With Parramatta entering Round 5 winless many people had written them off before they had even taken the field. But there was something different about the team. A determination. From the opening whistle the team was switched on.
In 5 minutes the Hayne Plane soared over the top of Manly fullback Brett Stewart. Parramatta was a ball of bustling energy. The forwards hitting the ball up strong and Roberts, Hayne and Sandow played with freedom.
Even though Manly soon brought it back to level terms, Hayne sent Sio over in the corner with a perfectly timed pass. As the game went on, the more of an arm wrestle it became. But Parramatta refused to waiver. Eventually Manly's weight of possession early in the second half took it's toll and they hit the lead with about 20 min to go.
However, the Eels refused to give in. Lead forward by the likes of Mannah, Allgood and Moimoi, they fought their way back. With Parramatta trailing by 2 points Ben Roberts stepped around his man but with seemingly no support it looked as if he would take the covering tackle. However, as has been the case when he plays, Hayne cruised up on the inside, like a Ferrari in 4th gear and took the simple pass from Roberts and glided in under the posts.
From there the defence was led by none other than Nathan Hindmarsh. He firstly chased a Jarryd Hayne punt and rattled Stewart into the ground. The next was when David Williams returned another kick into the waiting shoulder of Hindmarsh who responded by placing the Manly winger on his backside. With Parramatta stepping up their intensity Manly's situation became dire.
And then came the final nail in the coffin. Fuifui charged onto a ball 50m from Manly's line and in a run reminiscent of Eric Grothe Snr in his hey-day began charging through the Manly defence. It ended just 5m from the try-line. On the next play Chris Sandow calmly slotted the Field Goal to all but end the any hope Manly had of winning the match.
The game was truly an inspiring effort from the team and was a testament to what can be done when players play with heart and put in every match.
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