The NSW Cup is in action tonight at Belmore Sports Ground as they take on the Canterbury Bulldogs. The Eels are looking to put a horror second half collapse against the Warriors behind them and have been boosted by the returns of Lorenzo Mulitalo, Matthew Arthur, Makahesi Makatoa Doorey from NRL duties. They receive another set of reinforcements in Ofahiki Ogden and Toni Mataele – both of whom are finally back after long stints in the casualty ward.
If you have a subscription to NSWRL TV you can catch this game online, otherwise you can follow the game right here on TCT with kickoff from 8:00PM.
NSW Cup Team List
| 6 | Daejarn Asi |
| 2 | Lorenzo Mulitalo |
| 3 | Samuel Loizou |
| 4 | Sean Russell |
| 5 | Isaac Lumelume |
| 19 | Joshua Lynn |
| 7 | Ethan Sanders |
| 13 | Brock Parker |
| 9 | Matthew Arthur |
| 10 | Makahesi Makatoa |
| 15 | Jock Brazel |
| 12 | Matt Doorey |
| 11 | Dan Keir |
| Interchange | |
| 14 | Joey Lussick |
| 21 | Reece Alderton |
| 16 | Ofahiki Ogden |
| 17 | Toni Mataele |
Plenty of changes for the Eels tonight. Zac Cini is out, pushing Daejarn Asi to fullback and bringing Joshua Lynn into the halves. Sean Russell is in the centres, filling the TBA slot. Wiremu Greig is also out tonight. Brock Parker pushes into the front row from lock, Dan Keir takes over at the end of the scrum with Jock Brazel coming onto the starting edge. Reece Alderton is called onto the bench as the final piece of the pregame shuffle.
In other news, the Jersey Flegg delivered a critical boilover tonight with a 19-12 victory over the first placed Bulldogs. The win keeps the Blue & Gold in the hunt for an unlikely finals berth and enshrines them as one of the form teams in the competition.
Match Updates
First Half
Good driving tackle from Parker and Brazel to open this game. Canterbury respond with some strong carries to take the ball short of halfway before finding Lumelume with their clearing kick. It looks like the Eels have the early advantage in field position after ruck efforts from Mulitalo and Doorey but the referee finds an error from the skipper in Dan Keir as he trucks the ball to halfway. Lost in going to ground it looks like.
The scrum is set for the Bulldogs and it is just too easy from there. Looks like Loizou nibbled on the crashing decoy and it opens up a channel for the linebreak as the runner bursts through and finds his supporting winger Jordi Mazzone. Simple stuff.
Try scored by the Bulldogs. Conversion successful.
Bulldogs lead 6-0
5min gone
Much better stuff from Parra in their next possession as they punch the ball into Canterbury’s half. Strong work around the ruck from the Eels’ forwards and the dummy half Arthur put the Dogs on the backfoot and it sets up a big shift to the left where Lynn finds Asi who in turn feeds it to Sanders which culminates in Lumelume getting a chance to dive for the corner! He dots it down and the Eels have hit back immediately.
Try scored by Isaac Lumelume. Conversion unsuccessful.
Eels trail 4-6
8min gone
Parker with the lead run to start the set after points. Brazel and Makatoa are up next but the touch judge finds a forward pass from Matt Arthur out of the ruck. Bad error after points and another chance for the Dogs to attack from a set piece.
Basic stuff from the scrum win from the home team this time around and the Eels will take that. It means they are attacking down their right early on and they use that shape to build for a big swap to the left. Parra counter with an aggressive jam once the spread unfolds and Mulitalo has a tough chance to squeeze an interception but it goes to ground as he dives forwards.
Another scrum feed for the Dogs and they capitalise on the glut of possession mid tackle count with an interchange of play between two forwards. Liam Knight digs into the line and passes to Lipoi Hopoi who is able to roll through the tackles of Brazel, Lynn and Asi to score.
Try scored by the Bulldogs. Conversion successful.
Bulldogs lead 12-4
14min gone
Big trouble for Parramatta now. They concede a ruck penalty which carries the Dogs down field and once more the left edge shift from the Dogs has Parra all at sea. Mulitalo is left with a 3-on-1 as Joash Papalii glides through and finds Mazzone with the long pass to put the winger over for an early double.
Try scored by the Bulldogs. Conversion unsuccessful.
Bulldogs lead 16-4
17min gone
The klaxxons are firing now as the Dogs get another penalty coming out of their quarter. Surprisingly the home team opt to focus their early efforts down their right edge where the Eels have looked marginally stouter. They don’t break through there but the eventual switch of play to their left again yields the simplest of dividends as Hayze Perham runs through a yawning chasm in the defensive line between Loizou and Lynn it looked like. Asi has no chance to cut the flying five-eighth down and the Dogs tack on once again to their lead.
Try scored by the Bulldogs. Conversion unsuccessful.
Bulldogs lead 20-4
20min gone
Chaotic stuff from the Eels now. They finally hold on defensively for a set and force a clearing kick only for Daejarn Asi to make a bad decision in attempting to take on Mazzone down the sideline. It results in a panicked fling of the ball backwards that Parra thankfully clean up. A tough set follows but Lynn salvages it with a driving clearing kick that finds touch inside the Canterbury 20m. Big, big play given the flow of the game.
Sure enough the Bulldogs cough the ball up in the resultant set as Knight drops it 8m shy of halfway. The Eels go left from the scrum win to Russell before Arthur has a run from dummy half. It is discombobulated after that as Lynn and Brazel aren’t quite in sync but the defenders are offside and a bailout penalty comes.
Brazel gets the ball from the restart and is much better this time around with a strong and direct carry. To the left from there but again the Eels gets it wrong as Sanders feeds a forward pass to Doorey. Easy call for the touch judge.
Yet another penalty conceded from the Eels now – this one for a high tackle – as they continue to gift the Dogs easy passages out of their red zone. No try from the following set but again our right edge looks brittle as the home team run it on the last and only a tipped pass from the fingers of Mulitalo saving the day from a first half hat trick for Mazzone. It does mean another set for the Dogs though and incredibly, the Eels hold on and just when it looks like Asi will be trapped in goals for a drop out he gets collared high in a lazy tackle attempt. What a gift penalty.
Oh a lucky call now! Sanders puts a chip kick in down a narrow left edge channel and it pings off a defender. Arthur jumps up to claim it but I don’t think it was played at. The referee disagrees and it is a fresh set for Parra. They go agonisingly close to converting it into points as well. Again it is the left edge asking questions as Sanders attacks the line and passes to Russell who turns to Lumelume for another chance to score in the corner. He gets the ball down but has barely clipped the sideline in his final step! Missed out by centimetres there in what could be a crucial miss.
There is a bit of sparkle from the left edge once again as a late offload from Ogden allows Arthur and Sanders to create space down the left. It ends up with Lumelume who gets clear and tries to kick ahead but a hustle effort from the Canterbury rake in Cook secures the ball only for Lumelume to give away a penalty for a sloppy tackle attempt that used knees.
Cook then haunts the Eels in attack with a sharp dart against the Eels’ left edge but generates a 4-on-2. He creates the linebreak with a cutout pass to the winger Petersen and then finishes the play two passes later in support as the Dogs go further ahead in the shade of half time.
Try scored by the Bulldogs. Conversion successful.
Bulldogs lead 26-4
37min gone
Half Time
Canterbury Bulldogs 26 lead the Parramatta Eels 4
Second Half
Eels receive the ball to start the game. Brazel earns a quick fire penalty and the Blue & Gold and Lynn pounces in the next set as he slices through with a terrific individual run. He is pulled down short of the line but Asi attacks in his wake and looks to have scored but it is a double movement! He protests to the ref but the man with the whistle had a great angle on it.
An error from the Dogs gifts the Eels a second chance and again they ask questions with a left edge shift. Asi tries to roll a kick ahead for Doorey but gets his angle wrong but thankfully the Dogs knock on again. More and more pressure here as Josh Lynn forces a line dropout with a neat kick down the right. Time is off for a hobbled Loizou and he limps off the field with aid from two trainers. Not looking good for Sammy there.
Oh goodness, Parra make a meal of the drop out. Shortish drop out from the Dogs but it travels far enough that the Eels get the only chance to play at it…only to miss it and see it roll towards the sideline. One of the big units, was it Keir or Alderton, tries to dive for it but is over the line.
Raining errors now. The Dogs cough it up again as they fail to complete a set this half and Parramatta set a scrum 10m inside Canterbury’s half.
Right to Brazel from the scrum win. Sanders is laid out for his efforts there. Two plays later there are two whistles as an initial call of an error from Alderton is changed to a penalty. Tap and go from Parra as they go through the middle. Ogden draws another penalty for a strip from the defence.
Brazel takes the first run. Parker goes close on tackle three but loses the ball. So many chances for the Eels here but they just can not make it stick.
And another drop! Canterbury practically begging the Eels to score here. Parramatta try to work from right to left but the passing is stilted and allows the Dogs to push up. Asi tries to force the play with an early kick but it is trapped in the front line and snapped up by a defender on the ricochet.
The Bulldogs are still waiting to complete a set as this time they are penalised in possession. This is for an obstruction and it puts Parramatta back on the attack.
Alderton slips on tackle one with Parker taking a conventional settler on the second. Sanders dummies and runs himself but is taken in the front line as the ball plays right to Lynn next tackle. He uses Keir who is back in the centres as the emergency cover. Switch of play to the left where Sanders kicks for Doorey along the carpet. Canterbury win the chase for the ball and bat it dead.
Mulitalo claims the short drop out. Lussick runs from dummy half and nearly catches the Dogs out! He is dragged down 1m short. To the left with Alderton before left once again but the pass from Sanders is batted down by a defender. Set restart as Asi centres it. Alderton crashes over from short range and he looks to have got it down but no! Held up is the call. Tight one there but Alderton isn’t blowing up.
Crash ball to Doorey before it unravels next play. Poor pass from Lussick that forces Alderton to his knees to clean it up and the big man himself is then cleaned up high. A penalty comes.
Brazel carts it up first play. Left to Parker in front of the posts. Right now as Asi plays to Lynn. The Eels are struggling to find a crack here and Lussick tries something different as he runs from dummy half and tries to roll the ball back in behind the ruck. He draws an error in the clean up from the home team as the tidal wave of possession continues for the Eels. They desperately need points though.
Better shape down the right edge now as Lynn leads a shift that finds Mulitalo cutting back infield. The Eels finally come unstuck as Keir forces a flick pass to Mulitalo a few plays later and the balls pings into touch off the hands of the winger. So much ball and territory for the Eels here and they have nothing to show for it.
Just like that the Dogs tack on. Again they attack the right edge of the Eels and it leads to a long range try as Mazzone secures his hat trick. Looks like Mulitalo impeded the Canterbury winger as well but he had too much speed regardless as he backs up his backrower and goes past Asi at the last line.
Try scored by the Bulldogs. Conversion successful.
Bulldogs lead 32-4
65min gone
A small bit of scoreboard relief for the Eels finally. Lynn sparks the try with a run down the left edge short side. He is disguised nicely behind Doorey on the sweep before getting the ball and then linking up with Lumelume. The Parra winger cruises down the sideline before passing back to Lynn for the try.
Try scored by Josh Lynn. Conversion successful by Ethan Sanders.
Eels trail 10-32
72min gone
Back-to-back efforts from the Eels out of no where. Lumelume involved again with the rapid shift to the left from deep in their own half. Sharp passing from Sanders and Russell releases Lumelume and again he plays it well as he draws Papalii at the last line and gets the ball back to Sanders for the long range effort.
Try scored by Ethan Sanders. Conversion successful by Ethan Sanders.
Eels trail 16-32
74min gone
A final bit of scoreline damage mitigation as Joey Lussick dives over from short range on the stroke of full time.
Try scored by Joey Lussick. Conversion successful by Ethan Sanders.
Eels trail 22-32
79min gone
Full Time
Canterbury Bulldogs 32 defeat the Parramatta Eels 22
I actually feel sorry for jason ryles based on everything 60s said because its all factual but the biggest obstacle facing the football team is the board especially mcelduff , sarantinis , oniell , rogers & degoiss because its just more chaos until their all gone , arthur , talagi , guymer ,tuivati etc they need to get out now before their careers are destroyed by a completely dysfunctional knowledge less board ceo and recruitment use them as cannon fodder , get out now boys before its to late , look after yourselves because chaos is going to reign supreme for 3/4 seasons , go to teams that will develop your career playing with good personnel and good management
What did Sixties say for you to advise our best young talent to leave our club? I’m just curious.
State of the roster and salary cap mess article which is all fact , you cant throw juniors to the wolves you need a good experienced team around them carrying them not vice versa , its common sense applied to all other 16 teams joseph , were going to try and offload players worth 6,7,8, hundred thousand dollars , wont happen without us paying big freight so 600k probably gets us 300k , thats what we have to do replace with what we get , backward step son instead we massacre our juniors to early to save board and disgusting recruitment and salary cap mis management , 60s explained all that its all true and all common sense so until we build a good nrl squad our juniors are going to bear the brunt . Bad option !!! Kids better of out till nrl squad is strong enough to nurture them not butcher them .Classic example guymer 1 great stint and hes in the starting team , ridiculous !! Anyway gone for the season , butchered !!!!!
All good Higgsy, our roster is young and inexperienced 😕
I read Sixties post, I’m not sure you did.
Simply stated facts didnt resort to your last shot line but you opened the door , im a realist your a dreamer joseph and i care about the players (kids) welfare and best interests , maybe you need to read again .
Higgsy it looks like Ryles is taking significant action. Apparently he is cleaning out all the coaching staff. It’s reported today moses will become captain. 3 players have allegedly been told they can leave or are being shopped off. A change in on field + off field leadership in the NRL team (defence coaches, strength & conditioning, wrestling, etc). We could see a significant Improvement for the team next year. If Ryles did not clean out the coaching staff and kept paulo & gutho captains and didn’t start moving players on now, my prediction would be dire for next season. We are coming second last, even a slight improvement on defensive coaching, better fitness, and a few new faces in 25’ and we could lift further up off the bottom. We can’t expect only negative outcomes, it can’t get a lot worst than last or second last. Well I hope not anyhow mate.
Muz, it’s not unusual for a new coach to clear out the coaching staff and bring in their own guys, it happens all the time. There is no guarantee that it translates into immediate results though, that’s a matter of wait and see. There were obviously issues with BA and O’Neill working together, so again it’s a wait and see how Ryles and O’Neill work out. If there’s still a 5 man R&R committee I say good luck to Ryles, he’s going to need it – I just cannot see that system working for any coach. There’s people still saying the current squad is 100% on BA and the current Board members have said he had the major say in signings, I still say that’s BS. If he had the major say, why was there a need for a 5 man committee? If anyone honestly thinks BA just named the players he wanted to release, keep and sign and O’Neill and the other 4 members immediately got to work doing just that, they’re delusional. Plenty of smarter footy minds in the actual media rather than on social media are saying the current roster has underperformed big time and should definitely be in the 8, no arguments there.
An early win from TB and many were saying what a breath of fresh air and clearly it was BA’s coaching that was the problem, but that stupid argument has died a quick death. Unfortunately, history has shown a new coach having immediate success is as rare as hens teeth. The big question is how long some of the Eels “fans” that have been as ruthless as they have stupid in their demands for BA’s sacking, will give Ryles if things don’t look too great in his first couple of years. There’s some still denying BA did any good for the club and some actually saying he was the worst thing that ever happened and he should be judged on results and 0 Premierships is the defining stat. Then lo and behold, those same buffoons are now demanding Brian Smith be involved in some form at the club – yep, a bloke with 0 premierships at multiple clubs – go figure, you just can’t help stupid sometimes!!
Gday stubby, I am aware and agree with you most new coaches do a clean out. I guess was just trying to add to higgsy comment that our defence and ladder position is last, it’s possible with some better defensive coaching that we might lift off the bottom a bit next year. I agree with you tho mate new coaches cannot completely turn around a roster of many of them are truly past it. There’s a lot more to it than just coaches, it’s not usually that simple. It still might take a lot of new players on the roster until we see any significant long term improvements possibly. It’s Nice to see Ryles is taking action already though mate.
I forgot to say as well stubby mate. I agree with you Jason will have his hands full with r & r Committee, and it’s possible this turn around could realistically take years as we all know rebuilds can take time. I’m hoping it’s next year we lift, but it could realistically be like ciros bulldogs and there’s no significant impact until he the new coach gets some of his own signings in his new team to build it how he sees fit. I’m hoping for a fast improvement, but reality is we have an old roster and many players will be even slower next year. We can just hope for the best & be patient with our new coaches. Success probably won’t happen over night.
Hey Muz, the blame for our current situation should squarely fall on those at the top of the tree, to blame anyone below the chain of command is self preservation.
We can hope that our board has learnt from mistakes and allow those who know a lot more about rugby league to make important football decisions.
Their decision to sign Ryles gives me hope, they had the option to sign Hannay but they chose a more dominant personality.
Their decision indicates to me that the board is willing to step aside and allow Ryles to control the football department. I really don’t care if their decision is for the betterment of the club or purely to save their bacon, I only care about the end result.
Wheather Ryles is the up to the task is another question all together. History shows that it takes a few seasons to find out.
We are not in same situation as Ciraldo for example, the Dogs had virtually no roster, our roster boasts an Origin winning halfback, kiwi test 5/8, Origin winger, Origin QLD bench forward, three former Origin players and quality juniors who have already made a statement.
Ryles has plenty to work with and plenty to do. The potential is there for a fast turnaround.
Hey Jo, I agree mate huge potential to work with in our team. Like you said we are blessed to have a top origin half back, a kiwi 6, some other handy players too that when in form are pretty solid. Jason has quality eels to build around. I agree issues often start at the top. Let’s hope better times ahead! Although I don’t doubt many challenges are yet to come for our new head coach.
Hey Muz, sorry mate, but I just don’t agree with the old roster bit at all. Look at the Dolphins with the Bromwich brothers, Kaufusi etc. They lost Gilbert, Flegler, Aitken recently and JMK is out for 6-8 weeks. There’s 4 of your starting 6 forwards and they’re still competitive with those “old” blokes there. What they have is speed out wide and creative halves,1 young and 1 older, that complement each other and utilise the speed out wide. The Eels forwards should be capable of holding their own against any forward pack, the halves are obviously one of the best 3 combos in the comp, but where it falls down is outside backs depth and pure speed. Just my opinion for what it’s worth.
Joseph, I like your thought train on the selection of Ryles, but just to play Devils Advocate you can also look at it as they got another rookie coach that they can control the narrative over. The few seasons to take effect is the big problem. Certain sections of the Eels “fan”base wanted BA gone after the spoon in ’18, no regards whatsoever to circumstances, contributing factors outlined in the subsequent review etc., it was all on BA, hell if a cubicle at the Leagues Club had no toilet paper it was BA’s fault. I guarantee those same idiots will have the knives out for Ryles sooner rather than later if the results don’t start happening, and for them a premiership is the only result that matters, BA gets no credit for the finals he made, in fact, they point to his finals W-L record as another reason he should have been sacked. Unless Ryles gets a Premiership within 2-3 years he’ll be lumped as a useless Bush Coach!!
Hey stubby, I see what you mean mate some clubs having older forwards. I agree and am aware of that.
What I’m suggesting is that paulo for example, maybe even RCG, did not get sufficient playing management compared to some other forwards. We hardly used a bench correctly for a long time and our props copped a significant flogging in terms of work load. At other good clubs they would use a better bench rotation than us usually to share the work load. Other former NRL player have suggested in the past this can lead to a shortened nrl career if a hand full of players more or less take the weight of the whole team. This appears evident with gutho too, he is 29 and his knees are seemingly done. Those clubs including Melbourne seemed to better manage some of those forwards you mentioned. Ba never wanted to take paulo or RCG off at their peak, until they were absolutely gassed, at post game presssers when asked about his lack of bench rotation, he would often say they are such good players you don’t want to take them off. While I agree we have some good players left in our forward pack, they do not appear good enough to win the ruck anymore – if you watch a game we lose the ruck EVERY game the forwards can’t get back onside fast enough post tackle and we lose the middle every week. Then you’ll see outside defenders start to come in and we compress, then loads of space starts to appear out wide. I’m not disagreeing with you tho I know we need older experienced forwards in a pack. There’s a mix of issues, including lack of speed out wide. But our middles are losing the battle weekly. You can see they can’t keep up with the pace anymore. I do believe some of our players have had their nrl careers shortened by their work loads in previous seasons too. Paulo for example is a shadow of his former self. It could be form and preparation too, but many of our players seem to be struggling. I get you that our backs are average, but our middles are hardly winning in that area either mate. Big challenges ahead for the new coach. But I believe in him & will support our club.
Higgsy , putting DeGois on that list is far from the mark, have a look at junior reps which is where he recruits. They are building nicely , if he is hamstrung it’s when the decisions are made to sign from that level , and that goes a bit further up the ladder.
Our juniors now recruit from NZ, Qld, Country and other clubs which he supervises, and we are seeing the results from that, fair enough to look at the NRL situation which is where reset is needed.
Entitled to your opinion derek
Just saw news being reported today Mitch moses may be the captain for the eels moving forward next season.
A couple of weeks ago, I posted this as a comment and a few people disagreed on here or in person when I suggested this.
Do you think it’s a good move? My view is that the club needs its best players who will lead the ship so to speak moving forward as captains.
My view is that gutho may be a co captain but moses needs to be handed keys to the team – he is our best player and paulo as a co captain to gutherson in my opinion makes zero sense (Ryles apparently must feel the same?)
Either way – it’s refreshing for us eels fans that there is evidently changes taking place for our eels next year!
Agree Muz. I think it’s a good move to clean out everything from the old regime. Gutho has been a hard working player. But we are not winning. It’s time for a change.
I think building the team around Moses, Hopgood and Lomax is the way forward.
There’s a few more ducks that have to be lined up.
I assume the player agents will leak every conversation for the remainder of the year. In order to keep Wiedler, Hoops and Buz in a job.
I agree we are losing and the new coach will find it harder to push forward his new ideas into the players with the same old captain who would have his ways installed by BA. It’s not a knock on gutho but moses is one of the best players in the whole competition- i commented this weeks ago, moses would be captain at almost any other team, it’s stupid he isn’t captain at parra or co captain. I’ve also always thought hopgood is a future captain – give him co captaincy. Watch these two boys set a new standard for the team. The new coach it looks like is also forming a chess move here to hedge his bets, guthos last year I believe is next year. He won’t be fullback (apparently), if gutho is even slower next year they’ll offer him significantly less or move him on. It will be easier with him not as captain. Some older folks will dislike the moses move – but almost any top club would have moses as a leader of their team, it’s ridiculous that he isn’t. We’ve got the best NSW captain in arguably 20 odd years since Johns was NSW #7, and the bloke is just a regular player with his captains not even being bench origin players who can’t win a game if he’s not there. It’s no offence to them, but gutho & paulo might of gotten flogged too hard work load wise by BA with them carrying our team literally for years. It might of robbed them both years off their playing careers – there’s a reason why too coaches have & use bench rotations and have depth, you can’t place too much load on individuals like we have. It’s sad but i believe it’s why paulo gutho RCG went from world class to average in 2 seasons. Obviously form comes into it, but you can tell they are not the same players as just two seasons ago. Unless I’m missing something? I feel like our main props got over worked & burned out. Not enough bench rotations for them. And too much work load on our main props
Sorry mate I meant to say best nsw halfback performer in possibly 20 years almost* not captain 👍