The Cumberland Throw

Live Blog – SG Ball Grand Final vs Cronulla Sharks

Team List

1  John-Paul NOHRA

2  Uikilifi LEA’AETOA

3  Haze DUNSTER

4  Noel AUKAFOLAU

5  Ethan PARRY

6  Joseph TAIPARI

7  Dylan BROWN

8  Valance HARRIS

9  Kyle SCHNEIDER (c)

10 Mark TEPU-SMITH

11 Matthew DOOREY

12 Charbel TASIPALE

13 Jesse CRONIN

 

14 L. TAPAATOUTAI

15 Kyle CASSEL

16 Harry DUGGAN

17 Dallas KING

18 Alex SEVE

19 Dennis MATAIA

20 W. KEI

21 Rico ALIVA

22 Aitasi MATAUTU

23 Sione TUPOU

 

Preview
And so we finally arrive at the big dance. After a scratchy start to the season which saw the Eels walloped by the Illawarra Steelers in Round 3 in what would be their sole loss of the regular season. Parramatta rebounded in a big way to the embarrassing defeat to storm through the remainder of the season in imperious form before dispatching the Canterbury Bulldogs and Sydney Roosters en-route to the Grand Final today.
Fittingly, as fate would have it, the Eels will face down against the Cronulla Sharks in an epic rematch of the 2015 Harold Matthews Grand Final. It was the Sharks who prevailed on that occasion as they took an early lend and fended off the best efforts of the Eels to chase it down. Haze Dunster, Noel Aukafolau, Ethan Parry, Alex Seve, Jesse Cronin and Kyle Cassel will all have a chance at vengeance today while the likes of Johnny Fonua, Tui Afualo, Filia Utoikamanu and Oregon Kaufusi (members of the 2015 Grand Final team currently playing Holden Cup) will almost certainly be cheering for a victory from the stands.
What stands to make a difference today as compared to two years ago is the calibre of the junior players standing alongside their senior cohorts. The 2016 Harold Matthews class swept through the season and National Championship undefeated and now form a core part of the SG Ball class this year. John Paul Nohra, Cliff Lea’Aetoa, Dylan Brown, Kyle Schneider, Vallance Harris, Mark Tepu-Smith, Matthew Doorey and Charbel Tasipale are now starters despite their junior status. Throw in the likes of boom recruit Joe Taipari on top of it all and the culmination of the two individually brilliant Harold Matthews classes has created a sensational SG Ball team. One that will hopefully take the next step ahead of them today!
We are but 15min from kickoff now folks, so strap yourselves in!
First Half
The Eels are receiving the ball in the first half. Running towards the Keith Barnes stand.
Great run from Vallance Harris first up as he skittles defenders! Charbel Tasipale and Jesse Cronin follow with useful carries. Dylan Brown has a run to take to the Eels over halfway. Taipari kicks a tackle early and finds the grass. A good kick chase pins the Sharks in their red zone.
Really solid set of defence to start the match for the Eels. The Sharks grind their way to halfway and bomb it. John Paul Nohra takes it on the full. Ethan Parry and Haze Dunster with the early carries. Valance Harris up next. Taipari runs down the blind and gets Haze Dunster into space! Lovely ball and catch. Dunster has Cliff Lea’Aetoa to his right but dummies at the fullback and has to eat the tackle. Bit of a blown chance I think.
Dylan Brown wants the ball from the quick ruck after the break and sends a towering bomb to the left edge. It looks too heavy off the boot but Ethan Parry races through and absolutely soars through the air to pluck the ball out of the defender’s hands! He juggles it as his feet hit the ground but he reels it in and slams it down! What a sensational individual effort!
Try scored by Ethan Parry. Conversion successful by Kyle Schneider.
Eels lead 6-0
4min gone
Valance Harris from the kickoff. The mad man has done it again! He skittles another defender but this time he strides into the backfield! He has Dunster and Lea’Aetoa to his right but he dummies past the fullback and heads infield! No damn it! He is eventually pulled down 40m short. Oh man great run but a sure try butchered!
Mark Tepu-Smith steams into the line and offloads to support who looks to be over but the Sharks bat it back and regain possession. The Eels are very fortunate as they drag the player who cleaned the ball up back in goals. We get the line drop out call but that is usually a penalty.
From the drop out the Eels are met with some stout defence from the Sharks. Our big boys have to roll their sleeves up to carry us back to the red zone but from their we are far too slick. A left edge play puts Ethan Parry over for his double. Really, really smooth set play – shades of our first grade team there.
Try scored by Ethan Parry. Conversion successful by Kyle Schneider.
Eels lead 12-0
10min gone
Penalty to the Eels early in the next set as the Sharks are pinged for infringing inside the 10m. All the running with the Eels at the start of this game.
Really solid set now from the Eels. They roll it over halfway and Taipari finds touch 10m off the Cronulla goal line.
Wowza. Can you believe it? The Sharks have knocked on at the base of the scrum! Eels have a golden chance for a 3-score lead here. Doorey and Tepu-Smith the first options this set. Schneider plays to Brown who links up with Taipari who in turn uses Nohra. Schneider has a run from dummy half and is turned back. Taipari has a run from first receiver and like Schneider is rebuffed. Brown sums up his options on the last and rolls the ball in and the Sharks knock on again!
Short side play to Parry from the scrum but the execution is too slow and the Sharks rally to catch him. Tepu-Smith tries to force an offload to support in front of the posts and the ref thinks about it for a second or two before calling it forwards – correctly mind you. Big let off for the Sharks.
Sharks finally coming to life a bit now. A couple of strong runs up the middle eventually net them a penalty as they catch a marker out.
Good defence through this set for the Eels as they hold out to the last. The Sharks run from dummy half on the last and the Eels do well to pull him down and bring about the turnover.
Aukafolau and Dunster provide the early go forward coming off our line. Lea’Aetoa is there as well. Outside inside play for Nohra followed by a carry for Tepu-Smith rounds of the set. The Eels find the grass once more with their kick and the Sharks will work it out of their half once more.
They start well with a couple of useful efforts from their flankers. Joe Taipari makes a great one on one tackle down the right but the Eels concede a penalty when Harris tries to help him after the result.
Another penalty follows when Noel Aukafolau is pinged for being offside. Huge turn of possession for the Sharks here.
They proceed to knock on from dummy half and the ref calls it before changing his mind midway to signal another penalty.
The goal line defence remains resolute and the Sharks are held out to the last tackle. They roll it in and in the contest for the ball they knock it on! Plenty of guts on display from the Eels there.
Huh. Bizarre stuff. Eels starting to cop a number of contentious calls here. Jesse Cronin has the ball reffed out with two clearly in the tackle but the referee rules play on.
Not much doing this set for the Sharks and they end up bombing Nohra but put no pressure on him. He feeds the ball to Lea’Aetoa who makes a strong return. Parry is in next and has a powerful run but on the third the Eels drop the ball. Game is a bit rough at the moment.
Cronulla play right then left and as they come to the posts a decoy play from the ruck gets their #13 over. The Eels over committed to the blocker and get caught short next to the posts.
Try scored by the Cronulla Sharks. Conversion successful.
Sharks trail 6-12
23min gone
Strong set after points for the Sharks as they rumble their way over halfway. They run on the last and Dunster goes for the intercept but can’t reel it in – gifting the Sharks another set. Ooph.
The Eels hold out through the extra set of possession with Nohra cleaning the grubber kick in the field of play.
Finally Parramatta complete a set, for the first time in what seems like forever. It is done with a neat kick by Dylan Brown but three tackles later the Eels are pinged again. This time for a strip but it certainly looked like the Shark was forcing the pass. Tough call.
And now silliness. Cliff Lea’Aetoa has taken a Shark out off the ball. A tackle later the Sharks lose the ball over the line but play comes back 15m for the late shot. Could be a critical moment in the game.
Sharks work from left to right. Good defence from the Eels as they repel a number of well executed inside runs. Sharks are a bit lost late in the set and end up getting caught on the last. Terrific goal line stand.
Oh man. Another incomplete set from the Eels. We run it on the fourth via Haze Dunster and as he crosses halfway he looks to be getting forced into touch he offloads to Lea’Aetoa who drops it. We really need to be getting to our kick.
Cronulla roll the ball downfield into our red zone and Nohra is on hand to clean it up but much like earlier in the game, the Sharks are lucky to earn a line drop out when they make a clear second effort to drive him in goals.
The Sharks work the ball down their right edge through this set and some gutsy effort from Dylan Brown holds a runner up over the line. From the delayed restart the Sharks try to go wide left but an errant pass is dropped on the bounce. Finally a break for the Eels.
We are getting absolutely no love from the referee as the Sharks repeatedly run offside and hold down in the ruck. It culminates in Kyle Cassel making an error trying to fight his way free of a treacle slow ruck. Cronulla get one last set to try and equalise but the Eels show plenty of ticker to hold out on the backfoot. What a crazy first half.
Half Time
Parramatta Eels 12 lead Cronulla Sharks 6
Second Half
Parra kicking off in this half. Here we go! Forward pass from the Sharks early in the count. Parramatta ball. Tasipale up first. Schneider running second as the lock forward. Lovely short ball from Brown to Doorey on the third. Nearly gets the young backrower over. Cassel centres it. On the fourth tackle Brown tries to turn the ball inside to Taipari but it catches a Cronulla hand. Taipari races back to clean it up and from there the magic starts. He circles back around to the left of the posts and steps through the front line of defenders before jinking past the fullback to score behind the uprights! Superb run.
Try scored by Joe Taipari. Conversion successful by Kyle Schneider.
Eels lead 18-6
39min gone
Harry Duggan and Matt Doorey up first this set. Tapa plays to Brown who finds Taipari who then uses Dunster. Dunsters tries to turn the ball inside to Lea’Aetoa but ends up holding on to the ball and doing a pirouette.  The Eels complete their set 10m into Cronulla’s half. We send up a midfield bomb which is well taken by the Cronulla custodian and he is promptly taken high for a penalty. Fair call.
Punishing defence from Tasipale and Taipari forces an error on halfway! Great defence!
Great run from Dylan Brown off the scrum. Vea Tapa tries to follow it up with a scoot from dummy half but has the ball knocked loose. Thought the defence was offside there. Tempers flare as the Sharks push the Eels away following the error and both teams come together for a pushathon.
Here we go. Here we go! The Sharks have been done for instigating the fracas. Penalty to the Eels.
The referee points to the posts. The Eels will be looking to secure a 3-score lead from the boot here.
Penalty conversion attempt successful from Kyle Schneider.
Eels lead 20-6
44min gone
Blatant shoulder charge is missed by the officials. Harry Duggan wore that one. Charbel Tasipale makes a great run down the right following an early shift.
The Eels drive beyond halfway and put on a set play as Dylan Brown chips ahead for Doorey. The second rower reels it in on the full and flings an offload away to empty space as he goes to the ground. Brown is there first and toes it ahead before getting a second kick away in front of the Cronulla fullback. He races through to the in goals looking to score and is blatantly held back! The referee blows time off and has a very short conference with the touchy before striding towards the posts to award a penalty try! Holy Doorey!
Try scored by Dylan Brown. Conversion successful by Kyle Schneider.
Eels lead 26-6
48min gone
Solid set after points for the Eels, although the kick from Dylan Brown was a little bit lacklustre.
Cronulla make some in roads via second phase ball before earning a penalty from a high shot. Fair call too.
The Sharks go wide left where they are turned back on the first attempt. They try to barge over from dummy half on the next tackle and look to be held up. Indeed the in goal referee initially signals that the Sharks player was held up but the referee over rules him. That was interesting. I thought the correct call was held up from the bleachers.
Try scored by the Cronulla Sharks. Conversion unsuccessful.
Sharks trail 10-26
52min gone
Cronulla put together a decent set following points but the Eels defend well throughout too. Good footy from both teams. Jesse Cronin in the thick of the action.
They bomb Ethan Parry on the last but given the ball falls just inside our half he lets the Sharks contest it and they lose it forwards.
Parramatta work their way into Cronulla’s half but again kick one tackle early as Dylan Brown bombs ahead. Parra regain possession via a Parry tap back but Brown, surely thinking it is the last, tries to fling it out the back where it is easily intercepted.
The Eels force a turnover as the Sharks come into their half. Jesse Cronin makes a massive break late in the following set and the Eels are right on the attack before a neat kick from Dylan Brown forces a line drop out.
A short drop out attempt comes from the Sharks but they only manage to pick out Haze Dunster. Parramatta can’t crack the Sharks despite a number of willing runs and the game stays alive as a result.
Speaking of staying alive…the Sharks are still very much in it as some great second phase play around the ruck opens the Eels up. Their five-eighth is freed up into the backfield and beats Nohra on the outside. Try time for the Sharks.
Try scored by the Cronulla Sharks. Conversion successful.
Sharks trail 16-26
60min gone
Oh boy. The Eels have gone to sleep here. Our right edge is getting caught out here. Tasipale with a bad miss there. The Sharks just burst free from shy of halfway and Nohra makes a bad attempt at the last line. There is a desperation ankle tap from Taipari but it isn’t enough to save the try.
Try scored by the Cronulla Sharks. Conversion successful.
Sharks trail 22-26
62min gone
There is the break for the Eels. Some willing defence meets the Sharks evenly – unlike the two sets gone just by – and the Sharks lose the ball trying to fight for the play-the-ball.
Dunster is turned inside from the scrum by Brown. Tasipale works down the right next. 12m out now. Taipari takes it left on the third where he links up with Brown who hits Nohra on the sweep. JP swings down the left edge and fires a cutout to Ethan Parry who crashes over in the corner and manages to ground the ball despite the attention of a couple of defenders! The Eels needed to strike back and they most certainly did! Hat-trick for Ethan Parry too by the way!
Try scored by Ethan Parry. Conversion unsuccessful by Kyle Scheider.
Eels lead 30-22
65min gone
Short kick off by the Sharks. The bat-back secures them possession near the sideline. Tense finish right here. Cronulla come back to their right and midcount they execute a really nice play around the ruck as they turn the ball back inside to their five-eighth. He races through and looks to have scored a crucial try that keeps them in touch but the final pass is called forwards! Phew.
The Eels aren’t making this any easier on themselves now as they make an error down their right coming out of their half. The Sharks very nearly score in reply but lose the ball over the line! Wowza.
Parry, Curran and Harris work the ball out for the Eels. Brown turns Aukafolau inside over halfway and Brown – kicking early once again – gets some fortune when his hard grubber is dropped cold. It was a 7-tackle set there so he was kicking on the third. Big break for the Eels.
Tasipale and Dunster with the early runs here. Harris steams towards the posts on the third. Once more Brown tries to turn Aukafolau inside on the fourth but the centre grasses it. Less than 2min left now though.
Great tackle from Joe Taipari on his counterpart late in the count there. It brings up the last and a poor kick from the Sharks means the Eels will prevail today.
The last penalty of the day goes to the Eels as the Sharks get a bit messy in the ruck and Parramatta will ruck the ball out to secure the 2017 SG Ball Cup!
Full Time
Parramatta Eels 30 DEF Cronulla Sharks 22
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7 thoughts on “Live Blog – SG Ball Grand Final vs Cronulla Sharks

  1. Mitchy

    Thanks again forty. Hope we can go on with it and score a couple more to put them to the sword….and hope the Sharks don’t ‘get a sniff’ so to speak…..

  2. Mitchy

    Gee, that sounded like a lucky second half from us….but we got home. Why can’t parra make it easy on us fans,..?
    Cheers forty again for the season and co. Enjoy the day.

  3. Parra Pete, Hay

    The No 6 for Cronulla looks a good player…Salmon….looks like he could swim against the tide…very sharp….nearly made a game of it in the dying moments……
    Good win boys and Thanks forty for another amazing coverage

  4. Trev

    Once again thanks for the report Forty…wish I was down there in NSW to watch a couple of games but anyway your description of the games helps heaps. On a side note the game between Cook Islands and PNG is worth watching with Nuikore playing in the centres. He is going okay, has a last touch try assist so far. There are a lot of big hits and some good skills on display…Nikol-Klostad going great for Cook Islands and Brad Taka is there with the team encouraging them.

  5. sixties

    I realise that we’ve still got the National Championship to go, but what a season for these young blokes.
    TCT have followed them from the trials through to the finals, and the growth has been astounding. They are a young team, and the club has Ball eligible players playing up in NYC.
    The young blokes deserve their success. Scott Jones and his staff have done an outstanding job, and Anthony Field has to be congratulated for recruiting a great group of external players to go with the PDJRL juniors.

  6. Glenn

    It wouldn’t be Parra without a few silly errors in the last 10 – 20 mins of a match to give their opponents a sniff of victory from the jaws of defeat.

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