NRL 2021: Parramatta Eels defeat Canterbury Bulldogs 32-10, Clint Gutherson stars
The Eels have dug up two bargain buys in Isaiah Papali’i and Bryce Cartwright, and with skipper Clint Gutherson in fine form, Parramatta have never looked more dangerous.
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There’s an old-fashioned Carty party going on at Parramatta.
In Isaiah Papali’i and Bryce Cartwright, the Eels have dug up two absolute bargain buys that have rounded out their already fearsome forward pack and given them an even greater chance of ending that infamous premiership drought.
All the usual suspects were on show in Parra’s 32-10 win over Canterbury on Saturday night, but the contributions of Cartwright and Papali’i stood out from the rest.
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Talent and ability has never been Cartwright’s problem — his greatest asset has always been his ball skills, and even in the lowest ebbs of his career there were few players who could find an offload like the 26-year-old.
But injury and a lack of consistent application threatened to end his career after a split with Penrith at the end of 2017 before a forgettable three-season stint with the Titans.
When Cartwright arrived at Parramatta from the Titans over the summer it was clear to everyone he was drinking at the last-chance saloon and to his credit he’s made every post a winner.
After a breakout showing last week against the Broncos in Darwin, Cartwright notched a fine try assist after claiming a Mitchell Moses kick and slipping a terrific ball to Shaun Lane in support.
He was at it again later on, wrapping around from one side of the ruck to the other on the last tackle and firing a bullet pass that allowed Marata Niukore to stroll over.
It was the kind of play any five-eighth in the league would have been proud of, and a glimpse of what once made Cartwright one of the game’s most exciting players.
Such is the quality of the players around him the Eels aren’t relying on Cartwright to make those sorts of plays every week, but they’re a tremendous bonus when they do happen.
Papali’i is different — his strength is his constant involvement and relentless physicality, and he’s fast become one of Parra’s best every single week after he was unwanted by the Warriors.
The 22-year-old finished with 18 runs for 179 metres, leading all forwards in both categories, to go with two line break assists and a try assist.
Crucially, he was just as dangerous in the middle as the edge after he switched to cover for Nathan Brown’s hip pointer injury.
Should he avoid suspension for a late shot on Kyle Flanagan, Papali’i is in the box seat to start at lock for next weekend’s bumper clash with the Roosters, where the Eels will no doubt fancy their chances of downing the Tricolours for the first time in five years.
Papali’i’s strength is his consistent involvement and unrelenting intensity and his physicality has rubbed off on plenty of his blue and gold teammates.
Depth is an underrated commodity in rugby league and through the likes of Cartwright and Papali’i it could prove to be Parramatta’s secret weapon.
It’s what allowed the Eels to keep rolling when Ryan Matterson was sidelined for six weeks as they managed his return from concussion, and it’s why they could switch Junior Paulo and Shaun Lane to the bench against Canterbury to ease their workload.
Keeping things fresh should ensure the Eels are sharper for the end of the season and for a side that has one finals win since 2009 that can’t be underestimated.
There will be sterner tests to come than Canterbury, who tried hard but simply aren’t in the same class.
In the big games, with the highest stakes, a team can never have too many weapons and in adding Cartwright and Papali’i to their already stacked arsenal the Eels have never looked more dangerous.
‘KING GUTHO’ REIGNS SUPREME
By Martin Gabor
The Bulldogs found out the hard way that if you come at the King, you best not miss.
In one of his best performances of the season, Clint Gutherson carried his side to another emphatic victory as the Eels maintained their red-hot start against a Canterbury team that took several steps in the wrong direction after last week’s heroics.
Gutherson was virtually unstoppable in the first half, racking up 166 metres and two tries as the Eels slithered their way to a 16-0 lead at the break, and then set up Maika Sivo with a lightning quick tap-on before earning a rare breather with eight minutes to go.
The fitness phenom was everywhere on Saturday night to support half-breaks, but it’s his ability to exploit numbers down skinny shortsides and subtle ball-playing skills that have taken his game to new heights in 2021 as he looks to keep up with the best fullbacks in the NRL.
“I think his passing is getting better. He did a bit of work on that in the pre-season,” Eels coach Brad Arthur replied when asked how his fullback’s game had evolved.
“Last week he put a couple of nice kicks in, but tonight, I thought he carried strong early. He broke some tackles and they struggled to tackle him.
“I don’t have to do as much with the team on game day because he takes full control of the messaging and the plan. Him and Mitch take control of the team, and it’s handy to have that leadership on the field.”
HIP AND SHOULDER
There were fears Nathan Brown had suffered a season-ending injury when he collapsed to the turf late in the first half as he turned to chase a break.
The off-contract lock forward stayed down in agony for several minutes before he was helped off by trainers, but it looks like he could be back within weeks after injuring his hip-pointer.
The injury is considered one of the most painful in the game, but the good news is players generally return within three weeks.
Canterbury have their own concerns with Dylan Napa forced off after 16 minutes with a shoulder injury. The prop wasn’t able to return a week after he produced his best game of the year in the win over Cronulla.
COACH KILLERS
Trent Barrett was in tears last week after Canterbury held on for their first win of the season, but he’ll be crying himself to sleep after watching his side commit cardinal sins galore in a horror first half at Stadium Australia.
The Bulldogs missed 20 tackles in the opening 40 minutes, butchered a captain’s challenge and came up with six errors as they struggled for any continuity.
Napa also conceded a penalty when he tackled Mitchell Moses in the air as the Eels halfback sent a kick out on the full. It cost the Bulldogs crucial field position, something that cruelled them throughout the first half as they failed to have a single play the ball in the attacking 20.
“We showed some fight in the second half and got back into the game, but some poor discipline and a failure to finish our sets well hurt us,” Barrett said, lamenting his side’s lack of size compared with Parramatta’s big boppers.
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Originally published as NRL 2021: Parramatta Eels defeat Canterbury Bulldogs 32-10, Clint Gutherson stars
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