It is the Jersey Flegg that kickoff the weekend action today as they host the Tigers at New Era Stadium. The Eels are looking to build on their Round 1 victory over the Kaiviti Silktails but the Blue & Gold are already facing a backline reshuffle after Josh Lynn was called up to the NSW Cup while Richard Penisini got dinged up last week. Provisionally, Apa Twidle has shifted from fullback to five-eighth but we await a complete teamlist ahead of kickoff to see who the Eels will play at fullback and wing.

Speaking of kickoff, this game will start at 1:00PM so be sure to catch all of the action right here on TCT!

 

Jersey Flegg Team List

1	Jayden Ambichi
2	Noah Totoa
3	Antioch Faitala-Mariner
4	Araz Nanva
5	Bradley Avery
6	Apa Twidle
7	Matthew Hunter
8	Damascus Neemia
9	Jack Hudson
10	Teancum Brown
11	Dom De Stradis
12	Tyrese Lokeni
13	Saxon Pryke
Interchange
14	Patrick Spence
15	Jaylen Taewa
16	Raffaele De Stradis
17	Ieti Samuelu

 

Match Updates

 

Tigers to kickoff in the first half.

Parra’s middle contribute heavily in the first set as you would imagine. Neemia, Pryke and Brown all getting runs to position the Eels solidly for the clearing kick. Apa Twidle has a lot of pressure on him down the right edge shortside though and has to hurry his kick through contact and it barely sails out on the full. Didn’t catch the severity of the contact but the Eels compound the matter by giving away the first penalty of the game.

The Tigers threaten down their right edge forcing Ambichi into action early and he makes the cover tackle near the try line before the Eels rally into a much better, set defensive line. Ambichi then positions himself nicely to negate the grubber kick to the posts and the Eels earn a penalty in reply.

Faitala-Mariner trucks it up on the opening carry of the next set but the ref spies a little error as he hits the ground. Big chance here for the Tigers.

Wests break right from the scrum and look for the quick shift but Parramatta mark up well. Now comes the slow build back to the left before they venture again down what looks to be their favoured right edge. Parra hold out to the last and then force a series of errant passes that allows Tyrese Lokeni to show some hustle and dive on the loose ball. Matthew Hunter helps with the clearing ruck work and earns a penalty when he is very clearly dispossessed of the ball on the ground in a completed tackle.

Again the Eels are undone on tackle one as Araz Nanva is ruled to play-the-ball incorrectly. It looks like he struck the ball with his foot but it bobbled forwards slightly. A lack of attention to detail with the ball in hand from our lads right now.

The Tigers are able to spin that set into a line drop-out on the back of a well weighted attacking kick in behind Parra’s right edge and the resultant short restart sails out on the full. Wests will play with a full set from 10m out. They play from right to left as their centre Saukuru goes close but it is the switch of play back to the posts that does the Eels in as their halfback kicks very early in the set for himself and beats Ambichi to the bouncing ball to touch down. Bold call but it is executed perfectly and Wests make the Eels pay for early lapses with the ball in hand.

 

Try scored by Max Liles. Conversion successful by Faaletino Tavana.

Tigers lead 6-0

10min gone

 

Wests are able to work it into Parra’s half on the back of a fairly shallow kickoff. They bomb Ambichi on the last and the fullback secures the ball after a nice leap and catch. Tough sledding for Parra off that though as Wests pin them down defensively and a big kick return from the Hunter clearing kick has them in prime territory to start the set. They keep it simple playing from right-to-left before looking to unwind the opposite way with a big backline movement. Totoa jams up and does well to pressure the Tigers into a mistake as the Eels get let off.

Avery and Totoa cart it up next set before Teancum and Dom De Stradis get some work. Brown and Pryke help move the ball to Twidle next as the 5/8 runs it before Hudson clears the ball and completes the set by finding the carpet. A decent kick chase follows as the Eels finally establish themselves in the territorial battle.

The Tigers are forced to kick from inside their 40m line as Avery comfortably fields the clearing kick but again there is an error in the ruck. They are absolutely hamstringing themselves here as Wests get another free shot from inside Parra’s half.

A strong carry from Taotua helps Wests start the set strongly. The Eels are well and truly on the backfoot here as they are pushed back to their goal line where Avery and Faitala-Mariner combine to make an important tackle down the right. Ambichi has no choice but to boot a perfect grubber kick dead next play as the Tigers force another drop out.

The short restart yields a result! The Tigers lose the ball forwards and the Eels will get the ball back 20m off their line.

Hunter feeds the scrum as Hudson plays right to Brown. Heavy contact there and can you believe it? The ball has spilled out. The Eels aren’t happy about the call as Hunter protests to the referee with the drinks break called in the background for the oppressive heat in Sydney today. Parramatta have to get a grip on these errors.

Again the Tigers break right from the scrum and this time they breach Parramatta’s defensive line with far too much ease as Will Craig strolls down the right sideline to cross out wide. The suffocating weight of all these errors in the heat as always going to lead to scoreboard pressure and the Eels are making it easy for the Tigers at the moment.

 

Try scored by Will Craig. Conversion unsuccessful by Faaletino Tavana.

Tigers lead 10-0

20min gone

 

A reasonable defensive set from the kickoff sees Ambichi claim the clearing kick and poach some solid metres in reply before Avery earns a hugely relieving penalty. Will the Eels get through the first tackle from the touch finder though?

Faitaila-Mariner taps it and goes two passes inside to find the fresh legs in Ieti Samuelu who absolutely bulldozes a defender and leaves him strewn on the ground. Sharp work from the referee leads to an immediate stoppage once the tackle is completed – that is definitely the correct call there – but Samuelu is building on what we saw last week with some fire and brimstone from the bench.

Left from the resumption of play as Twidle turns Pryke underneath. Brown next before Hudson takes a dart. Hunter does to the left to use Dom before centreing the ball with Brown with the big man supplying a quick ruck. Hudson is on the it straight away as he feeds Matthew Hunter quickly and the rangy halfback sums it up beautifully as he takes it to the line and knifes through to score!

 

Try scored by Matthew Hunter. Conversion successful by Matthew Hunter.

Eels trail 6-10

23min

 

Avery claims the kickoff and uses Samuelu first before Lokeni takes a run next. Left to Pryke and left again to Brown who earns a set restart for offside defenders. Tempo in the ruck now as the Eels continue to build down their left as Hunter takes a run. The pill is centred by Samuelu before it looks like the Tigers have spilled an attacking bomb from Hunter only for the referee to indicate some kind of interference from Parramatta.

The Eels bay for a whistle from a sloppy Wests Tigers ruck and it doesn’t come but some stifling pressure from their left edge forces an error a play later!

Lokeni adds another carry before Ambichi pinballs his way down the right edge in a nice carry. It paves the way for a big swing to the left as Hunter links up with a long striding Dom De Stradis and the backrower frees himself from the attention of his defender and powers over to put the Eels back on level pegging! Hunter’s kick then pushes the Eels in front for the first time today.

 

Try scored by Dom De Stradis. Conversion successful by Matthew Hunter.

Eels lead 12-10

28min gone

 

How the pendulum swings! Now it is Wests with the coach killing errors as they belt the ball out on the full. Parramatta find touch 10m inside Wests’ half and get to work as Samuelu takes the lead run. Lokeni is called on next before the shift left uses Brown. Big minutes for the big man in arduous conditions. Big minutes, big men and now big plays! Again it is Hunter and De Stradis as they combine beautifully on the angled line down the left. These two are in great touch together as Dom shows his contact balance to again burst through for the try!

 

Try scored by Dom De Stradis. Conversion unsuccessful by Matthew Hunter.

Eels lead 16-10

32min gone

 

Avery to Samuelu the first option again before Teancum has a bustling carry to the left of the ruck. Alas, Pryke spills the ball on the next play to give the Tigers a little sniff before half time. Can the Eels hold them out?

First time today the Tigers go left from the scrum win and the Eels are all over it. They bring the pill back through the ruck before shifting right as the Eels number up. Hunter makes an important tackle to nullify a dart from dummy half as the Tigers then try to roll it in behind Parra’s right edge on the last but Ambichi continues to position himself nicely to save the day.

Faitala-Mariner and Totoa put their hands up for tough carries before Samuelu rumbles over another defender allowing Twidle to drill a fantastic clearing kick.

Now it is Wests with the attention error! A little slip in the ruck gives the Eels a chance to strike before half time. Parramatta set the scrum wide left to open up the entirety of the right side. Hunter to Twidle to Ambichi from the loosehead as the Tigers drag the fullback down. Lokeni takes it back left as Twidle then combines with De Stradis down the left to threaten. Brown goes close at the posts with another strong run but a misguided pass on the next play sees the Eels drop the ball and let the Tigers off and that will take us to half time.

 

Half Time

Parramatta Eels 16 lead the Wests Tigers 10

 

Second Half

 

Parramatta to kickoff.

De Stradis and Brown lead the chase from the kickoff. Some good opening contact here from the Eels as they restrict the Tigers to inside their 40m mark. Ambichi cleans up the clearing kick easily as Avery and Totoa truck it up through the ruck. Samuelu takes the Eels inside the Tiger’s half before a sensational second grab at the ball saves the Tigers from another kick error.

Teancum Brown finds himself defending wide right where the big fella does a good job keeping the ball front of him before the Tigers come unstuck trying to attack the same short side. They technically beat Avery with the cutout ball but his positioning forces a difficult pass and it is spilled.

Oooh, this one will be a spicy call depending on which team you support. Twidle calls his shot with an attacking grubber down the left. The chasers pour through and meet the fullback on the goal line with heavy contact jolting the ball loose and allowing Totoa to scoop it up and plant it down. The officials confers with his touch judge before deeming Nanva’s contact to be high and I don’t think it was an egregious call at the end of the day. Close though.

Thankfully, Wests don’t ask too much of the Eels in reply as Ambichi again fields another attacking kick on the full. A good run from Samuelu again takes the Eels over halfway before Twidle dabs it in behind beautifully to trap the Tigers near their goal line.

Teancum Brown is still out there and still holding his own in defence in a super impressive showing given the conditions. The Tigers struggle for metres but their clearing kick is spilled backwards by Avery to give them a minor boost only for them to concede a penalty and undo any territorial gain made.

Faitala-Mariner gets us back underway before the ball comes two passes in to Pryke who offloads expertly to Patrick Spence. The bench utility plunders good metres only to lose the ball in the tackle and give Wests a reprieve.

The Tigers are playing pretty passive here as they complete a tepid set that concludes with a non-challenging bomb to Ambichi. Parramatta reply with a very standard set of their own before Hunter is taken extremely dangerously on the last. That was ugly contact on the kick and could earn the ire of the referee.

We head to the drinks break in the mean time before any judgement from the referee. It will be a Parramatta penalty regardless and deemed penalty sufficient.

Dom gets us back under way with Samuelu following. Options either way for the Eels as Tiwdle plays left to Taeawa. The Tigers get away with some pushing in the ruck trying to spoil Parra’s last tackle option as Spence loops a long pass back to Twidle through the muck. Apa beats the shooting defenders with a left foot step before attacking the line and kicking ahead for himself as the dynamic playmaker wins the race for his own kick and scores under the posts!

 

Try scored by Apa Twidle. Conversion successful by Matthew Hunter.

Eels lead 22-10

54min gone

 

More work for Samuelu as he leads the set off from the resumption of play. Dom and Taewa go next before Lokeni is met heavily in a tackle. Taewa gets another carry to set up the clearing kick that sees Hunter drive it deep downfield as Wests return the ball to their 20m line.

Suddenly the Tigers strike from out of the blue! Nothing much doing from inside their own half as they venture down their left edge and generate an overlap. Avery can’t contain the 2-on-1 and the support runners give the Tigers options to beat Ambichi at the last line as the long range effort puts the visitors back within a converted try of the Eels.

 

Try scored by Jack Piccirilli. Conversion successful by Faaletino Tavana.

Tigers trail 16-22

58min gone

 

A first tackle penalty from the Eels aids Wests in getting out of their half. Need to lock in here.

Play resumes shy of halfway as the Tigers work left immediately from the tap restart. They are starting to find holes around Parra’s right edge now but the scramble defence of the Eels barely stays on top of it…that is until the last where the Tigers switch sides and find a crease for their #14 Heith Pritchard to kick for their five-eighth Iverson Matai. The little grubber kick is well weighted and allows the half to score in behind the ruck. Big swing in play here. The conversion squirrels in after crashing into the left upright and we are officially in a new game here.

 

Try scored by Iverson Matai. Conversion successful by Faaletino Tavana.

Tigers lock the scores up at 22-all

62min gone

 

A third and final drinks break now in these punishing conditions. Can the Eels regather themselves during the brief respite? Roughly 7 or 8min left to play here with whoever scoring next likely securing the victory.

The Eels need a strong defensive set from the kickoff.

Twidle sends the ball deep as Nanva delivers a strong shot on tackle one. Wests play left next tackle and lose the ball through heavy contact! Chance! Raff De Stradis and Samuelu take early runs before Hunter plays to Dom. Samuelu is taken heavily and maybe high after that. There is a defender on the ground and Ieti is grabbing his head. Maybe a head clash? Time off either way as trainers attend both players.

The Eels are set up either side of the centrefield ruck – which way do they go? Allignment favours the ball going right I reckon but it is a sneakshot attempt from Hudson instead. Wests are awake though and hold him up. That brings up the last as Twidle rolls it ahead for a chaser but the Tigers are there to clean it up.

Clock continues to wind at Cabramatta. Eels ahead in field position but unable to open the Tigers up. A big defensive effort pins Wests inside their 30m mark with maybe 2min left on the clock. Amichi clears up the clearing kick and makes a nice return to give the Eels perhaps their final shot.

It looks like the Eels have conjured the miracle play up on the last as Avery kicks back infield to support but the chaser was quite clearly infront and the officials don’t miss it. The question now is – will it cost the Eels?

Wests will work their way into a long range shot at field goal here at the minimum as the Eels look to spoil the ruck. It will be a lot closer to the posts than I like and Ambichi makes an incredible try saver down the left edge! How did they not score! I have no clue but Jayden has 100% saved the day there as the Tigers get white line fever next play and are held up for the turnover on tackles. Wild scenes.

Avery helps the Eels get out of goal line trouble as the home team roll up their sleeves. Hudson is taken off the ball but no penalty comes as Twidle beats the fullback with a wicked bounce on the clearing kick. How is their time still on the clock here? Like last week, have their played a 40min half by mistake?

Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. The Tigers have probably stolen this one as they strip the Eels for numbers down Parra’s left edge. Not sure where the breakdown happened there but they pour through with numbers at Ambichi has no chance with options either side as the winger Will Craig ices it for Wests. Still no idea on the game clock here but I doubt the Eels get a real shot to salvage a draw. The conversion is shanked left.

 

Try scored by Will Craig. Conversion unsuccessful by Jack Piccirilli.

Tigers lead 26-22

76min gone

 

The Eels go long from the kickoff so they must be confident in getting at least one set in their hands. Tell you what, a penalty in the ruck against the Blue & Gold does not help though as the Tigers take their sweet time finding touch. Didn’t see much in that to be honest but those are the breaks.

Well, as I type that the Tigers cough it up on the first tackle in the resultant set. This has to be last calls for drinks for the Eels as they set up on halfway with a centrefield scrum. Do they have some magic left?

Wow. The ball kicks up wildly at the last legs of the scrum and Hudson does very well to catch it only to lose it in contact. Geez, the errors have really cruelled the Eels today and that was no exception.

Very safe set from the Tigers now as they play against the clock as much as the Eels. I finally caught the clock in the background and it looks like 4:30 left in the game as Avery secures the ball from a clearing kick. A penalty follows as I type that – much needed for Parra there.

Faitala-Mariner with the opening charge as the Eels work left from there. Twidle does well to hold on to a tough pass and make some metres before Ambichi nearly knifes through. Big spoil tactics from the Tigers here and the referee eventually pulls them up. Or he doesn’t? How wasn’t that a penalty for ruck slowdown!?

It lets the Tigers out of jail as the Eels get lost on the last with a poor pass leading to a rushed kick but it should have been a fresh set. Wild no-call there.

One last chance now for the Eels as the Tigers find touch 20m out from Parra’s half. 90sec or close enough on the clock but they need to go most of the field here.

Some good ruck work lays a platform as Hunter makes good metres down the left. The Eels switch to the ruck before Twidle tries to kick ahead for himself but it wasn’t on and Wests will hold on here to pinch a win over the Eels.

 

Full Time

Wests Tigers 26 defeat the Parramatta Eels 22