Parramatta Eels NYC side
1 Anthony Layoun
2 Haze Dunster
3 Tuimavave Afualo
4 Noel Aukafolau
5 John Fonua
6 Dean Matterson ©
7 Troy Dargan
8 Sean Keppie
9 Denzal Tonise ©
10 Frank Salu
11 Filia Utoikamanu
12 Salesi Faingaa
13 Steve Dresler
Interchange
14 Reed Mahoney
15 Tangi Hokai
16 Dylan Clifford
17 Oregon Kafusi
18 Kamren Cryer
19 Mitch Butfield
20 Dom Murphy
Some good play from Manly down their right edge as they do well to create an overlap but the scramble defence from the Eels is equal to the task and the touch judge finds a forward pass against the home team.
Afualo jumps out of dummy half down the right edge. Appeals for a penalty as he is held down but nothing is forthcoming. Tonise has a carry next before Matterson plays out to the left for Dargan. The ball to his link men outwide is off the mark and Fonua goes back to dive on it. There is a charge down on the last and Matterson tries to clean it up but it takes a helpful bounce for Manly and they get a huge change to go on the attack.
Bit of luck for the Eels though as the Sea Eagles drop the ball working it towards the posts.
Salesi Faingaa takes the hit up from the scrum win and earns the Eels their first penalty in my presence and the touch finder is marked 5m short of halfway. Salu carts the ball into Manly’s half before Matterson makes an incisive run through the ruck and links up with Steve Dresler who crashes through the supporting defenders to score! Good play.
Try scored by THE DRESLER. Conversion successful.
Eels lock the score up at 6-all
14min
Dunster takes the wide kick off and feeds the ball to Salu. Faingaa and Dresler follow up the guts. Tonise jumps out of dummy half down the left but is well contained by the ruck defence. Utoikamanu rounds out the set before Dargan drives the ball flat and deep. Momentum swing for Parra now as Manly make another error – this one deep in their half.
Scratch that. The Eels go for a big set play down their right edge as Layoun chimes in but he loses the ball heading into contact. Wasted chance and it gets worse.
The Sea Eagles take the ball down their left edge early in the reply set and cut through the front line. Soft stuff there. Dunster tries to recover to drive his opposite into touch but the ball is sent away via offload and Dresler gives a heroic chase but can’t make up the ground needed to save the try as Manly go over out wide.
Try scored by the Sea Eagles. Conversion successful.
Manly lead 12-6
19min gone
Filia is too eager from marker, looking to make a big defensive play, and he jumps the gun. Penalty to Manly. Manly resume play on half way as they work the ball from right to the middle before coming back to the right edge where they drop the ball. Good pressure from the defensive line contributed to that as well as a sub-par pass.
Dargan feeds the scrum and links up with Fonua who takes it to the line. Faingaa steams into the line but has the ball popped loose by a well positioned shoulder in the greasy conditions. Need better ball security here. There is some sloppy defence up the middle as the home team make a few who tackle breaks. Manly build to a right edge movement but Noel Aukafolau makes terrific contact as he jams up.
The Sea Eagles kick back to Haze Dunster who climbs high and makes a perfect catch before he is taken in the air and driven in goals but the referee points to a line drop out. Baffling call there.
Eels under the pump now as the home team work the ball back into the red zone. They come back to their right edge where they look to have an overlap. The Eels push up and try to take away the time to play the ball but Dargan is caught arm-grabbing as Manly double pump via their fullback and he brushes passed to score. Soft, soft, soft.
Try scored by the Sea Eagles. Conversion unsuccessful by Layoun.
Manly lead 16-6
25min gone
Fonua kicks off deep and to Manly’s right edge and the Eels get the break they need as the Se Eagles cough the ball up on first tackle. Big chance here but the boys need to keep their composure. Errors have hurt them badly to date.
Dargan finds Matterson from the scrum who in turn hits Faingaa dow the right. Afualo feeds teh ball to Salu on the second. Dargan has a bit of redemption now as he marshals the ball down the left edge and rifles a nice cut out pass to Matterson on the double block play. Dean then passes to Layoun who has men on his outside but steps back against the sliding defence to cross over out wide. We needed the reply on the scoreboard there. Goof stuff.
Try scored by Layoun. Conversion unsuccessful by Layoun.
Eels trail 10-16
29min gone
Salu is the kickoff option in this set. The ball is blatantly raked out by the defenders and the referee responds in correct fashion as the penalty comes. Play resumes 15m short of halfway. Salu is back for his second carry on the second tackle but undoes the good work of just prior with a sloppy play the ball that is quickly called up.
Aukfolau makes a good double effort down the right edge as the Eels start to show some starch in defence. Manly come down their left for the last tackle option and roll it in behind but Layoun is perfectly placed to field it. Dunster has the ball reefed out on the next play and a penalty follows.
Afualo and Faingaa with the early runs here before Dargan nearly puts Filia through a gap. Half break and on the next play the Eels get the penalty for offside defenders. We play to the right from the tap. Dresler crashes into the line and looks to offload but it is simultaneous with the held call. Play comes back. Matterson looks to have crashed over but he is called short and somehow the Eels have 6-again. What happened there? Who cares, the Eels have the ball back.
Dargan runs left and is tackled and the Eels then come back to the posts but play quickly halts as the Manly hooker drops cold. That was a non contact leg injury. Not a good look.
Set play from the Eels from the delayed restart as Dargan and Matterson are stacked to the right. Clean ball from Mahoney, Dargan and Matterson in that order sees Dunster flying onto the pill in the right corner. Manly get two defenders over to meet him on the cutback but he rolls through the contact and gets the ball down! We are back in business, folks!
Try scored by Dunster. Conversion unsuccessful by Layoun.
Eels trail 14-16
36min gone
Keppie and Tonise first up before Mahoney has a neat dart. The Eels run it down their right late in the count and Afualo rolls it in behind the line with a shallow grubber over half way. Bold kick and Dunster gives chase but the ball beats him into touch. Not sure if that was the percentage play there. Manly ball on their 30m line.
Error from Manly as they come out of their half. Big chance with 2min left. Afualo carries defenders down the right edge but there is huge flare up following his carry. Pushes and shoves from the marker and Afualo and then players come flying in. Didn’t spy punches but it happened very quickly. Time is off, obviously.
Welp. 10min for Tui now. Must have been a punch thrown. The Manly defender follows. The penalty will go to Manly. 90sec left for the Sea Eagles to make something happen. Play resumes on halfway.
Good first up tackle from the Eels. Manly play down their right but the Eels have good line speed again. Back to the ruck for Manly and then the right again. Dresler with the stiff shoulder now. Good defensive set as the Eels take a diving interception on the last via Dean Matterson. Shades of Odell Beckham Junior there as he mitts it in one hand.
The Eels roll the ball up the middle to bring an end to a frenetic half.
Half Time
Manly Sea Eagles 16 lead Parramatta Eels 14
Second Half
The Eels are receiving the ball in the second half.
Reminder that both teams are down a player for around 5-6min to start the half.
Keppie up first in the second half. Dunster and Tonise follow. Early kick from Matterson but it is well tracked by the fullback before Salese frocks his world. The Sea Eagles recovery nicely from the hit though and drive the ball deep into Parra’s half before bombing Fonua, who lets the ball bounce and is then bundled in-goals. Wrong option there.
Pressure is quickly off the Eels though as Manly drop the ball off a bad pass on the right movement.
Hokai is on for Keppie I believe as the Eels lose the ball as they enter Manly’s half. The rain is trickling in but the errors have been there since the start. Need to tighten it up.
The home team picks up a penalty when the Eels are pinged for holding down and get another fantastic attacking opportunity. Pressure on once more.
Manly work the ball from the left to the posts but the Eels defend strongly and the ball pops out. Some minor push and shove follows. Parra ball.
Plenty of time off as there is a bloody Manly player. Looks like his snoz got some tough love.
Utoikamanu carts in up from the scrum. Aukafolau follows but there is a loose offload on the third tackle and the Eels lose a chunk of metres. Hokai carries the ball to bring up the last and the Eels run it down their right edge before Dunster hoofs it infield. Decent kick considering.
Nice grass cutter tackle from Mahoney late in the count. Manly will get an attacking kick away and look towards the edge of Aukafolau and Dunster. There is a superb leap and take from the Manly chase and they race over to score as a result.
Try scored by the Sea Eagles. Conversion successful.
Manly lead 22-14
49min gone
Dresler off now with Oregon Kafusi entering the fray. Afualo is also back from his 10min stint in the bleachers.
Tonise leads the charge from the kickoff. Manly go to their left edge next. Good metres for Manly, not bad defence just good running. Their fifth tackle kick barely lands in the field of play as Layoun gets to it on the first bounce and he compounds matters for Parra as he loses the ball into contact. Exactly the opposite of what Dr Forty20 ordered there.
Manly hammer our left edge before coming back to the posts. Parra hold out before there is a bad read by Afualo down the right edge. Two short passes catch him out jamming hard and his opposite number strolls over. Molehill starting to get to a mountain as they Eagles potentially sit on a three-score lead.
Sorry for the lack of updates. I got pelted with rain and couldn’t leave the laptop out. In the short break from updates the Eels continue to add to their own misery with errors and penalties heaping up and Manly punished them for it as they rapidly added to score board.
Manly Sea Eagles 34 lead Parramatta Eels 14
63min gone
The Eels finally get a penalty of their own and a solid touch finder from Dargan takes them into Manly’s half. Kafusi and Hokai have good carries to the posts before Kafusi comes back for second carry to be just shy of the line. Filia runs a nice line off Dargan and is barely pulled down by some desperate defence but the damage is already done as the shattered defensive line is picked off by Mahoney from dummy half on the next play. Easy dive over there.
Try scored by Mahoney. Conversion successful by Layoun.
Eels trail 20-34
65min gone
Signs of life at the very least as Parramatta finally arrest the flow of points towards Manly.
Matterson to Tonise form the kickoff. Cliffered is there afterwards and Kafusi has a great carry that is very unlucky not to draw a penalty. Afualo gets another cross next to his name now as he coughs the ball up taking a hit up through the ruck. Needs to be a lot better than that does Tui.
Dresler coming back into the mix for the Eels as Kafusi checks out. Time is off for a cramping Manly player.
Faingaa also has grabbed an interchange card as the Eels look to mount one final push.
Big set move from the restart of play from Manly but a massive effort from Filia bundles the Manly outside back into touch. It gives the Eels the most outside of outside chances as they cahse 14pts in 13min.
Clifferd and Afualo are the first options before Dresler takes the ball back up the middle. Tonise gets the Eels up to halfway. Keppie is up next as the Eels keep it simple and Dargan sends the bomb up on the last. The Sea Eagles lose the ball backwards and barely get it back as the Eels pour through. They may have been the final juncture in the potential comeback however.
Great pressure in defence in the following set now as the Eels rally late and hard. The Sea Eagles are all at, well, sea on the last and barely get to a kick which also barely lands in the field of play. Lucky break there.
Big run from Afualo from the scrum win now as he splits defenders for a big 30m gain. Dunster and Tonise are next and Tonise nearly cracks them open. Dargan sees a huge chance down the left as he kicks in behind early for Fonua who gets a clean play at the bouncing ball but can’t reel it in to score in the corner. Far out that one hurts. Great vision from Dargan.
A penalty to the Sea Eagles on halfway all but seals the deal now. 9min left on the clock.
Manly pick up a second penalty late in the following set as the Eels are pinged for slowing play down on their goal line. The ball is dropped cold though and the Eels get a 20m restart.
Dresler earns a penalty as he is held down. A blatantly offside defender is allowed to cut Mahoney down from the tap restart. Parra come down their right before swinging back to the ruck. Tonise runs to the line with support but tucks the ball under his arm. Mahoney scoots out of dummy half next and is half a metre short. Dargan looks to kick in behind for Fonua once more – this time along the ground. Fonua gets first play at the ball again but it takes a wicked bounce as he gets there and rears up passed his head. Not his fault this time around. 20m restart.
The Eels survive the 7-tackle set and net a 20m retart in reply for themselves but again unforced errors come into play as Dunsters drops the ball getting up from the ruck. Really poor ball control today.
Another penalty for Manly now as the clock heads towards 4min left. Discipline and ball control will be the focus of training this coming week I imagine.
Manly drill the ball towards the posts and the sheer weight of possession gets the home team over for cherry-on-top try. Tired ruck defence the culprit there.
Try scored by the Sea Eagles. Conversion unsuccessful.
Manly lead 38-20
78min gone
All too late but there is some fiery defence from the Eels with under 2min left. Manly lose the ball twice but the ref misses the first error – they still get the scrum feed with the second dropped ball picked up by officials.
Tonise has another carry – been a busy game for our hybrid hooker/lock but on the next play Matterson drops the ball sweeping to the right. Sums up the game right there.
Minor scuffle to close things out but the officials quickly gain control and both teams shake hands.
Ordinary start to the season for both Wenty and the NYC Eels. Plenty of work for both teams this week.
Full Time
Manly Sea Eagles 38 DEF Parramatta Eels 20
I’m keen to know more about Caleb Williams. Where is he? Apparently he is extremely quick, and articles stemming back to 2014 had him tagged as the next Greg Inglis!
Couldn’t tell why he is here or there as far as the NYC is concerned but I imagine he will participate in the Ron Massey Cup or Sydney Shield given he is part of the extended NYC Squad.
Great work again Forty. Cheers mate.
Forty, any thoughts with the obsession of playing a number of players up in years, seems that we have a tendency to fall off in intensity and execution in second halves in particular
It is definitely the payoff for looking to accelerate the development of these young charges. Still, the need to play for the full eighty minutes is a requirement that these players must learn at some point and thrashing teams in SG Ball for seventy minutes a week doesn’t do them any good either.
I think taking the long view and weighing individual development over team triumphs is probably the right answer but it certainly comes with its lumps for both fans and players.
The amount of over rated and especially over hyped juniors in our system over the seasons would make interesting reading , the current trend to test them out early before we waste 5 seasons on them is what every other club has always done , they were embarressing yesterday especially the so called next champions ,reality check !!!