When it got down to it, Parramatta simply didn’t deserve the 2011 wooden spoon. And they demonstrated that in emphatic fashion with a 32 to 12 victory over official last placegetters, the Gold Coast Titans.
There was still a sloppy final ten minutes where the Titans pulled back two tries, but this time the Eels had well and truly sown up the game before their back-end wobble could undo them again, leading 32 to nil at one stage.
As dominant as the scoreline was, it should be noted that the Titans were inept. They made a good number of breaks but then turned the ball over when pushing one pass too many and their defence was mostly miserable.
Still, it was a promising display for the Eels that will at least give them confidence going into next season, and the Eels should be stoked that two of their young outside backs starred including debutant Ken Sio, with Ryan Morgan also having his best game at the top level in the centres.
Sio came into the game as a late replacement in a reshuffled backline, brought about by Casey McGuire’s absence. Reni Maitua and Luke Burt formed the halves combination, with Sio coming onto the wing to make his NRL debut.
And it wasn’t long before Sio made his presence felt. He was on the end of a Parramatta backline movement that saw him given some space courtesy of a Jarryd Hayne pass. However, Sio still had plenty of work to do, but did it easily to put the ball down out wide and get Parramatta off to a flyer - made better by Luke Burt’s sideline conversion.
Jarryd Hayne then produced one of his trade-mark length of the field tries, pouncing on a kick and then holding off all-comers to again plant the ball down in the corner. No fancy one-handed put down this time, and again Burt nailed the kick and we were up 12 to nil and looking comfortable.
Ryan Morgan then bagged the first of two tries when Nathan Hindmarsh shuffled a ball out wide to his centre. The second of the double saw the young centre power onto a Hayne pass and Morgan took on his opposite and prevailed proving too strong in the contest and getting the ball down.
Hayne was in everything tonight. The next two Eels tries came from cross-field kicks, the first of which landed perfectly into the arms of Ben Smith, while the second near-identical kick managed to avoid all-comers but again Smith was first to the ball, picking up the scraps to score.
With the contest well and truly in the bag and the wooden spoon avoided, the Eels let in two late consolation tries, the latter coming after the buzzer.
And with that a full stop was put on a frustrating year, that will hopefully lead to better things next year. As you look at the Eels 2012 roster, it’s fair to say that the outside backs are where we fall a little short in experience so the pleasing displays by both Sio and Morgan should give Eels fans even more reason to look forward to the next season.
As I write this, the Bulldogs have taken the lead from the Raiders, a result that will see the Eels finish 14th. That’s probably a reasonable reflection of the season - they didn’t have the class to finish sides off this year but next year with a number of marquee signings there won’t be that excuse. We can only hope then that this kind of result, will be far more common in 2012 than it was this year.
There was still a sloppy final ten minutes where the Titans pulled back two tries, but this time the Eels had well and truly sown up the game before their back-end wobble could undo them again, leading 32 to nil at one stage.
As dominant as the scoreline was, it should be noted that the Titans were inept. They made a good number of breaks but then turned the ball over when pushing one pass too many and their defence was mostly miserable.
Still, it was a promising display for the Eels that will at least give them confidence going into next season, and the Eels should be stoked that two of their young outside backs starred including debutant Ken Sio, with Ryan Morgan also having his best game at the top level in the centres.
Sio came into the game as a late replacement in a reshuffled backline, brought about by Casey McGuire’s absence. Reni Maitua and Luke Burt formed the halves combination, with Sio coming onto the wing to make his NRL debut.
And it wasn’t long before Sio made his presence felt. He was on the end of a Parramatta backline movement that saw him given some space courtesy of a Jarryd Hayne pass. However, Sio still had plenty of work to do, but did it easily to put the ball down out wide and get Parramatta off to a flyer - made better by Luke Burt’s sideline conversion.
Jarryd Hayne then produced one of his trade-mark length of the field tries, pouncing on a kick and then holding off all-comers to again plant the ball down in the corner. No fancy one-handed put down this time, and again Burt nailed the kick and we were up 12 to nil and looking comfortable.
Ryan Morgan then bagged the first of two tries when Nathan Hindmarsh shuffled a ball out wide to his centre. The second of the double saw the young centre power onto a Hayne pass and Morgan took on his opposite and prevailed proving too strong in the contest and getting the ball down.
Hayne was in everything tonight. The next two Eels tries came from cross-field kicks, the first of which landed perfectly into the arms of Ben Smith, while the second near-identical kick managed to avoid all-comers but again Smith was first to the ball, picking up the scraps to score.
With the contest well and truly in the bag and the wooden spoon avoided, the Eels let in two late consolation tries, the latter coming after the buzzer.
And with that a full stop was put on a frustrating year, that will hopefully lead to better things next year. As you look at the Eels 2012 roster, it’s fair to say that the outside backs are where we fall a little short in experience so the pleasing displays by both Sio and Morgan should give Eels fans even more reason to look forward to the next season.
As I write this, the Bulldogs have taken the lead from the Raiders, a result that will see the Eels finish 14th. That’s probably a reasonable reflection of the season - they didn’t have the class to finish sides off this year but next year with a number of marquee signings there won’t be that excuse. We can only hope then that this kind of result, will be far more common in 2012 than it was this year.
Replies
As our 2011 season draws to a close, I just wanted to say thanks for the match reports. Once again a fine effort, always enjoy reading them
Cheers,
Murf
Slippery,
You arse was on the line but as I said last night, I have a feeling and sure enough it came true.
Thank god no spoon !!!
Cant wait for 2012 gents see you at trial time.
What little I did see of the game will hold me over the off season.
Great work through the year Phil
And Thanks to the team for giving us a peek at what (hopefully) are things to come.
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