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A Bevan French hattrick has secured the Eels a win to end their tumultuous season on a high, running away against the Warriors to win by 22.
Click here for the full match report
Final Score:
Parramtta Eels – 40
New Zealand Warriors – 18
After a tumultuous year of footy, the Parramatta Eels will be looking to end the season on a high as they face fellow non-finalists the New Zealand Warriors. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 4pm (AEST).
Both sides are out of the finals race coming after largely differing seasons, but with the same result.
The Warriors who sit in tenth have been on the cusp of the top eight all year, but faltered when it counts and suffered from the dreaded curse of inconsistency.
On the other hand, the Eels (14th) have enough wins to be in September footy, but a litany of off field troubles has sunk a campaign that began so brightly.
The Warriors have lost three games on the trot coming into this one, while Parramatta bounced back from a loss to the Cowboys in Round 24 with a confidence building win against the Dragons last week.
Mt Smart Stadium hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for the Eels in the past as they make the trip across the ditch for today’s game. They’ve won just five times from 16 games at the venue.
Adding to that, they’ve also lost six straight away games heading into this fixture.
Interestingly, the Eels have the worst attack in the competition, averaging just 11 points per game despite having 12 wins to their name.
But they also have the second best defence in the competition, sitting just behind the Storm with 13 points per game.
The Warriors are right up the other end of the spectrum though, letting in nearly twice as many points a game with the third worst against figures on the ladder.
Team News
Despite some injury worries with his quad, Shaun Johnson has been named to play this afternoon by coach Andrew McFadden.
Elsewhere across the park for the Warriors, try-scoring machine Manu Vatuvei has succumbed to a chest injury and will miss the final game of the year.
Solomone Kata will also miss out, copping a suspension for a dangerous throw on Jordan Rankin during last week’s loss. James Gavet is the final omission for the Warriors, being dropped.
Bunty Afoa has been brought in for Gavet, while Jonathan Wright and Ken Maumalo also make their way into an extended squad alongside Nathaniel Roache.
For the Eels, coach Brad Arthur has made just one alteration to his side, bringing David Gower onto the bench as he also takes an extended squad into game day.
Prediction
Both sides are difficult to pick because you never know what kind of team will turn up on the day.
The Warriors will be bitter about the back end to the season that saw their finals hopes dashed, and they’ll be hungry to put on a big performance at home to finish the year.
The Eels have always had a rough time in New Zealand, and that pain will continue today in a fairly entertaining affair.
Warriors by 10.
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