Match Report: Eels make Titans looks small

Parramatta has set up a blockbuster clash with the Bulldogs after comprehensively outpointing the Gold Coast Titans tonight 27 to 2. While the Titans got off to a good start and had the first couple of opportunities, the Eels soon gained the ascendancy and really never looked like being beaten. Led up front by Fuifui Moimoi, the Eels rolled forward all match before Jonothan Wright, finished a mighty game, with an individual try from a scrum. The match started with an injuries playing a key factor in the first 15 minutes. On the 4th tackle, Titans lock Ashley Harrison suffered a head clash with Todd Lowrie and was required to leave the field. Despite that misfortune, the first chance of the clash came for the Titans when hard on the attack, Scott Prince grubbered behind our line for his outside men. The Eels backline were left hopelessly flat footed but Jarryd Hayne showed great awareness to swoop across and bat the ball over the touch. The Titans were then presented with a penalty right in front, which they took, and Prince put them two points ahead. Looking back, the Titans might have chanced their hand. The penalty released all the pressure they had built and if they were going to get on top of the Eels they really needed an early penalty. Injury again struck, this time against the Eels. Daniel Mortimer suffered a nasty hip pointer injury when hit late after kicking the ball. Earlier in the year, this would have been automatically penalised and placed on the report, but not in finals football apparently. Mortimer tried to battle but soon left the field, with Feleti Mateo coming on to drop into the number six position. The ability to bring on a player of Mateo's quality to slot into the halves is a real bonus, and he immediately showed why scoring a try after brushing off Titans second rower Anthony Laffranchi. Burt converted and the Eels were up 6 to 2 now and well on the ascendancy. We had plenty of ball in the ensuing 15 minutes but couldn't quite come up with points, until Jeff Robson, who had a great first half placed a perfect cross field chip across the Titans line, which was plucked out of the air by Ben Smith, as he so often does. Burt converted again to make it 12 to 2, which was a score line more in keeping with the run of the play. In fact, it should probably have been more with the online remaining score a Jarryd Hayne field goal right on halftime to send the boys into the sheds leading 13 to 2. The Titans have made a bit of a habit of mounting come backs and they came out in the second half fired up and created a few opportunities for themselves, but once again the Eels defence could not be breached. They looked quite flat at times, and no doubt the short turnaround was making things tough for them in the second halves, but they hung in their refusing to allow points, although Matt White went agonisingly close when he dropped the ball over the line. In the 60th minute, the Eels effectively put the match beyond doubt when a nice interchange of passes saw Jonothan Wright put Luke Burt away down the flank, before Burt stepped back in field looking for support, and then finding Kevin Kingston who raced away to put down under the posts. The conversion made it 19 to 2. Wright, who had a couple of dusty moments in the first half trying to tackle Chris Walker, really came into his own as the match wore on, and he completed his redemption from the Round 26 match against the Dragons by scoring a great individual try hitting the ball up off a scrum win and brushing off Titans prop Luke Bailey in the process. With no-one at the back, the tongue came out, and the young Eels centre touched down under the sticks. Another easy Burty conversion pushed the score out to 25 to 2, and then with the game well in control in the dying minutes, Burt made it five from five with a simple penalty goal to finish off the clash. Now, the Bulldogs beckon. There must be real doubt as to whether Daniel Mortimer will be right for the match, while the Dogs are confident of having Kimmorley return for the game. It's going to be played in front of a massive crowd and could just be the game of the year. That's all that stands between the Eels and an unlikely, but magnificent, grand final appearance.

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  • That was awesome...
  • Fantastic .. we are 2 wins away .. I can't believe it!
  • Parra Parra ... Go you good things! Hayne was quite tonight, and morts with a little problem, and we still blitz them! how cool was that. Fui was amazing, and Wright redeemed himself a long long way!
    AWESOME
    • Moimoi and Wright were brilliant. Ben Smith had another blinder too. AND Lowrie carved them up also.
  • lowrie was a beast tonight, cmon sign him up.
    • He had ana awesome game!
  • We just absorbed and absorbed the pressure..... We won it with our defence. Attack was good but they just got frustrated because they were never going to get over the line. Go the MIGHTY MIGHTY EELS
  • Whoooaaa!! that was not a pretty win even though we won comfortably in the end the result to me was ugly the boys looked very tired and fatigued but full credit they still slugged it out, and the best thing that came out of it was no tries were scored defence was great ...................................but these guys had a big inpact on the gamae

    Fuo Fui What can you say the Big man was just Brilliant made the hard yards and deservedley man of the match

    Special Mention and I will put my hand up and be honest i have bagged the absolute shit out of Todd Lowrie over his performance at the eels over the last 3 years but this guy had a blinder tonite high work rate never gave up it was Hindy Like a machine like performane

    Jeff robson after Morts went off this guy really stepd up he had a big job to do minus his partner in crime and him and Mateo really gelled well !!!
    • Who wouldn't be tired and fatigued playing a game like that. Geez! sometimes some fans are never happy! It was a good win, our defence was fantastic, the titans didn't score one bloody try for gods sake. Credit where credit is due, they were good tonight! I agree with your praise of Lowrie and Fui ofcourse. And your right about Robson, would not have been easy without Mortimer. Hindy was his usual quiet achiever too!!
  • I knew all week that Parra's defence held thekey to who was going to win tonight. Both teams could score points, but Gold Coast's defence has been dodgy for the latter half of the year. If Parra were to win, it wasn't going to be in a pointscoring shootout, we had to defend.
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