Parramatta’s horror begin to the NRL season has continued, dropping to 0-3 after a 34-30 loss to the Manly Sea Eagles.
At a boiling sizzling 4 Pines Park the place it was nonetheless 28 levels at full-time, the Eels misplaced a 3rd straight match by simply 4 factors to proceed the facet’s beautiful fall from final years’ grand closing.
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Whereas the Eels haven’t been too removed from a primary win of the 12 months, the facet may very well be final on the finish of spherical three with matches towards the Panthers and Roosters to come back within the subsequent two weeks. And all three can be coming off a bye.
It’s a schedule Matty Johns mentioned on The Late Present with Matty Johns “Is a whole oversight so far as the draw is anxious … That ought to not occur”.
However at greatest for Eels followers it may be seen as an excuse.
Bryan Fletcher mentioned the defence was “woeful” on the road, notably for the Sea Eagles, who dominated the sport.
It was a chaotic finish to the match with 4 tries in 5 minutes as Parramatta stormed house from 28-16 down to only fall quick after an intercept attempt to Haumole Olakau’atu sealed the end result for the house facet.
“A mind explosion from the Eels, forcing their hand from inside their very own territory,” Warren Smith mentioned as Olakau’atu snatched the ball from a J’Maine Hopgood offload and ran away 40m to attain, making it 34-26 with three minutes remaining.
The Eels had a shocker of a begin as Manly tore them aside down the left facet of the sphere.
The Sea Eagles have been up for the problem, bodily imposing its will on Eels.
The house facet opened a 14-0 lead with 9’s Phil Gould calling it “a freeway down this left-hand facet of the sphere.”
“They’re relentless, Manly … (Tom) Trbojevic turns into your worst nightmare,” Gould added.
Trbojevic was the Eels’ worst nightmare, scoring a double in a starring efficiency towards Manly’s previous rivals.
However on a dime, the match flipped on its head because the Eels scored two tries to go to the break at 14-10.
The Eels then hit the lead when Clint Gutherson scored straight after the break however Manly returned to the ascendancy via two tries in three minutes after Tom Trbojevic scored off a chip from Josh Schuster and Brad Parker scored a outstanding strive.
Daly Cherry-Evans had appeared in addition a 40-20 just for Bailey Simonssen bought to the ball on the final second, batting it again in, just for Reuben Garrick to win the race to the ball.
However he landed on it as a substitute and having not knocked it on, his centre Brad Parker was first to floor the ball for the four-pointer.
The Eels tried to hit again however have been denied by a contact decide name of a ahead move, regardless of replays exhibiting it went backwards, and a butchered strive when Will Penisini solely needed to choose the ball up on one facet of the road and floor it on the opposite.
It arrange a chaotic finish, just for the intercept to determine the end result.
Initially printed as Parramatta Eels 0-3 nightmare after ‘completely bonkers’ scenes