Parramatta Eels centre Kirisome Auva’a scores fastest ever NRL try against Broncos
BLINK and you would have missed it. Punters had barely taken their seats before Parramatta scored the fastest try in NRL history last night.
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BLINK and you would have missed it.
Punters had barely taken their seats before Parramatta winger Kirisome Auva’a scored the fastest try in NRL history, sparking the Eels’ stunning 52-34 romp over highly-touted Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium.
Auva’a pounced after an Adam Blair brain explosion to score in 12.88 seconds before fellow Eels winger Semi Radradra bagged another four as Parramatta sounded an ominous finals warning.
The Eels blew Brisbane off the park from the outset after a Blair turnover gifted Auva’a an entry in the record books.
The Kiwi international looked to offload in the match’s opening tackle, only to drop the ball just metres from the tryline and provide Auva’a a record-breaking start to the round 25 clash.
He eclipsed the previous fastest mark of 34 seconds set by four players — Parramatta’s Clint Gutherson (2017), Canberra’s Reece Robinson (2014), Melbourne’s Sisa Waqa (2012) and Manly’s Albert Torrens (2004).
“We got a bit lucky at the start. It gave us a bit of energy and might have helped with a bit of belief — the start was important for us,” Eels coach Brad Arthur said.
Radradra picked up where Auva’a left off, notching his hat-trick by the 20th minute to give Parramatta a 24-0 start.
He notched No. 4 with a 98m effort in the 44th minute.
In the end he ran 259m, had a try assist and four line breaks. It took his season tally to 17, equal third in the league.
“He’s incredible to watch. When he finds a bit of space it doesn’t take him too much time to get out in the open,” Eels captain Tim Mannah said. “But there are areas of our game that we can improve on and I think he is in the same boat.” Radradra has scored nine tries in his past eight games.
The lightning start by Auva’a was impressive but he has nothing on the fastest try in league history.
That mark is held by UK amateur club Wigan St Patrick’s Dean Hatton who took 7.3 seconds to score in 2016.