Here we go again, Manly and Parra. Any time either team went ahead, the gap would start to narra’.
In what was easily the game of the season thus far after three rounds, Parramatta emerged victorious just like they did in the classic beer commercial after they pumped them, bumped them, picked them up and dumped them in a 28-24 thriller worthy of any against-the-odds script for a TV advertisement.
Eels halfback Mitchell Moses is not fully fit due to a nagging injury but he was still able to conjure up a five-star display to lead his team to victory after conceding a 14-point lead early in the contest.
Manly have been talked up as potential top-four prospects after upsetting Souths and the Roosters in the opening rounds but Parramatta have now entered the chat when it comes to teams that could rival the big guns at season’s end.
With five-eighth Dylan Brown also back in peak form, Parramatta have one of the best halves combinations in the NRL and with prop Junior Paulo and fullback Clint Gutherson offering alternate points of attack, they have the variety to test even the best defensive lines.
Bunker ruffles Sea Eagles’ feathers
Manly were left fuming over a controversial Bunker call late in the match which denied them the chance to cut an eight-point gap to two when a Tolu Koula try was called back because of a supposed obstruction.
Luca Moretti was supposedly “denied the chance to push forward” to tackle Tom Trbojevic in the lead-up even though the replays showed he had stopped moving towards the fullback as he sped through a gap.
Sea Eagles forward Jake Trbojevic, who was pinged for getting in Moretti’s way, was perhaps calling out something about the “ruck” when the Bunker’s verdict was handed down on the big screen.
Fox League commentator Corey Parker said Moretti was done and “he had clocked off” before being reprieved by the Bunker.
Greg Alexander said Trbojevic should have known not to stop in the line because the Bunker doesn’t use common sense.
“We don’t use commonsense in the Bunker. Common sense says that’s a try. Black and white, Jake stops in the defensive line, end of story.”
Eels fans will claim it was karma because the final pass from Tom Trbojevic to Koula was possibly forward although the star fullback looked to have put his hands well in front of his body to spiral the ball backwards as he ran at full tilt before copping a whack from Gutherson for his troubles.
“I don’t think he was going to get there, but he played to the rules,” was Manly skipper Daly Cherry-Evans.
Manly coach Anthony Seibold was measured in his response to questions about the refereeing.
“I need to be really careful what I say here but I think the management of the game changed a little bit there after 14-0,” Seibold said.
“I think they started to get some calls their way, some field position and possession and they’re a good enough side to take it.
“There were certainly some things we can work on but it was a fair game of footy right, both sides were in the contest.”
Eels dig deep for RCG milestone
Celebrations for Parramatta prop Reagan Campbell-Gillard’s 200th NRL match were subdued after the death of his brother earlier this week and coach Brad Arthur said the team was united by the goal to put in a performance to make him proud.
Parramatta’s players wore black armbands as a mark of respect for their teammate’s tragic loss.
“We were playing for Reg. He’s shown plenty of resilience the last couple of seasons and he’s had a lot of things not go his way on the field,” Arthur said. “He always puts his teammates first and today, we needed to put him first.
“It’s been tough, (the loss of) his mother and then his brother but he has never shied away from his responsibility for the team. We needed to repay him today.”
Pendulum swings back and forth
Manly made mince meat of the Eels early and after an early penalty goal, they went the distance when they spread the ball wide from inside their red zone for Reuben Garrick to sprint down the right flank before kicking inside for Tom Trbojevic to make it 8-0.
They were ahead of the clock in the 12th minute when Daly Cherry-Evans and Luke Brooks combined to put Jaxson Paulo over in the corner, exploiting former teammate Morgan Harper’s defence out wide.
A different Paulo changed the momentum of the match. Eels coach Brad Arthur kept Junior Paulo on the bench for the first quarter of the match and after Will Penisini had put the home side on the scoreboard by collecting a bomb, the NSW prop produced a perfect pass for Mitchell Moses to reduce the gap to two.
Junior Paulo is tackled. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Paulo stood in a Ben Trbojevic tackle and offloaded away from Brooks’ clutches to send Moses over the stripe.
His ability to absorb the impact of the tackle, spin and slip the pass to his teammate was top class from a player often described as a halfback trapped in a front-rower’s body.
The Eels hit the front in the 34th minute when debutant centre Blaiza Talagi scorched his way over for a try on debut. The former junior representative star crashed through a Tom Trbojevic tackle after he was on the receiving end of a slick scrum move to make it 16-14.
But the Sea Eagles struck back on the stroke of half-time when Garrick dummied his way past the scrambling defence after DCE possibly knocked on in the lead-up play.
The pendulum swung back to Parra four minutes after the restart when Harper touched down in his first match against Manly when Dylan Brown floated a superb pass over the top.
Kelma Tuilagi, after there were fears the previous week that he’d be out long term with a shoulder injury after a big hit against Penrith went wrong, put the Eels up by eight when he touched down against his former side, benefiting from Moses’ lightning quick hands to put him over.
After the Koula no-try, the Eels stretched out to a 28-18 buffer via a penalty goal heading into the final 10 minutes and when Corey Waddell carried a couple of defenders over in the 73rd minute, the Sea Eagles had a glimmer of hope.
But the Eels managed to hold out their retro rivals to show they can be finals contenders again this season after petering out to a 10th-placed finish last year.
Paulo is a reluctant bench weapon but Arthur praised the NSW representative for his selfless attitude.
“I’m really happy how Junior is playing, and for the group, because of his attitude,” Arthur said. “He wants to start but he’ll do what’s best for the team.
“He changes the course of the game for us and he’s done that two weeks in a row. He could’ve kicked stones, but he hasn’t, he’s been a great leader.”
with AAP
Ouch
Roar Rookie
yeh, when i heard Moses was injured i assumed it was a shoulder injury cause he was waving his hands around so much
Tony
Roar Guru
Sad, lonely troll
Phil Browne
Roar Rookie
Tony why is Rugby an International sport and Rugby League can't grow?
Phil Browne
Roar Rookie
Sad, lonely troll
Tony
Roar Guru
Sad, lonely troll :laughing:
Phil Browne
Roar Rookie
Isn't it sad Tony. You're the first to attack every other football code but as soon as the 2 state sport gets laughed at the person is a sad lonely troll haha
Tony
Roar Guru
Sad, lonely troll :laughing:
Hoy
Roar Guru
IF Jurbo kept moving forward, he would have blocked the defence more than what he did when he pulled up early. There should be common sense on that one... there was no way he was going to get there... he could have, had he kept jogging past Jurbo, before but the Eels player stopped with him, and missed the jump then. Turbo was gone by then. Waving your arms around once you put yourself out of the play should not be a way to earn a penalty.
Carlos Marrickvillian
Roar Rookie
Hilarious Manly player blows try by committing a lazy foul and you're all crying about the ref stealing the game from you. Manly lost because they couldn't match it with the Eels forwards. Hopgood, Matterson, RCG and Paulo owned your middle , half your team clocked off after you got ahead and Moses / Brown were more effective than DCE/Brookes. Though to be honest I actually hope your salty delusions are also reflective of the Manly players and coaching staff... If so it'll be one less team for Parra to worry about.
billyg
Roar Rookie
was there not a Manly 2 metre forward pass in the in goal from a kick off - Vossy and Brandy blew up about it then quickly forgot about it as Manly went in for their 3rd try. They then praised Manly for their great work :laughing: :laughing: Thats one referee error that has been glossed over.
Dualcode
Roar Rookie
I guess a team either lives (wins) or dies (loses) by the bunker going haywire again.
KenW
Roar Rookie
Not sure if you meant to reply to me with that one. Yeah it probably was marginally forward but I wouldn’t have bothered to bring that up. Line ball and seen worse get let go.
Tom G
Roar Rookie
Oh so it was a forward pass too now :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:
Tom G
Roar Rookie
They couldn’t match the weight of possession given to the Eels by Gough who let the crowd referee the game
KenW
Roar Rookie
Makes zero difference to whether Brooks ran behind the decoy and whether Jurbo stopped in the line. But yeah he wouldn't need pace, if he'd just been able to keep trotting across without the interference Tom would have run right into him.
Brett Allen
Roar Rookie
Mitch is just passionate, lol !!!
Brett Allen
Roar Rookie
Lol
Brett Allen
Roar Rookie
They’ve got to get a 50/50 call to win one !!!
Carlos Marrickvillian
Roar Rookie
Nonsense Jurbo stopped in the line its a penalty. Jurbo blew the try if he'd taken a few more steps Manly would've had a forward pass try awarded to them. Manly lost because their forwards could not match it with Parra's. They were out muscled and out played. So much so that the slowest winger in the NRL (who isn't even a winger) Harper was able to stroll over for a try because your whole team was compressed just trying to deal with the threat of Paulo, Hopgood, Matterson and Lane who were carving you up with offload after offload.
Carlos Marrickvillian
Roar Rookie
I loved how RCG just let him slap him in the face and laughed at him. Basically goaded him into getting himself marched. Was very stupid by Aloiai, between the high contact and striking he may be out for a week.