NRLW 2024: Farcical scenes as round five opener delayed by more than 30 minutes because there was no paramedic at the venue

There’s been a bizarre start to round five of the NRLW with the match between the Eels and Knights delayed for more than half an hour.

Eels players left the field at Eric Tweedale Stadium after being told that their NRLW match had been delayed. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

Fans at Eric Tweedale Stadium were forced to wait 45 minutes for the game between Parramatta and Newcastle to start, with kick-off delayed because there were no paramedics at the ground.

Round five was supposed to start at 11am in Sydney’s west, but kick-off was pushed back and forced Fox League to show highlights from Friday night’s games before play got underway and the Knights romped to a 36-16 victory.

It’s unclear how this could have happened, with fans at the venue not told why the game was delayed as players from both teams were forced to spend half an hour in the sheds in a disruptive build-up to the contest.

“Games cannot start without a paramedic on site,” an NRL spokesperson confirmed.

“We are reviewing the situation.”

Delay in kick off acknowledged on the Tanny but reason not supplied pic.twitter.com/h9rIzqEfgN

— John C Moriarty (@JohnCMoriarty) August 24, 2024

WORTH THE WAIT

The Knights were dancing in the sheds while they waited but they were keen to make up for lost time with the defending premiers racing in four tries in the opening 20 minutes.

Having lost their past two games, the competition heavyweights made an early statement even without superstar halfback Jesse Southwell who missed the game due to a head knock.

“We started the game really well,” Knights coach Ben Jeffries said.

“There was a delay in the game and we couldn’t control that. It was about how we started when we got on the field, and I’m really happy with how we responded today.

“I think some leaders took control of that situation.”

Youngster Evie Jones took her spot and made an impact after just two minutes when she grubbered through for Tamika Upton who did a sensational job to ground the ball a split second before it rolled dead.

The Knights scored in their very next set and had the hosts on the ropes when Upton put Abigail Roache into a yawning gap to make it 20-0.

Upton was involved in everything on Saturday afternoon, with the world’s best player setting up another four-pointer to Laishon Albert-Jones before she iced the win with a 65-metre solo effort on the stroke of full-time.

The Knights had too much in attack for the Eels. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

EELS SLIP AWAY

The blue and golds have come a long way this season a year after they finished with the wooden spoon, but they still have a lot of work to do if they want to match it with the top teams.

They started the round in the top four but will slide a few spots after they were punished for a slow start, with their best attack coming on the back of tricky kick-offs which the Knights couldn’t handle.

Cassey Tohi-Hiku scored a great solo try when she beat four defenders, but the Eels couldn’t keep the pressure on with some poor last-tackle options.

Naikore starting the game off with a Bang 💥 #NRLWRaidersCowboyspic.twitter.com/ZhGsYdIVzb

— NRLW (@NRLWomens) August 24, 2024

The Cowboys have kept in touch with the top four after they heaped more misery on the Raiders with a 28-18 win in Canberra thanks to doubles to Vitalina Naikore and Jasmine Peters.

The win moves North Queensland up to six points along with three other clubs, with the Titans and Broncos both looking for their third win of the season on Sunday.

It’s a terrific turnaround for the visitors who won just two games last season but look so much better with Naikore stealing the show with a try in each half.

She got the ball rolling in the opening set when she flew through the air to reel in a Kirra Dibb kick, and she then put her side up by 10 with 10 minutes to play when she finished off a nice move to the left.

The visitors did all the little things right on Saturday and taught the Green Machine to play to the whistle when Krystal Blackwell raced 95 metres to score when Canberra players were busy complaining to the referee about what they thought was a knock on.

DREAM DEBUT

Inspirational lock Simaima Taufa couldn’t have done more for Canberra with a game-high 187 metres to go with 41 tackles and a try that cut the margin to four points with five minutes to play.

But they paid the price for a late error with Peters slicing through for her second to leave the Raiders with just one win from their opening five games.

There was one highlight with Felice Quinlan scoring with her first touch in the NRLW having only come onto the bench after Ash Quinlan (illness) was ruled out.

Sereana Naitokatoka replaced her at halfback and threw the offload for Felice to score after only being on the field for a couple of minutes.

Originally published as NRLW 2024: Farcical scenes as round five opener delayed by more than 30 minutes because there was no paramedic at the venue