The Cumberland Throw

Live Blog – District Representatives Round 4 vs South Sydney

Harold Matthews

 

1. Joshua TUIPULOTU
2. Matthew KOMOLAFE
3. Sean RUSSELL
4, Viliami PENISINI
5. Ngarimu HARTE
6. Samuel LOIZOU
7. Jakob ARTHUR
8. Peter TAATEO
9. Drew LLOYD
10. (c) Trey MOONEY
11. Desmond RAUKETE
12. Oscar MEZZOMO
13. Caleb TOHI
14. Jabriel KALACHE
15. Rick SIOFELE
16. J. BETHAM-MISA
19. Lachlan MARIC
First Half
The Eels kick off the game in the first half. It is an excellent start to the game from both teams with brisk attacking formations met with rapid and aggressive defence. Very entertaining opening despite the lack of points!
Parramatta eventually break the deadlock as some lovely work from Josh Tuipulotu from fullback. He sweeps down the left and releases Viliami Penisini with a well time pass. There is no one left in front of the rampaging and he strolls over for the first try of the day.
Try scored by Viliami Penisini. Conversion unsuccessful by Samuel Loizou
Eels lead 4-0 
8min gone
Cracking length of the field counterattacking from the Eels two possessions later as the left winger Ngarimu Harte shows a bit of vision. He initially takes a hit up down the left edge but sees Souths are short and feeds his centre Penisini. Penisini breaks out down the left sideline and dummies the Rabbitohs fullback on first meeting. The Rabbitohs custodian does exceedingly well to come back at Penisini and nearly tackle him but he offloads to Tuipulotu to in support and the Eels make it two tries.
Try scored by Josh Tuipulotu. Conversion unsuccessful by Samuel Loizou.
Eels lead 8-0
12min gone
Bang, bang, bang. The two fullbacks continue to impress for differing reasons! Tuipulotu puts Penisini into another gap but despite Eels pouring through in support (backrower Oscar Mezzomo the eventual option taken by Penisini) Zach Kambos (sp) has done brilliantly to make a try saver! Great recovery speed on show again.
Still the Eels have an overloaded left edge and despite initially going right they find their way to that stacked edge and Penisini goes in for his second of the day!
Try scored by Viliami Penisini. Conversion successful by Samuel Loizou.
Eels lead 14-0
18min gone
Jaokb Arthur is right in the thick of things this set. His fingerprints are over everything as he steers the team downfield, with the aid of a penalty for offside defenders, before peppering the Rabbitohs’ goal line with short passing. He cracks them with a late pass to Desmond Raukete who fights through two tacklers and slams the ball over under the posts.
Try scored by Desmond Raukete. Conversion successful by Samuel Loizou.
Eels lead 20-0
23min gone
Great second phase play from the Eels! They back up repeatedly through the middle over the course of two tackles and it is the lock Caleb Tohi that puts Josh Tuipulotu into a yawning gap with a superb late offload! That makes it two tries for Tuipulotu in the first half.
Try scored by Josh Tuipulotu. Conversion successful by Samuel Loizou.
Eels lead 26-0
26min gone
Oh wow. Trey Mooney showcases the Matt Gidley flick pass up the middle as he beats two defenders initially and links up with Caleb Tohi! Tohi has plenty of eager chasers coming after him with a good 50m to go but he high steps his way through the first defender to come at him from behind and then carries the other two over the line! That will wrap up the first half as well.
Try scored by Caleb Tohi. Conversion successful by Samuel Loizou.
Eels lead 32-0
Half Time
Parramatta Eels 32 lead South Sydney Rabbitohs 0
Second Half
Plenty of luck but some amazing hands from Tuipulotu there! The Eels play flat at the goal line of the Rabbitohs but Arthur’s pass takes a deflection from a defender and squirrels up. Tuipulotu, the original intended recipient, adjusts spectacularly and brings it in before contact to crash over for his hat trick!
Try scored by John Tuipulotu. Conversion successful by Sean Russell.
Eels lead 38-0
37min gone
A rare shoutout to Charlie Suters, the main match official, who has called a pretty good game. He has been critical on certain elements of the game (line drop out restarts being taken on the line for instance) but has applied his judgement consistently to both teams.
The Eels crack the 40-point mark as Sean Russell steps his way over from a Jabriel Kalache pass. I reckon Kalache could have scored him self there as well.
Try scored by Sean Russell. Conversion unsuccessful by Sean Russell.
Eels lead 42-0
40min gone
Samuel Loizou has shifted to left centre as the Eels rotate some of their key players. Loizou slices through on an angled run back to the middle and is at unbackable odds to score but that man, Kambos, has made another sensational tackle! The Eels score immediately after as Jabriel Kalache slides through the shattered defensive line but Kambos has played a brilliant hand in a well beaten team.
Try scored by Jabriel Kalache. Conversion successful by Samuel Loizou.
Eels lead 48-0
Ooph! What a hit up from Peter Taateo! He has gone 60m from the kickoff as he steamrolls through the middle and forces Kambos into a rare missed tackle! The Eels pour on the pressure from that monstrous start to their set and it culminates in Lachlan Maric crashing over to the left of the posts.
Try scored by Lachlan Maric. Conversion successful by Samuel Loizou.
Eels lead 54-0
58min gone
Dang it. Following an error from the kickoff due to bad communication (two players ran into each other), Souths have managed to avoid the duck egg with a burrow over from dummy half later in that possession.
Try scored by South Sydney. Conversion successful.
Souths trail 6-54
Full Time 
Parramatta Eels 54 defeat South Sydney 6
TCT Best On Field
3. Viliami Penisini
2. Jakob Arthur
1. Caleb Tohi
SG Ball

 

1. John-Paul NOHRA
2. Lorenzo PRITCHARD
3. William KEI
4. Penioni TOHI
5. Christian PASITOA
6. Tyler FIELD
7. Mathew SMITH
8. Stefano UTOIKAMANU
9. (c) Kyle SCHNEIDER
10. Valance HARRIS
 11. Matthew DOOREY
12. Charbel TASIPALE
 18. Joseph SMALL
14. Jayden YATES
15. Albert ETUATI FAAVAE
 16. Harry DUGGAN
17. Aitasi MATAUTU
First Half
South Sydney will be kicking off in the first half. Both teams get through their opening sets before the Rabbitohs concede the first penalty of the day when they are caught infringing inside the 10m mark.
A brutal carry from Stefano Utoikamanu lays the platform for the opening try! What a monstrous effort. Kyle Schneider seizes the initiative from that carry as he jumps out of dummy half and then links up with support before the line. The Eels roll on from there and it results in Charbel Tasipale crashing over down the right edge!
Try scored by Charbel Tasipale. Conversion successful by Kyle Schneider.
Eels lead 6-0
6min gone
Nice left edge movement from the Eels as they make a half break leading up to the last tackle. A poor kick undoes some of the good of the set but the follow up penalty is much more painful. Souths with a chance to establish themselves here.
Back to back to back sets for the Bunnies now as their last tackle grubber kick is knocked on by an Eel on the line.
Utoikamanu is terrorising South Sydney here. The Eels survive the red zone raid and get flying up the field with a barn storming run and offload from Stefano that also earns a penalty. Alas they drop the ball on the first tackle as Lorenzo Pritchard is cut down.
Souths work their way back to our red zone but their grubber kick is too heavy off the boot and rolls dead.
Another mistake from the Eels coming over halfway gifts the Bunnies another shot at our line. Vallance Harris shows some superb line speed near his posts to make a huge tackle before a massive scrambling effort prevents a try in the corner!
Christian Pasitoa makes a big run through the middle taking the Eels into South’s end of the field but once again we fail to get to our kick. Frustrating times in the first half.
Utoikamanu produces another huge run as he carries defenders for ridiculous post contact metres but the ball has popped out at the end. Suggestion of a strip there but the ref might have thought he was offloading perhaps? Another incomplete set in the end though.
The referee is caning us here now as Souths pick up yet another penalty. The count must be 5-1 or thereabouts. And as I type that we get our first offensive penalty of the day as the Rabbitohs are pinged for impeding the markers on the goal line.
Duggan, Tasipale and Harris provide solid carries coming out of their half as they finally complete a set with the kick from Matt Smith but it just rolls over the dead ball line.
Solid set from Souths in reply as they kick early and find touch on our 20m mark.
Good carry from Duggan in this set. Eels are caught a bit flat footed on the next tackle as they shift two right to Harris. The set is completed with another kick that is agonisingly close. Field, the kick this time, as his kick just rolls inside the corner post for a 20m restart.
Another penalty to Souths follows as the lopsided differential continues to pile up. Time off for an injured Eel. Is that Kyle Schneider? It is indeed Schneider with what looks to be a shoulder or wrist injury. Parramatta ride out the South Sydney attacking set before working the ball downfield in reply. A Tyler Field kick the concluding play to that possession.
Quality kick return from JP Nohra as he loops infield spying a half gap. A rare penalty for the Eels on the next play and it is followed up by a second as the defenders are offside from the tap.
Oh yeah that is money! Awesome worked play down our right as Field holds the ball up at the line before hitting Tasipale on an overs line. Tasipale beats his man initially before offloading inside to a flying JP Nohra!
Try scored by JP Nohra. Conversion unsuccessful by Jayden Yates.
Eels lead 10-0
30min gone
Aitasi Matautu draws a penalty for the Eels when the hulking prop has the ball reefed out of his grip. The Eels go downfield from the kick and work left as they pivot off their left backrower Matt Doorey. It looks like it might have been a knock on from my angle but evidently he reeled it in and flicked it on to William Kei who dives over in the corner.
Try scored by William Kei. Conversion unsuccessful by Jayden Yates.
Eels lead 14-0
33min gone
Bit of a run of penalties now as the Eels pick up their third (I think) successive penalty. Tyler Field splits the defence through the middle in the follow up set and earns a penalty with 5 seconds on the clock and right in front. Inexplicably the Eels tap and hurriedly pass to Field who tries to slot a 15m pot shot over from the right of the uprights and he is waved away. That was a gimme 2 points there!
Half Time
Parramatta Eels 14 lead South Sydney 0
Second Half
Eels kicking off. Solid set from both teams as Souths roll the ball down the sideline which leads to another useful kick return from JP Nohra. The Eels work the ball down their right edge but produce another error.
Matt Doorey levels a runner with a crunching hit and on the next tackle the Bunnies cough it up. Aitasi Matautu earns his second penalty of the game with another powerful charge. The Eels really have turned the game with the quality of their bench rotation.
The two Matts combine for a try this time around! Matt Smith rolls in a perfectly weighted grubber for Matt Doorey and the versatile backrower touches the ball down first in pursuit.
Try scored by Matt Doorey. Conversion unsuccessful by Tyler Field.
Eels lead 18-0
43min gone
Another incisive run by Tyler Field up the middle! He has the ball stripped out at the end of it and a penalty follows but on the first tackle of the follow up set we lose the ball once more.
Hello? The Eels have pushed in the scrum and won the ball in a mad scramble once it has popped out. A penalty immediately follows for I presume an offside Rabbitoh in that chaotic sequence but Matt Smith loses the ball in contact on the first tackle of the new set.
The Eels pin the Bunnies in their half before Pritchard gets the kick return but it is JP Nohra that shines with a fearless hit up on the next tackle. That was an intense run from the athletic fullback. Parramatta do manage to complete their set but are pinged for offside chasers from the kick. A second penalty follows for a hand on the ball in the ruck and the Rabbitohs finally capitalise on the run of possession as their big #16 isolates Matt Smith in the defensive line and crashes over.
Try scored by South Sydney. Conversion successful.
Rabbitohs trail 6-18
49min gone
Oh my, Souths drop the ball on the kickoff as their half lollipops the pass to his prop and the big man spills it cold.
JP Nohra is turning nearly all of his touches to gold at the moment as he crashes over to the right of the posts following a stellar offload from Charbel Tasipale!
Try scored by JP Nohra. Conversion successful by Tyler Field.
Eels lead 24-6
53min gone
Bad error from Aitasi Matautu there as he gets wide on his kickoff return and is driven barely into touch. Big chance for Souths to get back into the game here and they manage to force a line drop out but from the resultant kick they lose the ball into first contact!
Lovely interchange between Doorey and Nohra as the left edge backrower offloads to his fullback on the inside. Nohra is taken at the final line of play by the cover defence but again he is torching the Bunnies today.
Wide and right for the Eels as they look to score with momentum at their back but the grubber from Field to Pasitoa is just called back by the touch judge! It looked like Christian had scored there but he must have hit the chalk.
Souths are back on the offensive with the aid of another ruck penalty. It results in a talking to from the ref as well as stand-in captain JP Nohra is called out.
Some punishing defence early on the goal line set amounts to nothing when the Bunnies throw it around on the last and find a seam down our right edge. Just slopping work from the interior there as the Rabbitohs desperately kept the ball alive. Keeps them in the game as outside chances as well.
Try scored by South Sydney. Conversion successful.
Rabbitohs trail 12-24
63min gone
Bad play the ball! The ref is right on it and signals for a Parramatta scrum. Matty Smith is having a rough day in the handling department though. He dummies and steps past the first man from the scrum win but gets flung to the ground by the second defender and the balls squirts out.
Bit of a scrappy end of the game here as both teams concede errors and penalties. Souths get the last chance to throw the footy around but the play is quickly shut down.
Full Time
Parramatta Eels 24 defeat South Sydney Rabbitohs 12
TCT Best On Field
3. JP Nohra
2. Matt Doorey
1. Charbel Tasipale
If you liked this article, you might consider supporting The Cumberland Throw.

17 thoughts on “Live Blog – District Representatives Round 4 vs South Sydney

  1. Colin Hussey

    Good read an wonderful to see two wins from 2 starts. As great it is to see a big scoring match I feel for the Souths supporters with their junior sides, as I wouldn’t like to see that with the eels.

  2. John Eel

    Great wins, great post Forty. My only other observation is the goal kicking was average. It was also ordinary at Maitland for Mitchel. JF had similar issues

    I am sure it will be addressed

    Anything serious with Kyle Schneider injury?

  3. Clive

    Nice write up mate. Can you give us a bit of a run down on Jakob Arthur? What style of player is he? He obviously has a great attitude and work ethic so it will be interesting to see how he progresses.

    1. sixties

      An organising half – not a selfish bone in his body – plays for the team.
      Very confident and dominant performance today. All of his shifts and block plays created space. Kicking game came up trumps too.
      Pushed Penisini for best on field.

  4. Milo

    Thanks again 40; most indebted to you and the team. Q. Were we too good? Or souths poor? I just home the teams dont rue the loss lasts week. Shame about Schneider. Hope he is ok. Great kid

    1. sixties

      Matts were in a different class to Souths. Apart from some ordinary errors off kick offs, it was a slick team performance.
      SG Ball were outstanding in defence but the attack was stifled by far too much dropped ball and an absolute glut of penalties.
      They will now likely play without Schneider (only 5 rounds left) so it will be challenging moving forward without 3/4 of last year’s spine (Brown and Taipari having graduated to Flegg).

      1. Milo

        yes that seems to be tough; but guess if we have some talent there they can look at improving. It seems some discipline has hindered the juniors.

  5. The rev aka Snedden

    40/20 my son just have to ask a simple question on jarryd Haynes 1st game. Please feel free to correct me but wasant his 1st game vs Newcastle were he scored 4 tries …?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

%d bloggers like this: