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Cronulla conquer Eels, Hayne hurt

Jarryd Hayne of the Eels. (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)
Roar Guru
24th March, 2018
3

An injury to fullback Jarryd Hayne has added to Parramatta’s woes as they slumped to a disappointing 14-4 loss to a determined Cronulla outfit on Saturday night.

It was a dour contest, with neither side looking all too threatening in attack.

In fact, both sides only posted one try each, with Chad Townsend’s boot the difference between the two teams.

It was revealed at half time that the Parramatta outfit were immediately disadvantaged from the outset of tonight’s match after Jarryd Hayne picked up a hip flexor injury whilst striking the opening kick-off.

Ill-discipline was Parramatta’s greatest enemy in the opening half, however, with the Sharks enjoying a 5-0 penalty count in the first forty.

Cronulla opened the scoring courtesy of a Townsend penalty goal. The halfback added to his points tally minutes later when a deft Paul Gallen offload saw Jason Bukuya burst through a hole and link with a sprinting Townsend who was in support.

The Sharks held a commanding 8-0 lead after 17 minutes, yet the Eels responded swiftly when a left-edge raid saw Kirisome Auva’a crash over in the 20th minute.

A penalty for offside in the 25th minute saw Cronulla extend their lead by two before an illegal strip by Nathan Brown handed the Sharks a 12-4 lead at the break.

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Parramatta finally received a penalty of their own in the 53rd minute and had a series of chances to mount a comeback in the second half.

However, much like their opposition, the Eels looked clunky in attack and rarely threatened to break the line.

As a result, a 73rd minute Townsend penalty goal was the only points of the second stanza, seeing the Sharks claim an uninspiring 14-4 win.

Next week, the Eels search for their first win of the year against a fired up Tigers outfit on Easter Monday while the Sharks brace for the Defending Premiers on Friday night.

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