NRL 2022: Eels vs Knights, match report, scores, Kalyn Ponga party over
After almost a week of celebrations in the Hunter, the Ponga party is finally over following an embarrassing capitulation against the Eels.
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After almost a week of celebrations in the Hunter, the Ponga party was brought to a grinding halt by the Parramatta Eels, who handed the Newcastle Knights the biggest home loss of Adam O’Brien’s coaching tenure on Sunday.
On Wednesday, Kalyn Ponga put pen to paper on the most significant contract to pass across the Knights’ board table since 2016, when the club enticed him into signing.
The Knights were understandably thrilled to have secured Ponga’s long-term future but it’s the immediate future that now desperately needs to be addressed.
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With Sunday’s humiliating 39-2 loss, the Knights have slumped to their first five-game losing streak since 2019 and risk falling further behind the pack if they can’t turn things around quick-smart.
After the game, O’Brien apologised to the 25,000 fans who turned up to watch.
“Sorry. 25,000. To put in that performance ... There’s not much to be proud of at the moment,” he said.
“We’re in a bit of a rut at the moment. We’ve got to stick together really tight and fight our way hard out of this.”
The Knights lost Ponga to a HIA in the first half and their attack struggled to click into gear even when he came back on. Their defence was even worse.
Eager to make up for their shock loss to the Wests Tigers, the Eels didn’t need set plays to score their six tries, only a bit of muscle and 17 play-the-balls in the Knights’ 20m zone. Ouch.
“It was not acceptable. Not at this level,” O’Brien said.
It was Parramatta that came into the match on the back foot, though.
Injury has ripped through the Eels’ outside back stocks since before the season began and the situation reached critical mass over the weekend.
Tom Opacic was a late withdrawal, forcing five-eighth Dylan Brown to shift to left centre and Jakob Arthur to start in the halves.
Parramatta fans might’ve been raising their eyebrows but that was before the makeshift left edge produced the Eels’ first three tries.
Ably assisted by second-rower Shaun Lane, Brown had little trouble containing his opposite man, Origin player Dane Gagai, in defence.
In attack, the towering Lane had a hand in both first-half four-pointers. He first crashed over for a softer try than most you’ll see in first grade and then found an unmarked Hayze Perham with an offload.
Within five minutes of the restart, Brown had the Eels’ third try and the game had slipped away from Newcastle. An Isaiah Papali’i double just rubbed salt into the wound.
When the game was in the balance, the Knights didn’t do too much wrong in attack. They completed at 80 per cent in the first half but it’ll take more than adequacy to play September footy.
And with each loss, the odds are stacking higher and higher against the Novocastrians.
No Newcastle team has ever played finals after starting 2-4. The current outfit is 2-5 and faces the Melbourne Storm next week.
CENTRE OF ATTENTION
In 60 NRL games, Dylan Brown had never started anywhere other than five-eighth.
But in his 61st, an injury crisis forced him into the centres, where he looked right at home.
“I thought Dyl was excellent,” said Eels coach Brad Arthur.
“It’s not the ideal situation (to have to play Brown in the centres) but we’re a squad.
“It doesn’t matter about injuries, we’ve got to put the next bloke in and he’s got to do a job.”
Brown scored the try that helped the Eels stretch their lead to 18 points and now looks a strong chance to fill in at centre again if Parramatta’s luckless run of injuries continues.
Opacic is due back next week but with Haze Dunster, Maika Sivo and Waqa Blake all out long-term, there’s a chance Brown could be called on again.
Eels pull strange positional switch
Dylan Brown has been moved from five-eighth to centre for Sunday’s clash with Newcastle in a selection bombshell dropped by Parramatta coach Brad Arthur.
Arthur’s son Jake has been promoted to the starting side for just the eighth time in his career and will play five-eighth in Brown’s place.
At centre, Brown will have the tough job of containing Queensland Origin star Dane Gagai in front of the Knights’ home fans at McDonald Jones Stadium.
It will be the first time in Brown’s career that he has started in a position other than five-eighth.
The Eels’ outside back stocks have been decimated by injury, with centre options Marata Niukore and Tom Opacic both unavailable.
Other outside back options including Waqa Blake, Maika Sivo, Haze Dunster and Sean Russell are sidelined with long-term injuries.
The Eels’ surprise move comes after the Gold Coast Titans opted to shift David Fifita to the centres for their clash with the North Queensland Cowboys on Saturday night.
Why Gutho’s the No.1 bargain
- James Phelps
He might not be a $5 million man like Kalyn Ponga – but Clint Gutherson is as important to the Eels as the Knights No.1 is to Newcastle.
In a declaration that comes just days after Ponga signed a stunning $1.1m a year deal, Eels star Mitchell Moses said Gutherson was every bit as good as the fullback he will face on Sunday when Parramatta take on the Knights.
With Ponga out to prove he is worth as much as James Tedesco and Tom Trbojevic, after signing a record-challenging deal worth in excess of $5 million, Moses said Gutherson, who last year signed a deal worth $750,000 a year, was as good as any of the NRL’s million-dollar men.
“He (Gutherson) is the ultimate team person,” Moses said. “I love playing with him, week in and week out. We have a good connection and I love playing with him.”
While the jury is still out on whether or not Ponga can live up to his new $5m plus price tag after agreeing to Newcastle’s richest ever extension, Gutherson is arguably the NRL’s best dollar-for-dollar fullback.
While Ponga, Tedesco, Trbojevic are all on million dollar a year plus deals, Gutherson last year signed a deal worth $2.3m over three years.
Moses has no doubt that his teammate has delivered on his deal.
“He has as big of an effect on our side as any player does on any team,” Moses said.
“He has a massive effect. He is our captain and he leads by example, both on and off the field. He leads with his actions and we just need to get on the back of what he does. He is a huge influence.”
Ponga will be out to prove he is worth an estimated $350,000 more than Gutherson when he goes head to head with the Parramatta fullback on Sunday.
“I haven’t played with Ponga so I don’t really know what sort of influence he has,” Moses said. “I don’t know how he goes in a team environment. I only know what Gutho does and he is a massive influence on who we are and how we play.”
Moses said the Eels would be looking to bounce back after going down to the Tigers by a field gold in a thriller.
“We need to get the win,” Moses said. “That’s is the main priority. We weren’t at our best last week, so we all need to improve.”
The Eels will wear a special Anzac Day strip for the clash.
The club will donate $10 from the sale of each jersey to the Invictus Games Foundation.
“We are excited to get out there on Sunday,” Moses said.
“It is an important round and it is important to remember the contribution that those have made for our country. It is a special occasion and a round that we all look forward to.”
Eels back Invictus in support of Stewart
-Matt Encarnacion
When Shannon Stewart was medically discharged from the Australian Army four years ago, it took him a while to regain the motivation to enjoy sport again.
The Parramatta fan is presently representing his nation at the Invictus Games in The Hague, The Netherlands, which is a long way from serving his country with the 2nd Cavalry Regiment in Afghanistan. It was there where Stewart suffered from service-related post-traumatic stress and physical injury.
“After watching the 2018 Invictus Games, it gave me the inspiration to step forward out of my shell and find sport again,” Stewart said. “Before that, I really had nothing.
“Using Invictus as a platform to go in and do sport is really good for my mental health.”
It’s why the Eels have dedicated some proceeds from their new Anzac Day jersey to Invictus Australia, which works with the Australian Defence Force to support former members.
Stewart, who competes in archery, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby, lives in Townsville but has been an Eels fan since growing up in western Sydney.
“I’m proud that my Eels team is helping raise funds for Invictus Australia through the Anzac jersey,” Stewart said.
“And I appreciate all the support from Invictus in preparing and getting me to these Invictus Games. I look forward to continuing with sport at my local footy club when I get home.”
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