Eels Blogs

FOUR & PLENTY OF HOPE FOR EELS FANS
adam lucius
LOOK out Penrith – we’re coming for you.

That’s the message from a buoyant Parramatta camp after the Eels’ bid to bury 36 years of premiership pain was given a massive shot in the arm following a 22-14 win over Melbourne that sealed an all-important top four berth on Thursday night.

The Eels will meet minor premiers – and their great western Sydney rivals – Penrith in week one of the finals, emboldened and full of belief after two wins over the Panthers earlier in the season.

“The serious part of it starts now. We know what’s ahead of us next Friday. We’ve got a massive opportunity,” confident Eels coach Brad Arthur said. “Penrith’s going to be nice and fresh and rested (and playing) at home, but it’s something we’re looking forward to.

“We’re playing well at the right time of the year and we’ve put ourselves in a good position. It’s up to us now whether we’re willing to go and grab the opportunity.”

Skipper Clint Gutherson added: “It’s the battle of the west, a sellout crowd, and we’re looking forward to it.”

The Storm were the big losers from the winner-takes-all shootout at a raucous CommBank Stadium, slipping to fifth on the table and into a sudden-death elimination final against Brisbane or Canberra.

It’s the first time in eight years Craig Bellamy’s team has failed to nail down a top four berth.

No team has won the competition from outside the four under the top eight system and injury-hit Melbourne don’t look capable of turning history on its head.

“It’s hard. To win the comp you’ve got to win four games in a row. It’s is difficult,” Bellamy said about finishing outside the top four.

Immortal Andrew Johns believes Parramatta can go all the way to the grand final after snatching fourth spot.

“They play a style of footy that really worries the top teams. They’re healthy, confident and building momentum,” Johns said.

The Storm looked rattled early as Parramatta, roared on by a huge home crowd, looked to make an early statement of intent.

Melbourne handed the Eels possession and field position through a series of mistakes and it was only a matter of time before they paid the price.

Parramatta’s dominance was rewarded on 13 minutes.

Dylan Brown was grounded but not held as he speared between two defenders, quickly bouncing to his feet and surging over the line.

The Eels looked better than the 6-0 scoreline implied but just couldn’t press home their advantage as the half wore on.

Mitchell Moses (left) added a penalty goal to stretch the lead to eight but Melbourne stayed in the fight.

The home side started the second half as they did the first, putting Melbourne further under the pump with a brilliant try four minutes after the resumption.

Reed Mahoney, Moses and Clint Gutherson combined in a slick exchange of passes on their right edge to send Will Penisini over.

Moses nailed the sideline conversion to put his side 14-0 up and it suddenly looked a long way back for the Storm.

CommBank Stadium specialist Maika Sivo further sabotaged Melbourne’s planned revival, running onto Gutherson’s sublime cut-out pass and racing 35m for his 36th try in as many appearances at this ground.

The Storm rallied late with two tries to reduce the deficit to just eight inside the last 90 seconds, but Cameron Munster’s missed conversion from almost in front ended hope of a miracle comeback.

MOSES MAKES MARK

Andrew Johns told us to ‘mark that moment down’ after Moses ironed out Melbourne forward Kenny Bromwich with a thunderous hit early in the second half.

The tackle – lethal and legal – forced a shaken Bromwich from the field. Moses is renowned for his attacking brilliance but has added muscle in defence to his CV.

Johns said: “The last three weeks are the best I’ve seen him (Moses) play. He’s been in total control.”

“He’s got a big finals series coming up.” — with Jen Dawson and 3 others.