The long weekend of footy begins with the Jersey Flegg as the Parramatta Eels travel to Lidcombe Oval to take on the Wests Tigers. The Eels have been on a roll in the Flegg over the last three weeks, playing a team-orientated brand of rugby league that has impressed at each turn. Coach Craig Brennan has enjoyed consistency in his player availability and that remains true heading into Round 6. That is a massive edge for a team that is humming along right now and if they stick to the formula this week they can account for the Tigers.

Kickoff is at 11:00AM, stay tuned for updates!

 

Jersey Flegg Team List

 

1	Lindsay Munro
19	Beau Newlands
2	Turoa Williams
4	Will Latu
5	Lene Feterika
6	Ned Hicks
7	Mac Puafisi
8	Brock Parker
9	Jacob Davis
10	Jontay Junior Betham Misa
11	Jock Brazel (c)
12	Max Tupou
13	Nicholas Lenaz
Interchange
16	Nikau Wrathall
22	Tyson Chase
26	Damien Nati
29	Noah Reed
27	Lachlan Mears-Crabb

Late Mail

 

There are a handful of changes for the Eels ahead of kickoff. Sam Loizou drops out of the team. Turoa Williams shifts backs into the centres to replace him while Beau Newlands takes over on the wing. William Latu and Lene Feterika remain unchanged in the backline by will don different jerseys to the ones they were originally listed in. Damien Nati makes his club debut off the interchange bench as he replaces Riley Lack.

 

Match Updates

 

First Half

Parramatta will kickoff to commence this game as we play under dreary conditions. The rain was stopped but the field is well and truly wet following early morning precipitation.

A strong defensive set allows Lindsay Munro to track the ball back to just shy of 30m out from Parra’s goal line before Beau Newlands has a nice carry down the left edge that asks some serious questions of the defence. A penalty on the last follows when Mac Puaifisi is hit as he kicks but honestly that looked tough on the Tigers.

After venturing left the Eels centre the ball via Nic Lenaz. He looks to offload as the held call comes so play comes back for the completed tackle. Puafisi attacks the defensive line deep in the count from the penalty set and plays late to a flying Turoa Williams who is angling back in off his left foot. It splits the edge defenders perfectly and puts the Eels on the board first!

Try scored by Turoa Williams. Conversion successful by Mac Puafisi.

Eels lead 6-0

5min gone

Now a penalty for the Blue & Gold. Tigers caught offside early in the kickoff set and it puts the Eels over halfway and back on attack. Betham-Misa and Parker set the table through the first three carries before a 6-again call comes and Lenaz seizes the momentum with a surging carry! He knifes in behind the ruck and powers through a gaggle of arm grabs before spinning his way over to slam the ball down and score! Tremendous work from all three middles in that set.

Try scored by Nicholas Lenaz. Conversion successful by Mac Puafisi.

Eels lead 12-0

8min gone

After a red hot start the Eels finally concede an error and it comes from the kickoff. The handoff to the prop is ruled forwards and it is hard to argue against it. Sloppy mistake, can the Tigers make the Eels pay for it?

Their centre Fuatimau has a good run from the scrum win before their dummy half tries to burrow over. The Eels turn them away on both times before they spread to their left. Again the Eels rally and knock them back and Tigers set up DEEP from there with a union-esque backline. It doesn’t serve them well though as an errant pass takes them even further backwards before a panicked kick results in an offside Tiger and thus a penalty to Parramatta.

Puafisi digs deep into the line before playing to his partner Ned Hicks who runs the ball. Right then to Munroe who dummies and then passes to Tupu who runs strongly. Terrific set up play for the shift back to the left where Hicks stabs a shallow grubber in behind the line. It is going to test the Wests fullback as a flying Jock Brazel gives chase and Parra’s tearaway captain wins the chase as he recovers the ball and dives over for the meat pie!

Try scored by Jock Brazel. Conversion unsuccessful by Mac Puafisi.

Eels lead 16-0

15min gone

Hicks fields the kick and opts to run himself instead of passing this time. Jontay and Brock get to work early in this set as Brazel sets up the clearing kick. Puafisi angles his kick nicely for a 40/20 but the Wests fullback Trey Peni is positined perfectly to cut it off.

Wests have a clear knock on missed as the touchies watch on but the Eels stay focused and force a kick that Munroe cleans up near his try line. Tough set for Parra now as the Tigers test the whistle of the ref. They get away with it and force Puafisi to clear the ball from inside his own half before picking up a penalty of their own for ruck interfence from Parra defenders.

Hicks and Brazel make a nice read and tackle down the left. It forces the Tigers back to the other side of the field where they attack on the ground via the grubber kick but go on to lose it forwards in the contest for the ball. They compound the error with a penatly that puts the Eels on their 30m line.

Newlands and Parker take the opening carries before Puafisi plays to Jontay down the left. Parker centres the ball as Hicks then plays to Williams who makes his opposite miss with a nice jink to the left before he is pulled down by cover defence. Jacob Davis runs it from dummy half on the last as he kicks ahead for himself but his kick is well taken in the front line.

Wests graft it out from their half before picking up a late penatly in the count for a shoulder charge. It puts them deep in Parra’s territory as they test the Eel’s ruck defence with an interchange forward in #15. He is barely contained with the aid of the uprights before Beau Newlands scoops up a loose pass and looks to set off back infield. Before he can go half a dozen steps though he is collared across the chops in a careless high tackle. A penalty is immediately called.

Will Latu gets us back underway from the touchfinder with Noah Reed following him up. Puafisi feeds Tupou on the third tackle but the backrower is met violently in a clean hit and loses the ball.

The Tigers are finally able to convert their glut of territory into points as the #15, Herman Tofaeono, who went close to scoring before smashes through the front line and races over to score from 20m out.

Try scored by the Wests Tigers. Conversion successful.

Tigers trail 6-16

26min gone

Terrific read and tackle from Latu in this defensive set. Munroe can’t quite trap the clearing kick with his boot and has to head back to retrieve the ball before he is clocked high. Turoa Williams gets us back underway as Parra keep it fairy simple this set. Puafisi has to hurry an attacking bomb under the last due to kick pressure as the Eels get the chase wrong and hit the fullback high. Looks like Williams was the culprit here.

Munroe takes a cracking catch under pressure as Wests complete the resultant set and the Eels pick up another penalty barely inside their own 40m. Indeed, the referee initially signalled 6-again before realising it was inside 40. Nikau Wrathall provides a bullocking run with Parker following him up to centre the ball. A rapid shift to the left follows as Brazel steams onto an overs line. The physicality of his carry bumps a defender and allows him to free an arm for the offload as he pops it to Lene Feterika in support. Lene does an outstanding job himself as he finds himself right next to the sideline. He plows into two cover defenders and rips himself away with a powerful spin move to fall over the line and score! And boy does he likes that as he gets up roaring!

Try scored by Lene Feterika. Conversion successful by Mac Puafisi.

Eels lead 22-6

34min gone

There is barely enough time for the kickoff but the Tigers botch it badly with a restart that was never going anywhere but over the sideline on the full. A penalty of halfway as the siren sounds as Hicks finds touch. He then has a crack at field goal but drills it flat and dead as we hit the sheds for oranges.

 

Half Time

Parramatta Eels 22 lead the Wests Tigers 6

 

Second Half

 

Hicks fields the kickoff and takes the opening run of the half. Parker is met strongly on tackle two and driven back. The Eels then look to get away with a missed knock on of their own following the one from the Tigers earlier and it allows them to clear the ball where Parker makes a sensational tackle on the fullback.

Feterika loses the attacking bomb backwards but quickly recovers and does well to turn it into a gain. Newlands threatens to make a handy contribution out of dummy half but is hit heavily in the knee and struggles to get to his feet. Time is called off as he is treated by a trainer. He will try and walk it off. Latu takes the Eels over halfway but the big backline move on the next tackle unravels for Parra as the big cutout pass misses its target and rolls into touch.

Some violent defence culminates in some cerebral play as Nikau Wrathall levies strong initial contact into a 1-on-1 strip. Brilliant play from the big man. Parra muster the ball deep into Wests’ half before Lenaz looks to weave a grubber kick through the right edge shortside. Alas it is a tad too heavy from the boot and rolls dead in-goals.

Plenty of metres up for grabs from the 7-tackle set for the Tigers but Parramatta again stand tall as Turoa Williams jams in on the last to make the last tackle of the set. Looks like there are some dusty Eels at the end of this defensive stand though as the trainers find themselves extremely busy.

Wests will get another chance to attack the Parramatta goal line with Jontay pinged by the referee for an error in the play-the-ball. They are able to make the Eels pay with a crash ball from dummy half that featured a neat pirouette before the line that did barely enough to get through the contact of the Eels.

Try scored by the Wests Tigers. Conversion successful.

Tigers trail 12-22

44min gone

Pure chaos here. It looks like punches have been thrown in the backfield as an Eel goes down. The officials miss it while Lindsay Munroe seizes on the chaos to blitz down the left sideline! He screams into the open field but his fadeaway pass at the last line of defence is off the mark and travels forwards. The officials miss that as well, no surprise at this point, as William Latu scoops it up and steams to the right. He doesn’t quite have the pace to beat the cover defence but he sure as hell has the power as he steamrolls his way over in the corner! Fortune falls the way of the Eels there but they did plenty well to capitalise on it.

Try scored by William Latu. Conversion unsuccessful by Mac Puafisi.

Eels lead 26-12

48min gone

Wests get the next opportunity as Tupou makes a huge tackle to prevent a linebreak from the Wests dummy half. It is followed by a bone rattler from Will Latu! He jams in perfectly from the right sideline to save a try. It looks like Wests have produced an error two tackles later but the Eels were offside. No worries though, they go on to turn the ball over in the next set as the spread the ball to their left winger.

Parra have cobbled together a makeshift backline following the try to Latu earlier. It looks like Turoa Williams has picked up a significant knee injury while Beau Newlands is also off following that earlier tackle that left him shaken up. Damian Nati is in the halves with Ned Hicks at left centre. Max Tupou is at right centre with Nikau Wrathall on the edge. Will Latu is on the right wing with Feterika on the left.

A string of penalties, including a cannon ball and a high shot, put Parra on Wests’ goal line armed with a full set of tackles. They work from right to left with Tyson Chase before debutante Damian Nati attacks the left edge short side with numbers. He holds it up and takes the line on himself as he splits defenders and crashes over.

Try scored by Damian Nati. Conversion unsuccessful by Mac Puafisi.

Eels lead 30-12

56min gone

Oh lord Jontay has send a defender to the shadow realm with a powerful charge. The Eels leap on the momentum as Puafisi attacks the line and releases Latu with a beauty of a pass. The centre-come-winger steams down the right sideline but takes the wrong option as he kicks ahead. It skews awkwardly off the foot towards the Wests fullback who thankfully makes a meal of it all with a knock on. Hang on though it is all coming back though with Puafisi hit violently late off the ball. Wests will be a player down for 10 of the final 11 minutes as the ref gives him the marching orders.

Good service for Parker and Reed in this set. The middles have been excellent today. Chase centres the ball on the last before Nati shows off his playmaking skills with a slick pass to a flying Wrathall down the right to put his big backrower over! Good run and a great pass. With Puafisi still shook up from the late hit, Wrathall gets the attempt to ice his own try. It is a fair strike but barely misses to the right.

Try scored by Nikau Wrathall. Conversion unsuccessful by Nikau Wrathall.

Eels lead 34-12

62min gone

Feterika, Brazel and Reed all do well here before the Eels look to offload a plenty. Wests do well to hold on as the ball moves from Parra’s right edge and then back to the ruck. The patchwork changes continue now as Wrathall takes over from Puafisi in the halves while Nic Lenaz is out in the centres now.

The Tigers peg one back following another massive forward pass that was missed – at least it has been consistent for both sides in that regard. It allows them to get to their kick as they hoist it to Parra’s right edge. Latu stays on the ground as his opposite climbs the ladder and boy does he climb it as he takes an AFL style speccy before clipping Latu’s shoulder and cartwheeling into the in-goals to score. Fair effort there.

Try scored by the Wests Tigers. Conversion succcessful.

Tigers trail 18-34

67min gone

The kickoff sails dead by a slim margin with the narrow in-goals at Lidcombe Oval. A chance for the Tigers to minimise the points differential damage here. They get white line fever until late in the set where they simply lose the plot as the Eels make all their requisite tackles and complete the turnover of possession.

Feterika has another qulaity carry before the Eels work to their left where offloads see Lenaz make a big gain. Reed centres the ball before Parker brings up the last. Nati grubbers for Latu who loses it ahead and with 20sec on the clock that should do us today as the Flegg march on with another quality win.

 

Full Time

Parramatta Eels 34 defeat the Wests Tigers 18