Parramatta Eels 38
Wests Tigers 22
And for one bright day, all was right with the world.
The return of Mitchell Moses might not make the Eels immediate premiership threats, but how much better is Parramatta football with the star halfback running the show? Everything we hoped for came true with Mitch’s return: Dylan Brown was free to play his own game and delivered his best effort of the year, the attack looked dangerous hitting both the short runners and going wide, and the kicking game gave a huge leg up in the field position battle.
Heck, even the one thing everybody kept saying Mitch wouldn’t fix, the defence, was better because of his efforts. I don’t care if it was a penalty, that try-saver in the corner was a standout moment in the match, a desperate effort in a moment where it would be all too easy to roll over. That’s the kind of football I want to see Parramatta playing, though maybe with a bit less direct contact to the head.
This was such an impressive team effort. Down a man, the scramble defence was some of the best I’ve seen from an Eels side and yes, there were two tries scored during that time, but both required kicks that took fortunate bounces, and it didn’t feel like heads dropped despite the points going onto the board. There was a belief and an edge to this team that they need to carry through against tougher opponents in the future.
It’s a shame that a lot of the post-match focused on officiating and not on the effort of the Parramatta side. While it did lead to an Eels try, that “hip drop that probably wasn’t” is bearing a heavy load if you are placing the Tigers three tries in six minutes capitulation on its shoulders. Could Mitch have been binned for the high shot? Maybe. Yet the Tigers got beaten by 16 in a game where they scored 12 points with a man advantage. This wasn’t a close game stolen by officiating decisions, it was a game they were lucky to be anywhere close to winning in the first place.
It also neglects the clear both sides-ism of the decision to bin Luca Moretti that referees regularly use as a crutch after a melee that then made the decision to bin Isaiah Iongi even more ridiculous than it was. Liam Kennedy didn’t have a great day with the whistle, unable to control a contest that had a fair bit of spice to it, but nobody was hard done by here.
You’ll be sick of us talking about him by the end of grades, but it has to be Mitchell Moses in his return from injury. 4 try assists, a 40/20, a try saver, and a completely different team in Blue and Gold jerseys when he is wearing one. It has been a miserable first six weeks of NRL football, but for Parramatta the season begins now. You da MVP, Mitch.
Isaiah Iongi
1 – Fullback
While there are a few players that benefited more from the return of Moses, that is mostly because they started from such low bases (looking at you Dylan and Kelma). Mitch was the finishing touch on Iongi’s attacking involvements, as he got a bit more room to move and in doing so found a crease for his first try before backing up as any good fullback should for his second. The bin shouldn’t have been a professional foul, but he needs to be more aggressive in attacking the ball in those situations, He’ll learn.
Josh Addo-Carr
2 – Left Wing
A double for the Foxx as well, finishing for his first in a way that would have made Maika Sivo proud, then showing his toe for the cherry on top in the dying stages. Still, it was his brief stint at fullback that provided the biggest moments, first in blundering to let Seyfarth score, then making up for it with one of the great defensive intercepts you’ll see. Exciting things just happen around Josh Addo-Carr.
Will Penisini
3 – Right Centre
The rest of the backline got to feast a bit in this one, but Will Penisini was the quietest of the bunch. Only 8 runs for 52 metres, and his defensive scramble on the Bula try could’ve been more urgent, he slowed down on the play twice when a more committed effort would have shut it down. Still, that edge is looking a lot stronger since he moved back to the right, and I’m not going to be too harsh on anybody in Blue and Gold after a game like that one.
Sean Russell
4 – Left Centre
Sean Russell was bringing it in defence, highlighted by his frustrating Sunia Turuva so much he got sin binned. The send off that Rusty gave him was a thing of beauty, a rare show of emotion from the centre. He won’t be challenging Zac Lomax or Moses for the goalkicking job, but this was a solid effort today.
Bailey Simonsson
5 – Right Wing
The try was great, but it was the relentless hard work that impressed most in Bailey Simonsson’s performance. He’s making a lot of tough yards and has a knack for finding a crease and a quick play the ball, he’s built for the way the modern game is played. I can only wish that some other players I’ve maligned in grades could make me eat crow like Bailey has.
Dylan Brown
6 – Five Eighth
You take the pressure to be a leading man off of Dylan’s shoulders, and this is what you get. The only people unhappy watching this effort today would be Knights administrators, who now need to find enough money to buy one of the top three halfbacks in the game to make their massive Dylbags investment worth it.
Mitchell Moses
7 – Halfback
I might need to start using the Greek alphabet to grade efforts like this one, as while it wasn’t a textbook A+ performance, the sheer difference in this side because of Mitch’s presence and poise would more than justify breaking the alphanumeric laws of the grades. One man teams cop a lot of derision from fans; the Trbojevic Sea Eagles, Johns Knights, Thurston Cowboys, but when that one player is out there supporting one of them is a lot of fun. Long live the Moses Eels!
Jack Williams
8 – Front Row
He was mostly fine, like many forwards in this game he didn’t have a lot of standout moments, but Terrell May crashed straight through him close to the line, which would be forgivable if it wasn’t becoming an unfortunate trend in his goal line defence. That needs to tighten up, because the pack is down to fumes in terms of able replacements in the middle.
Ryley Smith
9 – Hooker
In his first 80 minute effort Ryley Smith worked hard, picked his spots, kicked a goal and in my head should get a try assist for Sam Tuivaiti’s crash over because the defender was too busy throwing his headgear into the stands to make a tackle. If sin bin assists were a stat, and they should be, he’d get one for stirring Turuva to the point of blow up as well. I love him.
Junior Paulo
10 – Front Row
Strong on both sides of the ball without being spectacular, Junior was a steady hand in a game where the Tigers came out fired up but never really converted that energy into dominance on the field.
Kelma Tuilagi
11 – Second Row
The 66 minutes Kelma Tuilagi was on the field was a snapshot of my turbulent relationship with him. He was one of the two players Terrell May crashed through for yet another soft goal line try and he gave away a couple of penalties, but he also ran a great line for a try off of Mitch with a possibly broken ankle from a devastating hip drop tackle, then later he put on an absolutely bone crunching tackle in a crucial defensive stand. I’m not sold, but I begrudgingly nod and say “you did alright today” for this one.
Gideon Kautoga
12 – Second Row
I am struggling to see how we don’t have other options in the back row at this stage. Kautoga can put on a hit but he’s not getting involved in attack, he misses too many tackles and that penalty where he just walked through the play the ball and kicked the footy away should see him shaking hands with Nathan Cayless in Cup just for the bone headedness of it. Bryce Cartwright must have put a serious boot into Jason Ryles’ puppy to not be able to earn a run ahead of efforts like this.
J’maine Hopgood
13 – Lock
A shorter stint of only 38 minutes did Hopgood a favour, as he didn’t miss a tackle and looked a little more effective in attack. His link play has been surpassed by Dylan Walker and he doesn’t have the killer offload of his early days in Blue and Gold, and the last couple of weeks showed he probably ain’t a hooker, so Hopgood needs to find his fit in this side.
Dylan Walker
14 – Interchange
Turns out the best way to get a playmaking lock was not to teach a prop to pass but to teach a back to run and tackle. With the full strength spine in place hopefully we’ll see the extra dimension Walker adds to the attack start to pay off as those combinations grow.
Luca Moretti
15 – Interchange
Big Bad Luca didn’t deserve a bin for sticking up for his teammate, and it was an unfortunate mark on what was probably his best attacking performance in first grade. Moretti is becoming a real weapon off the bench, which is not the role I thought he’d be taking if he earned a permanent spot in the side. Aggressive, energy packed benchie that can hold the line? Yeah that sounded right. Offloads, line break assists and powerful charges? Like finding a Mars Bar under the driver’s seat while looking for your keys, is the happiest of surprises.
Sam Tuivaiti
17 – Interchange
This was the coming out party for Sam Tuivaiti, who crossed for a bargeover that will turn into a 40 metre dash when he tells the story of his first NRL try to his great grandkids one day. I’d still be keeping in the “I ran at the guy who was throwing the headgear away” part of it though. That wasn’t even the highlight of his afternoon, which goes to the crunching tackle on Jack Bird, for which TCT Mitch has already landed the best line:
Matt Doorey
16 – Interchange
Very strange that he didn’t get onto the field until so late in a game where we defended with 11 players for a time, but very unfortunate his time only lasted six minutes thanks to a HIA. The difference between hurt and head knock is tough to discern sometimes, but I’m good with referees erring on the side of caution, at least when the opposition have the ball in the attacking zone and with a bit of momentum behind them.
I couldn’t ask for a better effort to lead into a bye weekend with. We get to feast on the hope of this win for nearly two weeks, to dream of a season that isn’t consigned to a battle to avoid the spoon. If Easter is a time for miracles, that’s the greatest of the lot.
This is a truly wonky NRL season. Only the Bulldogs (unfortunately) have avoided a credential shattering capitulation in the opening seven rounds, while some very vulnerable teams make up the top eight. Win a few games and you are suddenly right in the mix. There’s a long way to go for this side to even think about finals contention, but with Moses back and with dedication like what was shown on Easter Monday, there’s a sniff.
Breathe it in and enjoy Eels fans, at least for the next week and a half. Whether this was the first step to something bigger or a temporary jump forward, it was a great win against a team that I just love beating up on. I’m off to watch the replay.
Until next time, stay slippery, Eels fans.
Gol
Stats and images provided by NRL / Eels media
It felt like winning the GF. After the bleak incompetence of the opening rounds suddenly here was a team that could play and show potential. The forwards were tough and committed. The backs were fast and skilful. Their passing was excellent and there were moments of real elusiveness (thanks, Josh Addo-Carr. That first try was a stunner). Players down on form suddenly found their pizzazz. That moment between Walker, Moretti and Brown from a kick off after a try was a great example of some real flair. Yeah, sure, a couple of crazy moments, top of the list being the moment when our second rower walked through the ruck and kicked the ball. Seriously, that was worse than Under 8’s play. Both wingers were great, the halves were fantastic, especially Moses, Iongi was very good, the centres were solid all game. Here’s hoping it’s not a false dawn. What I particularly liked were the comments by Moses after the game where he expressed dissatisfaction with certain aspects of their performance. He’s setting a high bar and expecting others to follow. That’s great. The test will be the Sharks. Here’s hoping.
I should also say, thanks Gol. Great read.
Thank you Gol for another stimulating read.
A comment – back when we had the fun of ranking our best players by position I expressed the view that Moses is a better half than Sterling was. That sparked some disagreement, which is fine! – informed debate is a spice of life. My view – Sterling, great player that he was could not, at his best, have lifted the side any more than Mitch did yesterday, on the best day he ever saw could not have made that great try saving cover tackle (he was not a great defender as Jack noted in moving Taylor up to be out defensive half back) and did not possess Mitch’s dangerous running game.
Our fortunes rest with Mitch Moses; let’s hope there’s lots of miles left in that body.
I don’t know which Peter Sterling you watched but he was a tremendously committed defensive player. Mitch was great, very composed. Obviously the captaincy suits him. But he ain’t no Sterlo.
I think we watched a different game on Monday. Sterlo was a great half. However defender and speed were never his strong points.
Let me say this. I often see Brett Kenny in the shopping centre. Always up for a chat about footy.
I will ask his opinion on the dissenting views next time.
I’d be very grateful to hear what Brett thinks.
It’s an interesting conversation.
Sorry Noel, it’s a pile on. Gibson had Taylor assist in defence because Sterlo suffered from being so good and committed to it, Taylor was a tough little unit and salute to Gibson for seeing that standing at the back and not using a strength could be better managed. Net/net the team benefited.Sterling was consistently good and lifted the team every game, allowing other talented players to be their best, while Price and Higgs led the way in the middle, embarrassing anyone who thought a breather was the way to go( losing Higgs was one of my great disappointments).
Losing Higgs was heart breaking. Only other two I can think of that caused that much dissapointment was Dick Thornett leaving for Easts and The Bear leaving for Penrith
Too true on Higgs PT. Higgs was my first experience as a young supporter of one of my favourite players leaving. It hurt me as a young lad – as did Geoff Gerrard a bit later.
The reasons for Higgs have been mentioned here often and BDon informed me well on them last year. Unfortunately such is the “business” of the NRL these days it happens more often. However, it doesn’t dilute the disappointment.
After 1981 Jack Gibson moved Peter Sterling to full back when the opposition had the ball and moved Paul Taylor to half to be out defensive half back. They were both shorter men with long blond hair. Maybe the defending half you so admire was Paul Taylor. When lf Langer played his first SOO game the player he palmed off to make score his first try was Peter Sterling at. the scrum base.
Sterling had Ray Price, the best defensive player I have ever seen on one side of him, Brett Kenny, a noted defender on the other and dropped back out of the line for, as he has said himself, Paul Taylor to do his tackling for him.
A great player, worthy of the high esteem in which he’s held. N average defender best.
Noel, I need to chime in here mate. It’s all opinion. But let’s just say Sterlo was superb in many errors and yes he was not fast but he was aptly quick between the ears and had a great defence on him mate. Pls go back and see. Taylor was not always used in the first line I can guarantee you of this. Squiz also played some games at Lock / forwards too and memory says he made a plethora one day at the SCG in the mud – photo captured too. He made over 40 tackles and I’m sure this was due to him being in the forwards.
Someone will confirm for me and if I’m wrong then so be it.
But pls Sterlo was superb in all areas for me.
Great read Gol agree 100%
Hate to be distracted by the defensive prowess of Sterlo v Moses.
But, Moses is bigger than Sterlo. Sterllo was targeted day in day out and there was more leeway in tackles back then for him to get injured. Sterlo made his tackles but he was not there for that and Jack knew this. Taylor consistently made 40-50 tackles Sterlo would have been destroyed in attack if making too many tackles per game.
Moses was a terrible defender when he was at Tigers and first few seasons when he came home. Moses was the highest for missed tackles consistently. Until he got one-time Storm hard-man Brett ‘Bump’ O’Farrell his defence improved massively. Instead of bringing in Bump Jack moved Taylor and had Price. Moses has no other choice but to improve himself he didn’t have Hindy, Taylor or Price.
I remember a day Sterlo scored 3 tries and set up another 3. I don’t remember how many tackles he missed. Just like I don’t remember how many Moses missed on Monday.
sterlo had a couple of games that rlw awarded as 10 out 10 . i think v roosters and raiders. sterlo also won mom soo 4 times in the lewis era and at least one from a losing side. dont get me wrong i love mitch and so wld sterlo. you got to remember that mitch has more size, speed and athleticism than pete. also also he was a major contributor for parra winning 4 gf. finally sterlo missed very few games because of injury so his durability was important. oh and for the record both kenny and sterlo were both text book worthy legs tacklers, even if squizz helped petes tc a bit.
Great read Gol. Good reads become great when the vibe is pumping. Do you have my phone tapped? The comment on Kautoga’s ruck penalty was almost a copy of what I sent to my well-connected mate at half time. After my wife told me to stop screaming expletives with the front door open, that left me like a flat tyre on the Nullarbor. If Moses can some how orchestrate opening 20 minutes like that one, we won’t serve notice of impending disaster like we have been for 6 weeks. A+ for the lad.
Solid game that was facing ruination because of the man in the middle. Gol is correct when he said Longi should have been more aggressive getting to that ball and I thought he balked at the last minute. There was a moment in the second half where was a line break that instantly brought back memories of a long range try. I think Longi pulled the winger down. Sam T had a great game but, I thought Ryley deserved an A. He never stopped trying and his passing from dummy half was good. He was instrumental with JAC first try when he took off sideways to link up with Moses.
The grades are spot on but the best part of this report is Gol has a smile on his face. He tipped the Tigers and I tipped the Eels 32:12. If not for the referee the Tigers would not have gone beyond the twelve points. And had Russell kicked better we would have passed forty or more. The Tigers were shot birds at the time of sin binning. Parra played hard and fast and ran them into the ground. Can we beat the bye? Absolutely!! We might not be stone motherless last after this weekend.
Zero, you’re right about Iongi sin bin, he baulked at the last moment which I thought was to time his tackle with Toa catching the ball. Toa had positioned the ball on the left side of his body with Iongi approaching from the right. The replay showed Iongi making contact with Toa’s right side at exactly the same time Toa first touched the ball, then knock on. The only doubt I had was if Iongi’s contact caused the knock on or did Toa just mess up the catch…It was so split second that deeming it a sin bin was pretty extreme. Here goes the long memory…Naden on Penisini 2021 (AFTER Moses had been taken out of support play by Luai) to cost us a GF shot. Neither offence whistled.
What other half back can lift a side like Mitch Moses can? A+++
Even Nathan Clearys panthers over the years consistently won matches in his absence and often did not look much worse if he was unavailable.
The only other half which I can think makes this much of a difference to his side Is Jerome Hugh’s at the Storm.
But the Storm’s back up half is injured and they use Wishart who’s a utility / non specialist half.
I’ll make a controversial statement here: Mitchel Moses would still be the best half back for the NSW blues team.
But due to media & game politics and Nathan’s club winning competitions, Nathan’s poor half back performances of the past will not come into consideration.
I’ll share another funny story: I was speaking to manly fans recently and about 5 in the group all honestly thought gutho was an average to bog average player while he was at parra.
Then only once he went to St George did majority realise how good he was, and im talking snr guys who play local footy, not “casual fans”… they basically all said now how good he is but never previously saw that in him. (lol).
What in saying here Mitchel Moses would be still suffering from the negative bias which comes from being a parramatta player, if mitchel was 30% less of a player but won a comp last season he would be NSW half back @ #7.
Mitch Moses is in my opinion the most impactful half back in the comp. No other player has that long kicking game and precision like him either.
In my lifetime the thee best organising halves I’ve seen have been Peter Sterling, Cooper Cronk and Mitch Moses. Mitch is. a better defender and has a better long kicking game than the other two.
Good points Noel. Mitchel is a generational talent. He is our best chance to win a premiership.
He certainly gives us our best chance since1986. The issue is the wear and tare on his body.
Thurston would have to rate up there.
please , please please ,
stop comparing two players 40 years apart, back in the 70s & 80s the game and players were completely different and skills were completely different. Sterlo absolute legend on and off the field and moses probably will be too so again stop going on a out which is best
Muz totally agree with your assessment of Mitch. In my opinion what makes him superior to Cleary at SOO level is his ability to play what he sees in front. Eyes up footy as opposed to systems and set plays which is how he plays at club level. Panther ball.
To be honest Muz, I don’t want him to play. He missed most of last year. Out injured from the start of this year and twice he has been injured playing origin. Kaufusi smashed him in the back and we lost him at a critical time and again last year when we needed him he is out for the season.
Let them pick Cleary and Luai. We want to get off the bottom and make the top eight.
We want to go further than that – we want to be the first team to have fifty points against them (twice) and win the grand final. We can do this while we have Mitch on the field.
Question am I being selfish or ambitious?
Zero I don’t think any eels want Moses to miss parra games to play for the blues.
Especially considering his record of injury’s during last few seasons.
I just think he is the best blues half back.
I might be biased – but I feel if Moses played every remaining game this season we can make the top 8.
please , please please ,
stop comparing two players 40 years apart, back in the 70s & 80s the game and players were completely different and skills were completely different. Sterlo absolute legend on and off the field and moses probably will be too so again stop going on a out which is best
Guys how much better does our team look finally with a classy back 5? Speed, X factor, good yardage, ability to ice chances in open space.
It’s taken a proper half back to come in and make it all work.
But this back set up is what most of us cried for years for during BA’s reign.
If you exchange Russel for Lomax once he is back – this will be the best back 5 we’ve had at parramatta in possibly over 10 years.
We’ve finally got the “good problem” now of who to pick. Russel is playing well. Who do we drop once Lomax returns?
We’ve finally got backs depth. Even our back up fullback looks possibly too good to be stuck in NSW cup. Volkman is also playing like close to the best 5/8’ in NSW cup going by the eyes test!
This is the first time in possibly 10 or more years we’ve had quality back up BACKS.
Just looking at this player ratings post: WHO can we drop once Lomax returns? Russel is playing well at centre IMO.
I honestly can’t pick… what a good problem to have finally!!
Does will penisni possibly drop out if Russel is playing better than him? 🤔
I’d say it is still Russell that makes way, but he’s certainly made it more of a question between him and Penisini than it would have been a couple of weeks ago. Simonsson has been too good to drop in his return, but will Lomax play wing or centre?
True Gol, but I think Russel is playing well there, it will be very interesting to see what happens.
Fox, Lomax & Simo are 3 elite wingers. I’m going to put Simo in the elite category based on his 200 mtr games. That’s absolutely massive, more meters than the forwards. Huge difference.
Clearly have not been watching Cartwright in NSW cup if you think him kicking Ryles dog is the reason he is not picked in first grade.