Monday Night NRL: Eels Slip Into Contention

Mon 18 Aug 2008

League Express Extra: Malcolm Andrews reports from Australia on the Monday night NRL match, this week featuring Parramatta Eels v Wests Tigers.

EELS SLIP INTO CONTENTION

PARRAMATTA EELS 40
WESTS TIGERS 12

MALCOLM ANDREWS at Parramatta Stadium

DON’T mention the hoodoo! Wests Tigers tried to ignore it all week.
Indeed, coach Tim Sheens reckoned there was no such thing.
But the hoodoo spirits came back to bite the Tigers as Parramatta Eels posted their eighth straight victory against their near-neighbours.
In doing so, they probably finished the Tigers’ season.
Mathematically Wests can still make the play-offs. But they face Manly and Cronulla and a desperate finals’ hopeful Gold Coast in their final three encounters.
Best of British!
The Eels’ hopes are not much better. But they do have wooden spoon favourites Bulldogs next weekend – a win over which would keep their very slim playoffs hopes alive.
Wests coach Tim Sheens was guarded when asked about his opinion on referee Matt Cecchin, who made several controversial decisions on Monday night and had a running battle all evening with Wests captain Brett Hodgson.
One of the controversial decisions was when Hodgson was tackled and his legs were raised above the horizontal but no penalty was given.
“Finchy [referees’ boss Robert Finch] knows my thoughts on Cecchin. They haven’t changed,” Sheens said. But he refused to elaborate.
And when asked if the referee was the difference between the two sides, Sheens was clear: “You won’t drag me in on that.”
As for Parramatta’s hopes of making the finals, Sheens noted: “They shouldn’t be jumping out of their skin thinking they’re back…because we weren’t good.”
Parramatta’s coach Michael Hagan seemed to agree.
“We know we’ve got to play better in the next few weeks,” he said.
The Eels were quickly on the scoreboard after a bad error by Tigers winger Beau Ryan.
He slipped a very slack offload when tackled 30 metres out from his own line, The Eels pounced on the loose ball.
And in the next set of six, Parramatta centre Joel Reddy threw an overhead pass to the big man on the right flank, Taulima Tautai, who slammed the ball down in the corner.
It was another simple mistake by the Tigers – Chris Lawrence losing the ball in a crunching tackle 30 metres out – that led to the Eels second try.
Quick hands from Brett Finch and Feleti Mateo gave Fuifui Moimoi a clear run for the line.
The Tigers seemed to get an unfair rub of the green when penalised for being offside, when replays showed they were well behind the referee.
But they had no excuse when a couple of tackles later they stripped the ball in front of the posts and conceded a penalty goal that gave the Eels a 12-nil lead.
Parramatta, with 70 per cent of possession, went further ahead when Finch put in a cross-pitch bomb and World Cup reject Nathan Hindmarsh scored.
The Tigers could do nothing right. When Benji Marshall put in a kick along the ground , Kiwi Test star Dene Halatau sped through. But with the line open in front of him Halatau fumbled the ball.
Then Wests’ captain, the Huddersfield-bound Brett Hodgson, lost the ball near the Parramatta line and in the next set of six tackles, Eels winger Tautai was in for his second try at the other end of the pitch.
Rain started to fall and trailing 22-0 the Tigers appeared to be out of the equation.
They needed a bit of luck.
And they got it when the howling gale swept a ball kicked by Parramatta 20 metres out from Wests line backwards. Benji Marshall snapped it up and ran 60 metres to score and give the visitors some hope at the interval.
Chris Heighington got the Tigers within striking distance with a try in the 52nd minute.
But from the restart Kiwi Test winger Taniela Tuiaki fumbled and moments later Jarryd Hayne got the benefit of the doubt to again stretch the Parramatta lead to 16.
And when Feleti Mateo scored with 18 minutes left on the clock it was fait accompli.
Hayne’s second try with six minutes remaining was just icing on the cake.

GAMESTAR: International Jarryd Hayne is back to his best form.

GAMEBREAKER: In the 53rd minute Taniela Tuiaki fumbled the ball from the kickoff after Wests got back into the picture. The momentum was gone!

MATCH FACTS

EELS

1 Jarryd Hayne
2 Taulima Tautai
3 Kris Inu
4 Joel Reddy
5 Tony Williams
6 Kris Keating
7 Brett Finch
8 Nathan Cayless (c)
9 Matt Keating
10 Fuifui Moimoi
11 Nathan Hindmarsh
12 Chad Robinson
13 Feleti Mateo
Subs:
15 Josh Cordoba
16 Todd Lowrie
17 Junior Paulo
19 Weller Hauraki

Tries: Tautai (5, 32), Moimoi (14), Hindmarsh (23), Hayne (54, 74), Mateo (62)
Goals: Inu 6/8

TIGERS

1 Brett Hodgson (c)
2 Taniela Tuiaki
3 Dene Halatau
4 Chris Lawrence
5 Beau Ryan
6 Benji Marshall
7 Robbie Farah
8 Keith Galloway
9 John Morris
10 Bryce Gibbs
11 Bronson Harrison
12 Chris Heighington
13 Liam Fulton
Subs:
14 Ryan O’Hara
15 Ben Te’o
16 Corey Payne
17 Daine Laurie

Tries: Marshall (38), Heighington (52)
Goals: Hodgson 2/2

On report: Gibbs (67) – use of elbow

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Eels: Jarryd Hayne
Tigers: Chris Heighington

Half-time: 22-6
Referee: Matt Cecchin
Video referee: Tim Mander
Attendance: 13,065

SCORING SEQUENCE: 4-0, 10-0, 12-0, 18-0, 22-0, 22-6; 22-12, 28-12, 34-12, 40-12

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