It was a night where supposedly a storm, and we’re talking in the most literal sense of the word, was meant to threaten. But the gods would not be so cruel to rain on this Blue and Gold parade and the dark clouds were kept at bay and a remarkably moderate night ensued. Unfortunately, the threat dampened the crowd which was less 8,000 people but every person who snubbed their nose at the storm warning was rewarded with a night of pure, unadulterated entertainment that climaxed with a magnificent and deserved victory.
As reported exclusively on 1Eyed Eel during the week, Tom Humble was brought onto the Eel’s bench at the expense of Matt Keating while Eric Grothe was replaced by Kris Inu.
The Eels started spritely but a penalty that would put the Storm on the attack in the opening minutes would prove costly. Once again a kick behind the line found the Eels wanting, Cronk and Slater combining in an oh-too-familiar fashion for the opening points. Cameron Smith converted and the Storm were up by six.
If the Eels were to replicate the level of enthusiasm and effort produced in the previous two weeks, this scoreline would surely have rapidly advanced but this was a different Parramatta Eels. The forwards muscled up. Our halves asserted themselves. And the second phase play which makes the Eels the most entertaining side in the competition started to click into gear. Forget grinding this match out. Often times, one was left to gasp at the balls that were sticking and the Eels found themselves marching up field against a Storm outfit that had fired its shot and didn’t seem to have another barrel loaded.
The Eels went with a different attacking formation this week. While Kris Keating and Jarryd Hayne have played on opposite sides of the field all year, tonight the Eel’s best two playmakers worked in tandem and it proved a winning combination. A right-side attack saw Joel Reddy able to stay alive in a tackle and a misread by the Storm winger left Krisnan Inu unmarked to come up with the Eels first try. Parramatta went the same way again for their second. Keating found Hayne looping into the backline and the brilliant Eels fullback stepped around his defender and then lobbed the ball to Joel Reddy to bring up the Eels second. Burt would miss the second, after converting the first from a similar angle but the ten nil lead we would carry through to the break was deserved.
Having led by a similar margin to the Sharks a fortnight early no Eels fan went for their mid-mark refreshments feeling overly confident and indeed when play resumed the Storm should have laid on points. First they were disallowed a try when Cameron Smith held onto the ball for too long resulting in a obstruction when the Storm always had numbers and a much earlier ball would still have almost certainly led to points. Then a long-range break from a kick to the flanks looked certain to bring up a spectacular try, but Tommy Humble, thrust into the action as dummy half came from the heavens to make an important covering tackle.
The Eels then launched a long-range counter-attack that threatened to come to an end when Luke Burt was hemmed in on his wing. However, Burt has an uncanny ability to come up with the right option in these types of circumstances and he put his boot to the ball and the high, spiralling kick bamboozled all those who attempted to bring it down and instead it rolled a way into the path of Joel Reddy to land his second. Burt converted and would then land a penalty from in front to take the score out to 18 to 6 and a full two converted try advantage.
With Eel’s spirits soaring, the fans didn’t need a lot of encouragement to truly find their voice but they were lent a hand when the game’s two best fullbacks squared off against each other. Either both players will miss Origin, or the code will take the sensible option to turn a blind-eye - Hayne guilty of a playful head-butt and Slater for a retaliatory forearm chop. The latter incident saw Slater go to the bin, followed by Daniel Mortimer for the square-up send-off after he was adjudged to be third-man in. I figure Dan is so comparatively short, that it should only figure as the 2nd and a half man in.
Mind you, you got a sense of the feeling that managed to embroil this game when the mild-mannered Burty was in the midst of the altercations. The Storm by now had lost the plot, Cameron Smith whining to the referee that his poor diddums side didn’t have anything to play for.
The Eels were kind enough to put the Storm out of their misery when a brilliant passage off passing from the Eel’s forwards saw Nathan Hindmarsh hold up a ball for Kris Keating - who capped off a nice night by punching the ball to the heavens in glee.
The Storm kept going close. Brett White and that Duffie kid on the wing got close but were denied the cigar. Eventually, they got their consolation. A Greg Inglis try from a Brett Finch kick. Too little, too late fellas.
The Eels fans roared as the siren blew and the victory sung was song. Melbourne’s fans and players were wished a very fond return south as Eels supporters left the ground with renewed hope, their hearts filled with pride as one through to seventeen played like a die-hard Eel.
This really was a week that could have gone one of two ways. The season could have fallen apart or the Eels could pull together and set their sights on reclaiming what is rightfully there’s. The NRL Premiership trophy. 2009 is gone. Tonight the players let us built that bridge and put it behind us. Now, it’s about extending that bridge all the way through to October so as we can lay claim to that ultimate prize and let nobody deny us.
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Definitely one to keep the home fires burning! In Ando we trust :)
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