Parramatta Eels NYC side

1. Anthony Layoun

2. Greg Leleisiuao

3. Emosi Alamoti

4. Noel Aukafolau

5. Haze Dunster

6. Dean Matterson (c)

7. Joseph Taipari

8. Sean Keppie

9. Denzal Tonise (c)

10. Oregon Kaufusi

11. Beni Valu

12. Salesi Faingaa

13. Mitch Butfield

Interchange

14. Reed Mahoney

15. Tangi Hokai

16. Dylan Clifford

17. Dom Murphy

18. John Fonua

19. Dylan Brown

20. Matt Price

21. Austin Dias

22. Nick Okladnikov

23. Frank Salu

 

Late Mail

The Eels are 1-17 this week.

 

Join me live from ANZ Stadium at 5:30PM for all of the action from the Holden Cup as the Eels look to reignite their climb back to the Top 4 following a month interrupted heavily by injuries and junior rep selections.

 

First Half

 

The Eels will be kicking off in the first half.

Joe Taipari gets us underway as he heaves it down field. The Dogs work the ball from their left back to the ruck. Great driving tackle from Salesi Faingaa and Deznal Tonise and the Dogs are forced to kick from there. Anthony Layoun glides onto it and the Eels begin their first possession.

Nothing flash from the Eels as they roll the ball over halfway and get to their kick. Taipari sends up a really well weighted bomb straight through the middle of the field and big Beni Valu gives a spirited chase. The massive backrower leaps up over the fullback and gets his hands on the ball but he can’t hold on it! That was a try for all money if he catches it.

The Dogs work up the halfway and kick to our left corner. Layoun on the money again. Noel Aukafolau and Greg Leleisiuao get early runs. Denzal Tonise takes us over halfway before we go two passes wide right to Faingaa. Matterson stabs in behind the narrow right edge – really solid kick – and a good kick chase looks to have forced an error. Somehow the ref has an error from us though? It happened on the far side to my seat so I can’t really tell you what happened there.

Strong driving tackle from Taipari and Keppie. The Dogs look to work through the ruck with some quick darts afterwards and make good gains before heaving a bomb up to our right edge. Both wingers leap for it but neither touch it and the touch judge marks the ball out as the Dogs try to bat in back in to the field of play. PTB for the Eels 20m off their line.

Another no frills set for the Eels as they roll the ball up the field before Tonise skips out of dummy half to roll the ball in behind. Excellent kick and the committed chase forces an error! Huge chance for the Eels with a scrum set 10m off the Dogs’ line.

Stacked right edge for Parramatta, no one on the left. We work a set move to the right as Layoun sweeps right but he ends up crowding out Haze Dunster before passing to him from short range and the rangy winger ends up dropping it. Not a great set of hands from Haze but Layoun really should have held onto it there.

First penalty of the game goes to the Dogs as the Eels are pinged in the ruck. Canterbury find touch down their right edge and work it to the far left from there. Parramatta hold firm down that edge but when the Dogs come back to their right they somehow engineer an overlap. Leleisiuao tries to jam on the fullback as he sweeps down that edge but a crisp set of hands releases the Bulldogs’ #2 towards the try line and he steps back inside Layoun to score the opening try.

 

Try scored by the Canterbury Bulldogs. Conversion unsuccessful.

Bulldogs lead 4-0

11min gone

 

Really clean set after points for the Dogs as they work to halfway and find touch at the Eels’ 20m line. Parra work right with Faingaa and Leleisiuao before going back to the ruck with Butfield. Matterson plays to Taipari who feeds Beni Valu for a big gain. Keppie centres it to bring up the last and Matterson sends up a poor mid-field bomb. It goes about 10m downfield from the Dogs’ 40m mark and the Eels allow the left centre for the Dogs to catch it uncontested and even worse – everyone has over run the kick to allow him a saloon passage to the try line after a 70m run. What on Earth was that entire sequence of play? Poor kick from Matterson, no vision from the chase. What a costly string of mistakes.

 

Try scored by the Canterbury Bulldogs. Conversion successful.

Bulldogs lead 10-0

16min gone

 

Bit of luck for the Eels now. The Dogs lose the ball midway through their kickoff set. Keppie and Kaufusi drill it up the middle before the later offloads to Taipari. The young half carries defenders to the line in a surprisingly strong carry. The Eels go right from there where Matterson rolls it into the in-goals for Faingaa. The rampaging backrower can’t secure a try but he gets the next best thing in a line drop out.

Keppie and Butfield lead the charge here with Butfield earning the Eels their first penalty. Tap and go for Butfield for his second consecutive carry. Kaufusi to the posts before a terrible pass from Tonise is dropped by Taipari. Looked like the decoys got in the way there. The Eels make in worse by immediately conceding a penalty. Dogs resume play on their 30m line.

A second penalty follows as the Dogs are piggy backed deep into our half. Pressure on here big time. Great read and shot from Noel Aukaofolau. The Dogs work back to their left from there with a series of crash balls. Up tempo footy here. They slow it down as they come back to the posts. They try to crash over from dummy half on the last but the Eels barely hold them out. That was damn close.

Oh yeah baby. Markers not square so the Eels get a relieving penalty and a huge touch finder marks them on their 40m line.

Leleisiuao comes in field for the first run. Good metres. Faingaa puts on the hit and spin for a solid carry and from there we go left to Taipari who dummies and runs before he is tackled. The Eels really hammer it down their left now and two tackles later quick hands from Taipari puts Valu into a bit of space and the hulking backrower flicks to Aukafolau after drawing in two defenders and from there Noel does brilliantly well to beat several sliding defenders and slam the ball down in the corner! Great work from out entire left edge.

 

Try scored by Noel Aukafolau. Conversion successful by Joe Taipari.

Eels trail 6-10

25min gone

 

Big run and offload by Leleisiuao from the kick off. Valu crashes into the line on the second. The Eels go wiiiiide right on the third and Amosi makes good metres before Faingaa takes us over the halfway mark only to lose the ball getting up. Needed a better finish to that set.

Basic start to the set for the Dogs. They slowly build right to left where they make a half break. Eels on the back foot here but the Dogs get greedy from dummy half and are tackled for the turnover! Bullet dodged.

The Eels are under huge pressure early in this set. They are going no where fast but have no fear, Greg Leleisiuao is here to make 35m and save the day. Terrific run and again it comes with Leleisiuao coming to the far right to help the team out. He has a really open licence today.

Taipari puts a nice touch on the set by running to the line and driving a grubber in behind. Dogs regain possession just off their goal line.

Both teams trade sets over the following minutes but it is the Dogs who blink first with an error in the PTB.

Taipari turns Leleisiuao inside from the scrum win before having a run himself on the third. Parra go wide right to Dusnter but he is pulled down short of the line. Butfield centres it to bring up the last. We go right to Matterson but immediately switch angles as Layoun springs to the right and kicks for himself to the posts. The ball is deflected and scooped up by Taipari who flicks to Tonise. The nuggety hooker rifles a big cut out pass to Greg Leleisiuao who easily beats his opposite to the corner to score the equaliser! Bit of luck though if I am to be honest. I think Leleisiuao might have lost control of the pill in the grounding…

 

Try scored by Greg Leleisiuao. Conversion unsuccessful by Joe Taipari.

Eels lock the score up at 10-all

35min gone

 

Decent sets after points. Nothing flash but nothing poor either. Matterson works a kick in behind the right that finds the grass. Dogs have lost a bit of impetus now and a shonky kick from ex-Eel Michael Doolan barely lands in the field of play before rolling into touch. Decent slice of luck there.

Oh man Leleisiuao is a fiend to tackle. He just throws off forwards en route to a 20m gain. The Eels work left to Taipari who dummies and then finds Leleisiuao who sorties in field and offloads to support. Parra work the ball to their right and bring up the last before trying a short side play to Dunster but the Dogs are awake to the blindside play and tackle him to force an error and thus the turnover.

Hello! A punishing tackle from the scrum sees the Dogs go for a wild offload! The Eels swarm on it and get a penalty 10m out! A second penalty quickly follows as the Dogs try and slow play down with 90 sec to play. The Eels build for a left edge movement and the ball comes to Taipari who straightens the attack up and fires a pass to Layoun on the sweeping line before the fullback dances back off his left foot twice to beat the sliding defence and squeeze through the fullback to score as the buzzer sounds!

 

Try scored by Anthony Layoun. Conversion unsuccessful by Joe Taipari.

 

Half Time

Parramatta Eels 14 lead Canterbury Bulldogs 10

 

Second Half

 

Oh no. Noel drops it from the kick off. Made that so awkward for himself and he never got it in his hands.

The Eels make good on the error by defending resolutely and forcing a turnover themselves as Taipari swoops on an errant pass for a 20m gain. We muster downfield and earn a 6-again call when Layoun’s chip kick is touched and he regathers it. A penalty follows as the Eels get a red hot crack at the goal line. They look to have crossed as well when Mahoney tuns Tonise inside from the ruck in one of the favourite pet plays but the ref pulls Tonise up for a double movement. It looked like Tonise fell over the line but obviously that wasn’t the case.

Canterbury put together a solid set as they work the ball down their left and pin the Eels inside their 10m mark from the kick.

Metres are tough to come by this set. Faingaa carts the ball up on the penultimate tackle from which Matterson looks for a midfield bomb. I get traumatic pangs from the Dogs second try but both teams allow the ball to bounce and Alamoti flicks an offload to Taipari who races 20m downfield before he is tackled and flicks an offload that is intercepted.

Out of nowhere the Dogs make a bust down our right edge as Matterson is knocked on his arse by a big forward. Cover defenders converge on the runner but his pass is touched by an Eel and deflects perfectly to a supporting Dog. Layoun makes an excellent tackle at the last line of defence and it looks like the Dogs player loses it clean trying to get up but the ref rules Layoun has stripped it. We got a bit of luck earlier but here the pendulum swings back against us.

The Dogs make us pay from the resumption of play as they work the ball to their left midway through the resultant left. We are a man short and the Dogs cross easily.

 

Try scored by the Canterbury Bulldogs. Conversion successful.

Bulldogs lead 16-14

50min gone

 

Shallower kick from the Eels here and the Dogs let it bounce. Faingaa comes flying downfield and launches himself at the Dogs player that jumps up at the bouncing kick. He is drilled and loses the ball but hang on the ref has penalised Faingaa!? As we learned with the Tom Trbojevic injury, there is no protection for a playing jumping at a bouncing kick. I am pretty confident he had touched the ball before contact was made as well. Tough, tough call.

The Eels survive the set as they come away with a 20m tap from a Dogs kick that rolls over the dead ball line and a polished set from the Eels takes them 80m downfield where Taipari’s deft touch off the boot earns them a line drop out.

Cliffered and Butfield get early runs before Tonise plays at the line to Matterson. A good read and jam from the Dogs pulls him down as the ball arrives and he is slow to get up. Looks real ginger now and time is blown off. Left shoulder by the looks of it. He is going to tough it out.

Mahoney plays to Tonise back on his right. Left now to Hokai and that brings up the last. Matterson to Layoun and the fullback rolls a grubber in behind which is easily cleaned up on the line by the opposition custodian. The defenders hit him hard though and drive him in-goals where he loses it and the chasers swarm on the winger who scoops it up. Line drop out incoming. Wait no it isn’t. Bizarrely, the ref has ruled a strip on the initial tackle. That is a bloody terrible call. Ball was cleanly lost there. Canterbury dodge a massive bullet.

He is quick to ping the Eels for a lost ball though. Two sets later, Noel Aukafolau has the ball marginally dislodged as he hits the ground rucking it out and the ref is on it in a flash. Nothing like good old consistency!

The Dogs have a chance to go out to a 2-score lead now though. They go to their right from the scrum win but the Eels stand firm. Not much doing through this set until the last where the find the in-goals with a perfectly weighted grubber but some sensational work from Haze Dunster sees the Eels avoid a line drop out.

Adventurous play from Parramatta as they look to punish a compressed defensive line with an early shift down our left. It is on but the pass from Aukafolau to Dunster is off the mark and the Dogs scoop up the bouncing ball and set off for our try line. We rally somehow to catch the runner and get a hand to his pass and the ball rolls into touch 10m off our line. More pressure incoming.

The Dogs go left from the scrum where they lose they ball cold again – guess what is coming? Yep, a penalty. Some truly awful officiating here. The Eels are forced to engineer their own luck and it comes through the right centre Alamoti as he reads a cutout pass from the Canterbury hooker Joey Tramontana and intercepts it 10m off his line.

Alas the Eels can’t complete the following set as Leleisiuao loses the ball in the ruck on the second to last play of the set. He isn’t happy with the call and gives the referee a serve so the turnover becomes a penalty. Ooph. The ref deserves a spray but it can’t come from a player.

Hang on! Rapid fire turnover for the Eels as Dylan Cliffered catches a ball that pops out from a good hit and races 50m downfield before he is caught from behind. Parramatta venture down their right before going wide left. Layoun tries to sneak over dummy half but is just pulled down short and that brings up the last. The ball is fired to Taipari on the last and he has a juggle of the pill before securing possession. He looks up, quickly weighs up his options and sends the bomb to his right. Perfectly weighted! The Eels contest the ball via Faingaa and Dunster and one of them bats it back to Alamoti who strolls over outwide!

 

Try scored by Emosi Alamoti. Conversion unsuccessful by Joe Taipari.

Eels lead 18-16

66min gone

 

Nice set after pints as we get to halfway and stab a kick in our right edge. The Canterbury flanker goes for a bold trap of the ball with his foot and gets pretty lucky with it all. A simple set follows from the Dogs and the Eels retrieve their kick via Leleisiuao. Aukafolau and Dunster help their forwards out before Faingaa and Dom Murphy cart it up the middle. The bomb goes up and it is allowed to bounce. Alamoti claims it but can’t find support before he is tackled. The ball squirts out backwards and the Dogs dive on it.

Both teams get through their sets before the Dogs pick up a penalty for a catcher getting taken out in the air. Think the Dogs got fortunate with that one again.

They make a break down our right and go perilously close to scoring save for a brilliant try saving tackle from Layoun! Ball and all stuff there. Wide right and quick from there for the Dogs. They look to roll the ball in behind but the Eels arrive first and bat in dead. Line drop out. 9min on the clock. Tense period here folks.

The run of favourable calls is finally cashed in on by the Dogs as they crash over down our left corner. A well worked backline move sees a cutout pass sail over the head of Leleisiuao and the cover defence can’t arrive in time to bundle the winger into touch. With 6min on the clock that is a devastating blow.

 

Try scored by the Canterbury Bulldogs. Conversion unsuccessful.

Bulldogs lead 20-18

74min gone

 

With both teams getting through sets after the try, the Eels are really racing the clock now. 4min to play as they work it out from their own 10m mark. Oregon Kaufusi gets a direly needed penalty as he crashes the ball to just shy of halfway. Touchfinder down our left. We go right where Alamoti has space and makes a nice run to get tackled just short of the goal line. We got left of the posts to Tonise on a short overs line and he looks to be in but the defenders get under him to hold him up. Kaufusi carts it up to bring up the last and on the final tackle with 3min on the clock Matterson swings down the left and tries to roll it in-goals but hits it with a lead foot. 20m restart.

Decent set of defence considering the 7-tackle set. We end up with the ball after diving on an attacking kick that takes a deflection in our line. 90m and 90sec to go. We get no traction through our first three tackles but a big run by Valu takes us to our 40m mark. Second phase play to halfway and that brings up the last. All or nothing and Matterson produces a rubbish kick for an easy take by the Dogs.

Just to rub salt into the wound on two accounts the Dogs score on the back of some dreadful officiating again. They make a break down our right edge where Layoun makes another excellent try saving tackle. A rubbish PTB is allowed and the Dogs kick to the far right where they pass off the ground to score the last try of the game.

 

Try scored by the Canterbury Bulldogs. Conversion successful.

 

Full Time

Canterbury Bulldogs 26 DEF Parramatta Eels 18