team .. for and against in the comp ... are you trying to tell us that the refs are favoring the Cows lol in Parra when the Cows played you the penalty cout was 9 - 4 your way ... lol

I was thinking that too jimmmy, that Coote is playing a bit like Slater, at least defensively. In attack of course he's a bit different but I'd take him over Slater because: a) He's younger and less likely to get injured (touch wood) and b) He fits in with our lineup so well.

Well the scrutiny and the forensics at the NRL mustn't be much good if they haven't learned anything from what happened at the Storm and Bulldogs years ago. There must be something very wrong if a club like the Eels can do what they have done and the NRL has allowed it to happen! This will happen again and the NRL will be made to look amateurish and bad!

It's going to be intersecting with the refs from now on, with professional fouls near the try line with do the bin. Norman deserved the bin, but I doubt if a broncos and storm player (Cam Smith) would get it.

I agree, there certainly is a Cowboys like conspiracy when Sydney clubs are playing in Townsville; maybe we should be complaining more. Norman should have been given 10 as much as Hannatt for deliberately holding down a player when they had a good chance to score, both professional fouls but ruled differently.

Interesting concept. Of course, if they did do that, they'd have to give back Melbourne's two stolen premierships, and probably give the Bulldogs the 2002 one as well. And I don't see chandelier clubs like the Broncos or Roosters batting an eyelid at a $100K fee (fine) to buy a premiership. That's chump change to them.

So what you are saying is that Parramatta shouldn't be penalised because it's not fair on the players and the fans? How else do the NRL respond to this? I think they set a precedent with the Storm (& perhaps the Bulldogs?).

The refereeing will deduct the points from parra well before the NRL going off the last two weeks. What a joke.what a stitch up and I'm not referring to Normans sin binning which was justified. One team was refereed last night. Officials have too big a say in the outcomes of matches and this needs to change. Your losing fans NRL, and quickly sort it.

Yeah they beat the Eels with 12 men, that was real grit? The Eels fans and for that matter all NRL fans should not be the ones panelised to what the officials did with the salary cap at Parra. The NRL should fine the officials at Parra instead of the fans. The Eels are a grand final prospect and a great entertaining side to watch, the NRL cannot take that away from them at this stage of the competition and they should let the Eels play for it and not make it a predictable Broncos vs Cowboys grand final like its looking to be in 2016.

I saw that in the paper and watched the start of the press conference. It is interesting how players reflect their coaches. Corey Norman gave the referee a spray for his sin-binning and then Brad Arthur had a whinge in the conference and wants a "please explain" from the NRL. I am not sure what he wants them to explain. To me and all the commentators it was a clear professional foul. The only issue I could see is that the sin bin has not been used enough this year. That was a clear case for a sin bin this time and it would be great to see more of it. I also think the NRL should be tougher on players giving the refs a gobful. That is not right

Para are a very tough team to play. They came out of the blocks firing and shocked the Cows a bit early on.They were competitive for most of the game until the sin binning but I always thought we had their measure. Coote is playing the way Billy Slater does. He is not quite as influential as Billy but he has a great kicking game which Billy lacks.. I would not swap him for any other FB in the NRL.The way he attacks the rolling ball and his on line defence are outstanding. Thought the headline might be Cows win a penalty count, NRL enquiry proposed.

Eels close but no cigar. Would like to see how the Cowboys go at Shark Park on a Sunday arvo in a good old dog fight. As for Lachlan Coote his cleanup work and kicking game is top notch but he does play in the same team as Thurston which will be sadly different in Origin. As for Tedesco might be hard to be picked when you lose 6 on the trot. And counting.

I hear today that the Eels are complaining about the sin bin of Norman. Clear professional foul and to be honest the Eels were lucky to get close. I think the Eels have been really good this year but not at their best last night. They dropped a heap of ball (67% completion) and the Cowboys made 6 line-breaks to 1. The Cowboys let the Eels back in the game with an intercept and dropped ball resulting in two length of the field tries against the run of play. The Eels have been good this year, but I'm not buying into them being good last night and in no way were they unlucky.

Excellent determination shown by the Cowboys at the back end of the game there. Morgan is an absolute genius. Wish he was a New South Welshman.

Whacking day is coming for Parramatta. That's the way she goes though bud. If you cheat the cap, or cross the "capline" as I call it, be prepared to face the consequences. They were lucky to even be in the game after some uncharacteristic Cowboys errors. But that's the way of the road. Sometimes cheating the cap pays off, other times it doesn't. Shame that the Eels won't feature in the finals, oh wait. They deserve everything that's coming their way. Cowboys displayed true grit tonight, and money can't buy that.

I can't believe Coote won't receive any Dally M points or tasty cheeseburgers out of this. What an injustice.

Well played Cowboys also.