Sunday wrap: Eels demolish Titans; Knights remain unbeaten after Tigers shootout
The Knights caught a bus from Newcastle on the day of the game but it didn’t hinder them as they crushed the Tigers, while the Eels did a number on the Titans. SUNDAY’S MATCH REPORTS HERE
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Update: Gold Coast coach Justin Holbrook has challenged his players to improve their concentration after they were thrashed 46-6 by Parramatta on the Gold Coast on Sunday night.
In front of an empty Cbus Super Stadium, barring NRL Immortal Mal Meninga and three Titans-supporting mannequins, Parramatta put on a second half demolition job in a scrappy affair on the Gold Coast.
On a day that the governing body was left to contemplate the future of the competition amid the coronavirus crisis, the Titans were left battered and bruised as the Eels scored 32 unanswered points in the final stanza of the game.
The loss means the Robina hoodoo continues to haunt the Gold Coast Titans who fell to their ninth straight loss at Cbus Super Stadium – their longest losing streak in club history.
Holbrook’s men were simply woeful with and without the ball last night.
They finished the match with a 52 per cent completion rate and 45 missed tackles.
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“We fought back well (in the first half) and defended our line for 15 minutes there,” Holbrook said.
“But when we finally got the ball back, we made an error on play one. Then we defended well and made an error on tackle two.
“In the end, in the last 20 minutes, the boys were running on empty.
“It’s individual concentration on what their job is.
“That’s what we need to get better at, as an individual and as a collective.”
Holbrook said his job now was to work out how to get his players to replicate what they do on the training paddock during a game.
“We just have to work harder,” Holbrook said.
“We’re working well at training but from training to the start of the game, there’s something missing there.
“We’ll look at ourselves as a group and hopefully be ready for next week.”
The loss now leaves the struggling Gold Coast with a 0-2 win-loss record to start the season which held much promise with the signing of Holbrook as head coach over the offseason.
But if NRL hierarchy decide to put the season on ice for a few months, it could be a silver lining for the Gold Coast who are hurting with a growing casualty ward.
At one stage last night, the Titans had just one player on the bench.
Club captain Kevin Proctor was ruled out just minutes before kickoff with a hamstring injury, adding to the club’s growing casualty ward which includes Ryan James (knee) and AJ Brimson (back).
The late scratching of Proctor was only compounded when Gold Coast winger Dale Copley was taken from the field with a suspected rib injury and star five-eighth Tyrone Roberts sidelined in the first half with an ankle issue.
It was one-way Parramatta traffic in the opening 10 minutes of the match with tries to halfback Mitchell Moses and hooker Reed Mahoney.
Titans million dollar man Ash Taylor then showed glimpses of his promised talent by splitting through the Parramatta defensive line and throw a cut-out pass to Copley, who went on to score a penalty try.
And that was pretty much it for the home team as Parramatta put on a second half demolition job to notch up back-to-back wins to start their 2020 campaign.
PARRAMATTA 46 (D Brown 2 K Evans R Mahoney M Moses M Sivo P Terepo tries M Moses 9 goals) bt GOLD COAST 6 (D Copley try A Taylor goal) at Cbus Super Stadium. Referee: Henry Perenara, Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski.
Coach Maguire lashes Tigers after ‘cricket score’
Tigers coach Michael Maguire ripped into his side after a woeful defensive effort in their 42-24 loss to Newcastle, saying it was “unacceptable, extremely disappointing” and his players had to “own up” for a substandard effort.
In front of an empty Leichhardt Oval, Wests Tigers conceded eight tries and collapsed late in a weak-kneed performance.
“There is no excuse for what happened out there,” Maguire said.
“It was extremely disappointing. It was like a cricket score at one stage. At half-time we had an opportunity and it came down to who wanted to stand up and take it and we didn’t do that in the second half.
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“I have to find out who wants to own that performance because it’s not acceptable if we want to be a competitive team moving forward.
“We’re grown men. We have to own up. People can find excuses but it’s not what we’re about. We definitely need to fix that moving forward. The game was there at halftime. It was about who wanted it more.
“It’s about how you want to play and how you want to sink the shoulder into a tackle. The boys have to find their shoulders. It comes back to attitude and understanding your role. We still have work to do, definitely.”
It was the Knights’ second successive win and their best start to a season since 2015.
Without injured halfback Luke Brooks, Wests Tigers couldn’t match the class of Newcastle team which contained Mitchell Pearce and Kalyn Ponga.
Wests Tigers entered the field at 4.05pm and just three club officials applauded.
After just 10 minutes of play, Maguire made a key positional switch with Adam Doueihi switching from centre to fullback, fullback Corey Thompson to wing and Robert Jennings into the centres.
Ponga said: “It was crap footy from both sides. We leaked 24 points which isn’t good enough.”
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LEICHHARDT LOCKDOWN
Well, that was weird. The famous Leichhardt Oval noise, passion, emotion and colour - all gone.
The suburban Wayne Pearce Hill was unnaturally and eerily quiet, the Latchem Robinson Stand empty. All private suites sat idle while just one canteen opened, selling chips and coffee.
“It was a different atmosphere today,” said Wayne Pearce’s son, Knights halfback Mitchell.
There was no security at dressing room doors, the normally congested Mary St flowing easily. Even the hot dog vendors usually positioned on street corners around the ground had vanished.
Two cops stood near the Keith Barnes Stand, picking up an easy shift.
AC/DC’s Thunderstruck and Survivor’s Eye of The Tiger blared over the speakers pre-game – songs that would usually send the crowd into a black and gold frenzy. Not on Sunday. Not these days.
You could feel the hits, hear the calls, the referees – noises usually drowned out by the raucous Leichhardt mob baying for blood and the next penalty. ABC Radio and Crocmedia were the only two electronic media outlets calling the match onsite.
Sunday arvo footy at Leichhardt in the March sun – that’s what rugby league is all about. The players still performed but the notorious Leichhardt energy, vigour and spirit was lost. It was heartbreaking.
“It was weird,” Ponga said.
Noisy fans watched on from the backyard of federation homes which back onto the hill. One resident was charging $60 which included a BBQ.
Even the famous Leichhardt Oval press box pies and lollies had gone. As John Lennon once sang: “Nobody told me there’d be days like these, strange days indeed, most peculiar mama.”
BUS BOYS
For the first time in 27 years, Newcastle arrived in Sydney on game day by bus.
The Knights left Newcastle mid-morning for the two-and-a-half hour Sid Foggs bus journey south.
Players stopped in Sydney at a local park for a light lunch and walk. The team arrived at Leichhardt two hours before kick-off and returned home by bus on Sunday night.
Rather than enter the ground via a dressing room back door, the Knight simply strolled through the empty stadium, across the playing surface into the sheds.
The last time Newcastle arrived and left Sydney on game day was way back in 1993 when belted 34-0 by the Bears at North Sydney Oval.
“There were moments when blokes took their foot of the throat,” said Knights coach Adam O’Brien.
PENALTY TRY
Wests Tigers halfback Josh Reynolds turned villain in the first half by conceding a penalty try.
Reynolds clearly held back Newcastle forward Mitch Barnett, who had followed a Jayden Brailey grubber kick into the in-goal area.
Referee Gavin Badger immediately recommended a penalty try, which was ratified by the video referee. It was clear cut decision and gave Newcastle a 10-0 lead.
Barnett came off late in the first half with a shoulder injury and did not return. Reynolds was a strong performer. Wests Tigers forward Thomas Mikaele sustained a medial injury and will be out for four to six weeks.
NEWCASTLE 42 (1 penalty try) (E Tuala 2 M Barnett E Lee K Mann M Pearce K Ponga C Watson tries K Ponga 5 goals) WESTS TIGERS 24 (L Leilua D Nofoaluma J Reynolds C Thompson tries B Marshall 4 goals) at Leichhardt Oval. Referee: Gavin Badger, Gerard Sutton
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