Parramatta Eels NYC side

1. Anthony Layoun

2. Greg Leleisiuao

3. Dane Aukafolau

4. Noel Aukafolau

5. Haze Dunster

6. Dean Matterson (c)

7. Dylan Brown

8. Sean Keppie

9. Denzal Tonise (c)

10. Oregon Kaufusi

11. Dylan Clifford

12. Salesi Faingaa

13. Ray Stone

Interchange

14. Reed Mahoney

15. Mitch Butfield

16. Frank Salu

17. Dom Murphy

18. Joseph Taipari

19. Tangi Hokai

20. Emosi Alamoti

21. Austin Dias

22. John Fonua

23. Nick Okladnikov

 

Late Mail

The Eels are 1-17 tonight.

 

The 5th placed Eels ‘travel’ to ANZ to take on the 14th placed Bulldogs in what appears to be a one-sided fixture when considering the respective ladder positions of the two clubs. However, Canterbury emerged 26-18 victors the last time the two teams fought in Round 17. The Eels self-destructed on that particular occasion after failing to get out of second gear all game and squandering a number of attacking opportunities. A second such effort will prove hugely costly because a temporary place in the Top 4 is calling for the Eels as a win tonight would leap frog them over the Cowboys pending the result of their fixture against the Storm.

With the bye for Wenty in the Intrust Super Premiership, Luke Burt has been able to bolster his team with the additions of Ray Stone and Dane Aukafolau. There can be no excuses for the Junior Eels tonight, much like their NRL counterparts they need to pile on win-after-win in the chase for a Top 4 finish.

 

First Half

 

The Eels will be receiving the ball to start the game.

Dylan Brown takes the kickoff on the bounce and finds Sean Keppie. Good carries from Ray Stone and Salesi Faingaa. No nonsense from the Eels and they complete their set with a raking kick that finds the grass. Good kick chase and a driving tackle early in the next set. Parra are playing at a nice tempo to start the game.

Dogs are forced to kick from inside their 40m mark and can only find Anthony Layoun on the full. The Dogs are lucky not to be pinged for a tackle going past the horizontal.

Nice dart from Brown down the left side. Later in the set Denzal Tonise takes a nice dart from dummy half but Dean Matterson undoes all the momentum with an attacking bomb that sails deep in-goals for a 20m restart. Nice chunk of luck for the Eels though as the Dogs lose the pill in the PTB on halfway.

Up the guts from the Eels. A good run from Oregon Kaufusi sets the platform for Dean Matterson to run to the goal line. The Dogs pull him down at the last moment but their goal line defence is in tatters. Tonise weaves a gorgeous grubber in and the kick chase from the Eels is blatantly impeded. The Dogs bat the ball dead but the referee signal a penalty and points to the defender that committed the professional foul. He is going to the bin! Wow. Massive moment early on here.

The Eels tap and go to their left and execute a lovely set move as Brown works the outside angle and gets a ball away to Layoun while under immense pressure. Layoun reels it in and is hit before the line but momentum takes him over! Try time baby.

 

Try scored by Anthony Layoun. Conversion unsuccessful by Dylan Brown.

Eels lead 4-0

8min gone

 

BANG, BANG! The Eels take full advantage of the numbers handicap for the Dogs as some nice short side work on the right release Greg Leleisiuao! The blockbusting winger flies down the right sideline and puts the monstrer Maori sidestep on as he comes to the fullback. The goose-step fools no one but Leleisiuao has all the toe he needs to burn the Canterbury custodian!

 

Try scored by Greg Leleisiuao. Conversion successful by Dylan Brown.

Eels lead 10-0

9min gone

 

Oh dear. Error from the kickoff now. Keppie looks to force an offload on the opening carry and Dylan Cliffered can’t hold onto the tough chance. Not what we needed considering the state of the game.

And of course the Dogs punish the Eels for the greedy chancing of their arm. Just like how the Eels opened their account, they work the ball to the left edge and somehow produce an overlap. It was hard to see where the defensive breakdown occurred there but Leleisiuao can’t stop the 2-on-1 and Layoun makes contact as the Dogs cross the line but it amounts to naught. Gifted points there.

 

Try scored by the Canterbury Bulldogs. Conversion successful.

Bulldogs trail 6-10

14min gone

 

Bit of a swing in momentum now as the Eels concede the first non-professional foul penalty of the night. Dogs find touch on halfway and begin to work the ball in from there.

Good tackle from Stone and Keppie early on. Dogs continue to work through the middle despite the loss of yardage from the driving tackle but come up with another error on the next play. Some sass from their front rower at the scrum leads to a penalty for dissent. Loose lips there for sure!

Parra find touch 15m into the Dogs’ half but on tackle three the Eels drop the ball cold working it to their right edge. Just bad execution there.

Another chunk gain from a penalty for the Dogs as Stone is pinged to holding down too long in the tackle.

Canterbury work from their right edge to the middle and looking for a left edge play. It comes but their time the Eels hold out. Dane Aukafolau shot up and missed the initial tackle but his cover defenders Matterson and Faingaa find their way across in time. The Dogs look to work a grubber back towards the posts and it takes a wicked bounce OVER the head of Layoun, which allows the Dogs to claim the ball but the defence collapses immediately on Dogs’ player to enforce the turnover.

Great set in reply from the Eels. The metres weren’t anything amazing but the kick from Reed Mahoney was a beaut!

Oh man, both teams trade sets and it looks like it is the Eels who make the breakthrough when Dylan Brown lays on a money ball to Dylan Clifferd for a half break. Clifferd tries to transition the ball to his right hand to offload to support but loses control of the pill. Big chance gong begging there.

And now the Dogs pick up a penalty on their last tackle when they bomb Leleisiuao. The nuggety winger spills the ball backwards and the Eels dive on it but it looks like we have been done for running a chaser off the ball.

Canterbury start down their left edge and work their first two plays that way before taking the ball back to the posts. Dylan Brown makes a clean legs tackle at the line as the Dogs direct a backrower at him. Back to the posts now for the Dogs and they get away a late offload to create a real chance down our right edge. We over committed to the initial tackle and the offload leaves the Dogs with a 5-on-3. Dane Aukafolau and Leleisiuao try to jam in and stop the play but a crisp cut out pass lets the opposing winger bypass Greg to score in the corner. Well worked play by the Dogs there.

 

Try scored by the Canterbury Bulldogs. Conversion unsuccessful.

Bulldogs lock the scores up at 10-all

27min gone

 

Very clean set from the Dogs there. They drive the ball down their left edge and find touch 13m off the Eels’ goal line.

Faingaa starts the set with a good carry. Two wide to Tonise who offloads to support but the runner is wrapped up immediately. Leleisiuao busts 4 tackles and makes 20m as he comes in-field. Terrific effort. Brown hoists the bomb up for Noel Aukafolau and Haze Dunster. Noel arrives first and leaps up but is beaten to the catch by the Canterbury winger. He looks to wrap him up but ends up taking him in the air for a penalty.

Oh dear. The Dogs commit the exact same infringement at the opposite end of the field when Layoun is clearly taken in the air. The ref makes no signal initially and play goes on which sees Layoun make a clean break down the sideline but the ref then puts his whistle to his lips! The hell! The Eels get the penalty but at a loss of a clear advantage.

OGGIE! Oregon Kaufusi the man of the moment now! Dylan Brown runs it to the line on the last and looks to work a grubber in late, ala Mitch Moses, but the ball takes a deflection. Kaufusi pours through in support and shows very surprising agility to reach down to his ankles and pluck the ball off the ground. He straightens himself up and pins his ears back to charge at the last line of defence and careens over the line!

 

Try scored by Oregon Kaufusi. Conversion successful by Dylan Brown.

Eels lead 16-10

34min gone

 

Another monster carry from Leleisiuao as he drags defenders for a near 20m gain and then draws a penalty. Kaufusi charges like a bull into the defensive line from the restart of play. Outstanding play. Dylan Brown, 17 years and 1 month of age, sees the space behind the ruck on the back of that run as he switches from left to right and zips into the breach. The defence are scrambling after him but he is already a step ahead as he flicks the ball to Mitch Butfield in support as the backrower dives over! What a smooth little play from Brown!

 

Try scored by Mitch Butfield. Conversion unsuccessful by Dylan Brown.

Eels lead 20-10

37min gone

 

Okay follow up to points for the Eels. They work to near halfway before Reed Mahoney drills a kick along the ground from dummy half. 2min to play for the Dogs. They are bunched and go one-out. Eventually the get something of a backline set and look to bomb towards Leleisiuao. Contested ball 10m off the Parra goal line but the Dogs knock the ball on in the air.

Urgh! Lovely outside/inside play from Tonise to Layoun nearly puts the fullback into space but one Canterbury defender showed some hustle to get across and tackle Layoun in time. Matterson has a world of time and space to take the ball down the right but he panics as he hits the defensive line and ends up losing the ball. Was a real chance there if he held his nerve.

 

Half Time

Parramatta Eels 20 lead Canterbury Bulldogs 10

 

Second Half

 

The Eels kick off to the right edge of the Dogs. Some good defence to start the half. Driving tackles back-to-back-to-back. Canterbury end up working the ball to their 40m line and hoof it downfield for Layoun to easily claim the ball on the full.

Another barnstorming carry from Leleisiuao! He is in fine form today. Early shift to Noel Aukaoflau as he makes good metres but has no support to link up with so he takes the tackle. The Eels go back right and look to roll an early grubber into the in-goals but it takes a defection at the line. No 6-again call as Layoun wins the race back to dive on the ball and that brings up the last. Matterson passes to Brown who shows nice poise to beat the shooter and get the ball out wide to Noel. He kicks back to the posts where Brown flies through only to be beaten to the ball by the fullback. Line drop out!

Nothing set from the Eels in follow-up as they end up throwing bodies at the posts for most of the tackles. Fortunately they cap the set off with a nice worked play on the last as Brown zips down the left and fires a cutout pass to Haze Dunster. Great spatial awareness and strength from Dunster as he fights through two defenders to slam the ball down in the corner!

 

Try scored by Haze Dunster. Conversion successful by Dylan Brown.

Eels lead 26-10

46min gone

 

The Eels let the ball bounce from the kickoff but it takes a kind break and the Eels claim it easily. Leleisiuao is again at the fore as he makes silly metres up the guts. The Eels work from the impetus provided there and go left to a sweeping Layoun who makes another great gain and the bomb goes up from there. Error from the Dogs! They lose it backwards initially but then knock it up in the clean up.

Alas they undo the pressure when there is a knock on in the PTB on the first tackle.

Good reply set from the Dogs. Up-tempo carries take them over halfway and a deft kick finds the grass in behind Dunster and is marked out on Parramatta’s 10m line.

Faingaa takes the run from the scrum win. Leleisiuao takes the second carry. A more mortal effort there. Faingaa comes back for a second helping and we go left from there. Nice work from Noel Aukafolau as he creates another half break and earns a penalty as a result.

Good first up run from Tonise. Short side play now, the Eels race out of the blocks there. Was it Mahoney or Brown? They knife down the left-edge short side and feed a short ball to Layoun who crashes over out wide!

 

Try scored by Anthony Layoun. Conversion successful by Dylan Brown.

Eels lead 32-10

54min gone

 

Ooph, the only real blemish on tonight’s effort has been the errors from the kickoff. Another one this time around as Dunster is pinged for a 50/50 sideways drop. Line drop out to the Dogs here.

They work from left to right and Noel Aukafolau makes a terrific read and jam to force an error! Even better it is a live turnover as Dunster races onto the bouncing ball and zooms 40m downfield. He ends up drawing a penalty for a clear rake with two in the tackle and the Dogs are marched a further 10m when they kick the ball away.

The Eels are deep in the red zone on the back of the piggy back and Dylan Brown shows all the class in the world as he dummies to his right and then just glides through the line. This boy plays with all the time in the world!

 

Try scored by Dylan Brown. Conversion unsuccessful by Dylan Brown.

Eels lead 36-10

59min gone

 

Oooh. tough call from the ref there. We are working the ball out to our 30m line and it looks like a strip but the ref thinks upon his decision and opts for a lost ball. Bit of fortune for the Dogs there.

They can’t find any traction in attack though and look for an optimistic grubber in behind our left edge. The ball is trapped in the line and we then dive on it for the turnover.

Cheap penalty for the Dogs in the next set. Think that is the first 10m offside penalty tonight. They work their way into our red zone on the back of it but again struggle for purchase against our defensive line. They jag a bit of luck with a 6-again call on the last when the kick it through the line and it takes a deflection that is played at. Parra stay composed though and show consistent line speed throughout to keep the Dogs out until the final tackle of the second set. They roll the ball in behind Leleisiuao and he does very well to shepherd the ball over the dead ball line with a chaser flying in.

Parra can’t get through the following 20m set though. They muster the ball to halfway with good carries until that man, Leleisiuao, is pinged for a sloppy PTB. Just need to regain that clinical edge after some sloppy sets in possession lately.

A shoulder charge from Salesi Faingaa earns the ire of the ref. Time off for a caution and a notification of the incident going on report.

Again the Eels show plenty of intent in their goal line defence. Taking another stand here. They look to have survived yet another raid as Layoun seeps across on the last to clean up a grubber he he trips at the last moment as does damn well to hold onto the ball and get taken in-goals.

Hello! Trick shot play from the Eels here! They see the Dogs are out of position from the drop out and Mahoney stabs a short rolling drop kick to Brown who positively flies through to dive onto the ball! Tricksy stuff from the two play-makers there.

Oh boy, Dom Murphy has somehow hurt himself from the drop out play. I am not really sure how he has managed it but he seems to be in a bad way. They call for a stretcher but he ends up getting to his feet and walking off. Maybe a non-contact knee injury?

Kaufusi comes n for the injured Murphy and takes the next carry, swatting away a Dog on the way to completing his run. Simple set and an early kick from the Eels sees the custodian for the Dog make the puzzling decision of running straight into Salesi Faingaa, who promptly flattens him. The Dogs throw caution to the wind in the face of a 26pt deficit and spread wide and early, catching our left edge napping in doing so. They storm through the front line and Layoun takes a really bad angle to the runner which allows the Canterbury player to step inside him easily. Cover defence comes in time to drag the Dogs down 1m short but they dive over on the next play. Costly lapse there.

 

Try scored by the Canterbury Bulldogs. Conversion unsuccessful.

Bulldogs trail 14-36

71min gone

 

More adventurous play from the Dogs as they flirt with the sideline down our right edge. They end up flinging the ball in-field in desperation and Faingaa swings by to intercept the ball.

Puzzling play now. Mahoney skips out of dummy half, spins through a tackle and looks to kick ahead – reminiscent of James Tedesco really – and chases to the in-goals but the ref hesitates and rules a knock on.

Again the Dogs play hyper aggressive footy as they kick ahead early. Well weighted kick actually as Layoun has plenty of ground to make in behind our left left. He and the lead chaser arrive at the same time as the Dogs player kicks the ball into Layoun who then loses the ball over the sideline trying to regather it.

Another kick! First tackle this time as the Dogs find the grass in behind Dunster. The winger gets on his bike to clean up the ball but it bundled into his in-goals as a result. Line drop out.

The game has broken out into a crazy series of mini-games with the Dogs looking for every trick shot in the book here. They fall back onto something conventional as they execute a big backline move to their left edge. Line ball call as to whether they have scored in the corner and after the touchy and ref confer they decide the Eels have bundled the winger into touch in-goals.

And now a 40/20 attempt from Mahoney! What is going on!? It ends up marked at touch less than half a metre short! Dang. And even worse for the main fixture, the rain is starting to come down. It is going to be a greasy game tonight.

Conventional set from the Dogs. What the hell? They end up bombing Layoun who takes the ball well under pressure. The Eels look to work the ball up the guts with their backs. Faingaa is the first forward to have a run and he ends up linking up with Dane Aukafolau. Dean Matterson has a moment and ends up getting caught running the ball on the last. Not really sure what he was aiming for there.

Oh there we go! Another early kick from the Dogs. This one is meant to get in behind Haze Dunster but it only ends up going into touch and that will do us tonight. Solid win and a provisional Top 4 spot for our boys!

 

Full Time 

Parramatta Eels 36 DEF Canterbury Bulldogs 14

 

TCT Best On Field

3. Dylan Brown

2. Noel Aukafolau

1. Greg Leleisiuao