Parramatta’s disastrous NRL season has sunk to a new low after Mitchell Moses suffered a worrying knee injury in Saturday’s 30-4 thumping to Newcastle.
The Eels’ night started in dire fashion when fullback Bevan French was taken from the field with a concussion in just the second minute and did not return.
In front of a poor crowd of 7719 at ANZ Stadium, things only went from bad to worse for the last-placed Eels on their way to their fifth straight defeat.
After Newcastle opened a 6-0 lead through Jack Cogger off a Moses fumble, the Eels’ injury crisis worsened when the Eels halfback was assisted from the field in the 25th minute.
The Eels were reduced to just 15 men when Moses injured his left knee after being twisted awkwardly in a tackle by Daniel Saifiti.
Initial reports suggested Moses had not damaged his anterior cruciate ligament however looks set for a stint on the sidelines.
With veteran forwards Beau Scott and Tony Williams already out for the year with torn ACLs, another serious injury is the last thing Brad Arthur’s side needs.
The Eels ended the game without a fit player on the bench after Will Smith – who replaced French at fullback – limped off with a hamstring injury and Peni Terepo left for a concussion test.
When Eels centre Michael Jennings was sin-binned for a professional foul on Lachlan Fitzgibbon, the Knights capitalised with Sione Mata’utia diving over to make it 14-0 at the halftime break.
Jennings was lucky not to be cited for tripping while Tepai Moeroa will also be scrutinised by the match review committee after being put on report for a shoulder charge on Chris Heighington.
The Knights came into the game on a four-game losing streak and low on confidence after being flogged 48-10 by Cronulla last week.
However they dusted themselves off to record their biggest win of the season, spearheaded by Saifiti.
Saifiti, who finished the game with 171 metres from 19 runs and 15 tackles, capped off a stellar night with a barge-over try in the 55th minute.
A Josh Hoffman four-pointer with five minutes to go was the Eels’ only joy of the night.
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