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Parramatta’s Jarryd Hayne has celebrated his anticipated injury comeback in style, scoring two tries and playing a hand in a third in the Eels’ 20-14 NRL win over North Queensland in Darwin.
» Click here to read the full match report
Final score
Parramatta Eels 20
North Queensland Cowboys 14
It’s approaching the mathematically impossible for the Parramatta Eels as they get set to take on the desperate North Queensland Cowboys in Darwin. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 7:30pm (AEST).
The Eels have had a disastrous first half of 2018 and with just two victories from their first 14 games, they now sit at the bottom of the table needing to virtually win every remaining game for a crack at the finals.
Of course, the chance of that happening is in the same basket as zero, so for Parramatta, it’s now time to focus on playing for pride, defending the jersey and trying to lock down contracts into the following years.
It could start tonight, but a match against the Cowboys, who are finally starting to show signs of life, will be anything but easy. Add to that it’s being played in hot and humid Darwin, and it gets even tougher.
The Eels have actually won three of their four games in Darwin, but they lost to the Cowboys at the venue last year, with the conditions generally suiting the team from Townsville over the Eels.
It’s going to be similar tonight, with the forecast temperature during the day into the 30s and dropping to about 28 for kick-off with humidity at around 60 per cent. In a nutshell, that’s not nice weather for rugby league.
Parramatta will be further up against it without Mitchell Moses, who injured his knee last week. While they get Corey Norman back, the forwards have been belted this year and if they can’t fix that, it won’t matter who is playing in the halves.
The Cowboys also had a pretty dismal start to the season, but with two close losses to the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Melbourne Storm preceeding a win over the Manly Sea Eagles, they are starting to get their mojo back.
Last year’s grand finalists and widely tipped pre-season favourites have only won four of their first 13 and would likely need to win nine of their last 11, but after last year’s incredible run, they won’t give up hope of turning things around.
Tonight is a chance for them to run up a score, get their attack flowing with Michael Morgan seemingly finding some form at Origin level and put a team to the sword.
Whether it happens or not though, could well determine whether the Cowboys begin playing only for pride in the next fortnight or not.
Prediction
The Eels are demoralised. Without Moses and in difficult weather, they could be handed an absolute beatdown here. If Johnathan Thurston is anywhere near his best, the Cowboys will hammer them.
Cowboys by 16.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of this Round 14 match from 7:30pm (AEST) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.