It’s rare to have a Junior Reps round which Forty doesn’t attend, but last weekend’s fixture on the Central Coast was just that. Fortunately, TCT had quality Coast correspondent, Mitchy, there to keep tabs on our Eels junior stars. Here’s his report:

Round 8 –
Harold Matthews Morry Breen Oval 1/4/2017
Parramatta 28-12

Brilliant sunshine at Morry Breen and a healthy crowd set the scene for the day’s junior rep fixtures. First up was a typical Harold Matts game. Some enterprising football was delivered hand in hand with pushed passes and errors.
This reporter missed the first 10 mins, arriving to see Parramatta score their 2nd try to take the lead 12-6. From the ensuing kick-off we made a superb break down the left but a pushed pass saw play stopped. Jandamurra Stewart showed speed but probably needs to learn when to hold the ball.
Both sets of forwards mixed it up the middle with some strong charges. Wide running from Caleb Tohi and David Hollis was also a feature. Albert Faavae has some good size about him and used this to great effect. Hollis is a tall fellow as is the Coast’s Ryan Shaw. Phil Mann could have been challenged by these two.
The second half ebbed and flowed for a while with both teams mixing completed sets with typical errors. This was especially noticeable just prior to half time.

Tyler Field’s kicking game was very good and he regularly found the grass in the corners, and there were some very strong runs from outside backs Masima and Tohi.
Field, Tallis Smith and Villiami Penisini all scored in the second half with Parra running out strong winners in the end, 28-12. Tyler Fields individual effort was superb. He broke the line and then evaded the fullback to score. To me the main difference was the composure in the second half along with some strong goal line defence. The team limited their errors and controlled the ruck a lot better; and Tyler Field’s leadership around the oval was key.
In reference to the Central Coast, I have no doubt they can be a force in the future. I see that they do lose players to Sydney and of course Newcastle from around the area, though I do not have any stats on this. I know we have a few players from the Newcastle in the various Eels teams. The Coast boys certainly held their own for periods of time, and though size was not a factor, strength in the tackles was at times.

Round 8 –
SG Ball Morry Breen Oval 1/4/2017
Parramatta 26-10

This was a very good game – it was tough, physical, with some exciting attack along with strong goal line defence. The talk coming from both sides was also a feature.
Parramatta seemed to be on the back foot at times in the first half, with the coast scoring both tries from kicks. The first one was from an innocuous grubber rolled into the in goal for Jake O’Meley (yes Shrek junior) to easily score. The disappointment was the ease of the try. The second try followed an uncontested bomb. From ensuing play the coast boys were able to score again.
Parramatta then displayed some superb goal line defence – something that would have made Coach Jones very proud. The talk from fullback Nohra was superb, and I could clearly hear him marshalling the boys Including the outside backs. This was terrific and NRL like. He also scored a couple of tries. He is strong and deceptive with his pace and has the ability to be in the right place, at the right time. Hope he is signed up……
I also have to mention both halves, Dylan Brown and 5/8 Joseph Taipari. These blokes combined so professionally and showed a level of play that NYC would be proud of. Organisation, set plays and 5th tackle options were all well controlled and while the execution at times had room for improvement, their game management was impressive. Did I mention the goal line defence? The coast had quite a few chances on the try line and yet we held firm. The confidence gained from this laid the platform for a very healthy score line  to the Eels.
Mark Tepu-Smith, William Kei and Joseph Taipari all scored good tries. Kyle Cassel and Kyle Schneider both came off the bench along with Haze Dunster and had very good games. Schneider shows tremendous maturity and has an impressive work ethic.
Special mention to young Ethan Parry who made some bullocking runs from dummy half. His second half work down the left side was quite superb. Ethan’s extended family were sitting right in front of me and were riding each run and tackle he was involved with. Great family support!
In all this was a most impressive effort by Parramatta. The Central Coast was close to full strength and had some size about them, but the Eels dominated off the ball in the second half, with tries being scored in the last quarter of the game. Coast fullback Taine Jacob was lively and strong and their captain, Jones, made some good charges at the line.

There were some injuries which held up play, and we hope the players are on the mend and that it was nothing too serious.
It was a pleasure watching the junior reps, and a superb afternoon was had.

Mitchy

PS- I thank my lady helper who assisted with details and scoring – maybe she will be back for another match.

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