Parramatta’s upset 29 to 20 victory over the Sharks may well have saved Stephen Kearney’s coaching career.
With pre-match reports suggesting a loss might well finish Kearney, there can be no suggestion the Eel’s mentor has lost the dressing room as Parramatta’s troops rallied for their coach. Against a Sharks side that was almost faultless in the first half, the Eels scored 23 unanswered points in the second.
The match started promisingly for the Eels, with Jarryd Hayne setting up Ryan Morgan to score untouched and Luke Burt potting the extras from wide for a six to two lead.
However, a couple of undisciplined penalties and mistakes saw the Eels put themselves under pressure and Burt failed to catch a bomb that saw Isaac Gordon score uncontested and the Sharks reclaim the lead.
The Sharks had all the running for the rest of the half. Their very high completion rate, some smart kicking and the Eel’s inability to work themselves out of trouble saw Parramatta with their backs against the wall, as Cronulla basically had the next 15 minutes camped inside the Eel’s red zone. To their credit, Parramatta defended stoutly but eventually the pressure told through a play that was eerily reminiscent of a recent Tigers try. With hooker Degoise turning the ball inside and Ben Smith getting suckered by a decoy runner and failing to get across for an inside runner just as Matt Ryan did in that Wests match.
That error aside, Smith had a strong game back on his return to NRL football and no doubt his presence in the side significantly toughens up the Eel’s defence and resolve.
Cronulla made it three straight tries which pushed them to a 20 to six advantage. The points came after an unfortunate ruling when Luke Burt was adjudged to have knocked on while defending. It was a tough call and Paul Gallen took full advantage barging over from dummy half.
However, whatever Kearney said to his team at half-time worked a treat as the Eels came out with a resolve and determination not seen previously this year.
Ben Roberts again had one of his rocks or diamonds performances, but made a strong bust in the early minutes to put the Eels on the attack. From there, it was left to Jarryd Hayne to use his elusiveness to get to the lines despite plenty of Sharks defenders and the Eels were suddently back in the match at 20 to 12.
Luke Burt had a pretty unhappy first half, which would have been dissapointing considering this match was billed as a contest to celebrate 250 first grade appearances, however in the second half Burt more than made up of for those couple of dodgy first half moments.
He was on the end of another piece of Jarryd Hayne brilliance, with the Eels fullback jinking and drawing in the defence before shooting a cut-out pass to his winger who finished in his trademark professional fashion. Then centre Ryan Morgan cut through the Sharks defence and again found Burt on his outside as the Eels lifted themselves off the floor and back into the lead.
With ten minutes left the play, the subsequent kickoff saw an eery feel in the ground. Too often Parramatta home fans have seen their side with a win in their sights, only to see it snatched away in the final minutes but this time they would not be denied with Hayne grabbing his second try of the night. Joseph Paulo let Ken Sio
Jarryd Hayne was simply stunning last night. With two tries and two try assists he was almost untouchable. However, the Eels had plenty of great touches in the second half and it was a committed, enthusiastic effort that would have left coach Kearney breathing a mighty sigh of relief.
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Now lets set a new club record and get two wins in a row.
Missed the game so no further comment.
Some people say Jarryd Hayne is unpopular with the rest of the team. Some people say Kearney has lost the dressing room. From what I saw and heard last night this is not true.
The biggest improvement I saw was the fluid nature of our attack. We scored from passing the ball, not from kicks, this of course was on the platform provided by the middle players.
Let's not talk of '09 style runs, lets just beat the Rabbits and see who is next
True that Bob, things are prob said out of frustration to each other when things aren't going their way
Hope the boys keep it up cos that was a job well done.
I'm not sure who to believe about the whole throwing of the playbook out the window thing and letting them play what is in front of them.If there is any truth to this in our games against Manly and last nights match then Kearney HAS to keep the boys playing this way. Thier attacking plays were really quite lethal and would strike fear into even the most defensive of teams.
Also, How good was it seeing people just bounce off the Fui Fui express. I smell Moi Moi try coming!!!
Smart play from dummy half and more speed from the halves approaching the line was the catalyst for the phases of attack with crisp ball movement. I am liking MK, not as a leader but his vision is becoming apparent.
And yes My Bob, one game at a time. The way it should be.
I swear it felt like we had won a grand final
I wanted that win soooo badly.
So are there still any MK baggers left? 50+ tackles last night, and as HH said very smart dummy half work.
MK '12 the most improved player in the side.
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