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.
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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.
Cousin Claudio
Roar Guru
I found an NRL Refrees license in my Weet Bix packet this morning. I went to the website and registerd for a referees poosition and got a positive reply almost immediately . I've been handed the Eels v Rabbitohs game on Thursday night as one of the onfield referees, so be nice to me. Does that mean I can't put my winnings on the Rabbitohs again.
thomas c
Guest
As a broncos fan, you get a perverse pleasure watching the cowboys losing, but this ceased being amusing ages ago. It's just grim, bewildering and damaging to a bunch of players who don't deserve the indignity. The coach needs to have a plan to extract some positives from the season. The problem has to be a) the playing group b) poor recruitment of backup players unable to pressure the main squad c) the gameplan or d) sheer bad luck.
Griffo
Guest
There were two forward passes called that looked like they weren't forward passes that otherwise would have been tries. Would it have changed the result? Maybe, but when you make that many errors I'm not sure you deserve to win and quite frankly, the result aside, it's not the kind of performance that inspires one to think that the Cowboys will be lining up in the finals. Changes are required. O'Neill needs to be dropped, Hess back to the bench. I'd bring Lowe back into the starting team. Would be worth throwing Morgan into half back. Thurston has definitely been better in the last few weeks but Morgan needs to be getting his hands on the ball more tobget the best out of him and Thurston is more than capable of playing 5/8. Morgan will be playing there next year anyway and without a drastic change in form this could be a wasted season for the Cowboys. Get what you can out of it.
Griffo
Guest
I thought there was a tiny bit of white visible behind the goal post pad from the side on shot suggesting that he got to the line but it might be just my bias.
Rob
Guest
I'm just stirring the NSW pot. I agree they are completely incompetent but how many are NSW born and bred and where are they get the direction on referring from?
Rob
Guest
Totally agree with you R N but it is what it is. If Green doesn't pick the guys on big money they would have to pay the young blokes incentive payments and put the club in danger of breaching the cap. The day they extend JT, Coote and Winterstein contracts was the day they lost Ponga. Really JT is only playing for personal records IMO. He wanted to play 300 games, he wanted another GF. last year he had to play another Origin game. He was never fit for SOO last year but he selfishly told everyone he was. It's a sad way to go out.
Zedman
Roar Rookie
NSW bias, you haven’t been watching much Nrl this season if you think that. The people officiating the game are incompetent.
R N
Roar Rookie
Why was that comment moderated? There is no proof that O'Neill isn't suffering from the affliction that I suggested he was! In fact I would say there is conclusive evidence that he is!
Zedman
Roar Rookie
Thanks Scotty, i think we have just seen the demise of the Cowboys and they could take awhile to regroup.
R N
Roar Rookie
He cant keep picking essentially the same side and expect a different result! Now the season is gone I would much prefer to see some young guys come in with some enthusiasm and take their medicine than to see the same old guys go around and serve up this rubbish!
Rob
Guest
NSW bias? Some off the rulings have been bewildering this season. The Storm being awarded a penalty after scoring in Dragons game?
R N
Roar Rookie
They go back to Townsville and O'Neill, Coote, Weinterstein, Linnett and Thurston are told their services have been appreciated and they will be remembered as champions by all who follow the cows but the time has come to look to the future... No one likes to put their parents into a nursing home but you still gotta do it!
Rob
Guest
Salary cap? Maybe the old boys are on set payments and other younger players are on incentive based contacts? Can’t have high payed boy not playing. It’s a problem they have created by locking in to many players I believe.
Q-Tip
Guest
What is up with the refs this weekend and calling perfectly fine passes forward? Titans last night and Cowboys tonight. Did the talk about the Maloney pass in Origin get them on edge or something? Cowboys errors were atrocious - can't expect to win playing like that. I just don't understand why Green just keeps persisting with guys like O'Neil who are in awful form (and have been all season). Too attached to the 2015 team.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Thanks for joining me this evening for The Roar's live coverage of the 2018 NRL season as the Parramatta Eels went past the North Queensland Cowboys. Hopefully you enjoyed the call. I'll be back tomorrow afternoon at 4pm (AEST) for the Melbourne Storm and Brisbane Broncos, which should be a better game than this one in all seriousness. Of course, that's not the end of the sport for the night here on The Roar. We have the French Open women's final and Socceroos to come in the next few hours. Bye for now.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Yeah, he looked a broken man didn't he? Thurston himself was pretty shocking tonight really.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Thoughts on the game Roarers?
Tim Gore
Expert
The look on Thurstons face was unlike anything I’ve seen before.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Well, out of the finals for a start. They were awful Tim.
R N
Roar Rookie
Just continuing a weekend of confusing decisions from the refs and the bunker!