NRL Round 13: Parramatta Eels win 24-16 over North Queensland Cowboys, Dylan Brown tackle of the year contender
Parramatta five-eighth Dylan Brown has produced one of the best try-savers of the year, as the Eels earned back-to-back wins for just the second time in 2023.
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While some teams go into hibernation mode during Origin, the Eels have officially woken from their slumber and are now just one win outside the top eight after they overcame another injury in the forwards to sneak past the gallant Cowboys.
The naysayers were getting ready to write off last year’s grand finalists after their 4-7 start to the season, but they steadied the ship with a win over the red-hot Rabbitohs and backed it up with a 24-16 victory over the Cowboys ahead of next week’s bye.
This wasn’t the free-flowing footy we saw from them last week, with the Eels forced to dig deep for 55 minutes before their two wingers crossed in quick succession to break the game wide open.
Their third try was a case of perseverance from Sean Russell who had two tries disallowed in the space of 60 seconds earlier in the second half before he finally got the four points he deserved.
Dylan Brown.... OUTTA NOWHERE
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It was fitting that their star halves played a key role in the win with Mitch Moses slicing through in the 79th minute to seal the result, while Dylan Brown produced a stunning tackle in the first half to somehow deny Chad Townsend.
BACK ON THE HORSE
It’s hard to believe this is the same team that conceded 11 tries to the Wests Tigers a week ago.
It looked like they’d given up in the final few minutes at Leichhardt Oval, but the Cowboys fought to the death on Friday night to almost steal two competition points on the road.
Their defence was vastly improved but it was the attacking brilliance of Scott Drinkwater that almost got them over the line with the fullback scoring one and setting up two tries in one of his best games of the year.
Drinkwater opened the scoring on a freezing night at CommBank Stadium when he latched onto a lovely pass from Heilum Luki and then turned provider to set up winger Kyle Feldt for a quick double to set up a grandstand finish.
It wasn’t enough, however, and finals footy is starting to look a long way away for a team that almost made last year’s decider.
“As a coach, I’ve been concerned for a while,” Todd Payten said.
“I know how tight the competition is.
“What keeps me optimistic is how much ability we’ve got in the group.
“There’s enough footy left, and I know we’re good enough.”
JOE OH NO
Someone at the Eels must have walked under a ladder because the club is going through an injury crisis that must make fans sick.
Parramatta headed into Friday’s game without all of the forwards who lined up in last year’s grand final due to injury, Origin duty and players having moved on.
They have battled bravely with back-rowers Shaun Lane, Andrew Davey and Ryan Matterson all unavailable, but they are being stretched to the limit with new recruit Joe Ofahengaue lasting just 10 minutes before he succumbed to a calf injury.
“I think he had a calf injury in the pre-season,” Brad Arthur said, hopeful that the Eels will get a few players back after the bye.
NOT A GOOD LOOK
Moses and Clint Gutherson are two of the most passionate players in the competition who would do anything to get their team over the line.
But they should think about scaling back their protests after they ran towards referee Liam Kennedy to get him to change a decision.
Michael Ennis said in commentary that they looked like “European soccer players” after they argued that Gutherson was tackled before he got the ball, and while Kennedy blew the penalty, the Cowboys challenged and the Bunker agreed.
COACH’S REPLY EXPOSES PARRAMATTA’S BIGGEST PROBLEM
—Dean Ritchie
Parramatta captain Clint Gutherson could be a surprise option in the halves for the Eels following the departure of playmaker Jake Arthur to Manly.
Eels coach Brad Arthur revealed his back-up plan should regular halves Mitchell Moses and Dylan Brown be unavailable for games this season.
“We’ve got a few options. I will worry about that if we get to it but we might be able to shuffle ‘Gutho’ (Clint Gutherson) around. Daejarn Asi is playing a bit of fullback in (NSW) Cup,” Arthur said. “But I haven’t thought about it,” Brad said.
Jake fronted the media on Tuesday wearing, for the first time, a maroon and white training shirt.
“It feels a bit strange – all I have worn for most of my life has been Parramatta (jumpers). But this was an opportunity I couldn’t miss,” Jake said. “It was a good opportunity to learn off new people and learn new philosophies about footy.
“Everyone I spoke to said Manly was a good club but at the end of the day it was my decision.
“I get to start fresh and learn things off (Daly) Cherry-Evans, Josh Schuster and (Tom) Trbojevic. I can’t wait. Daly plays a very different style to me and he’s someone I can learn a lot from.”
Jake can now escape the scrutiny of Parramatta fans, who jeered the young playmaker at times during his tenure at the Eels.
“Early in my career it affected me,” he said. “I was reading the comments but I have quickly learned to stay away from that and just focus on what I can do.”
Brad Arthur was assistant coach at Manly in 2013.
Jake can remember being at the club’s captain’s runs on Brookvale Oval as an 11-year old kid, kicking the footy around.
“It’s pretty to cool to think I used to come here (Brookvale) and kick the footballs back to dad at training,” Jake said.
CRAZY STAT SUMS UP EELS’ FORWARD CRISIS
The Eels have gone from cloud nine to ground zero.
In an extraordinary combination of circumstances, Parramatta will field a side this Friday night without a single forward from last year’s grand final.
Yep, all nine grand final forwards will be missing for the important match against North Queensland at CommBank Stadium.
Parramatta’s starting grand final forwards last year were Junior Paulo (unavailable due to NSW commitments), Reed Mahoney (Canterbury), Reagan Campbell-Gillard (groin), Shaun Lane (hamstring), Isaiah Papali’I (Wests Tigers) and Marata Niukore (Warriors).
The Eels’ bench forward were Ryan Matterson (calf), Nathan Brown (Sydney Roosters) and Oregon Kaufusi (Cronulla).
It’s bizarre to think — for differing reasons — not a single forward will be there on Friday, just 236 days after last season’s decider, won 28-12 by Penrith.
Parramatta’s forwards for the North Queensland game are Wiremu Greig, Josh Hodgson, Bryce Cartwright, J’maine Hopgood, Matt Doorey, Ofahiki Ogden, Brendan Hands, Luca Moretti and Makahesi Makatoa.
Former Wests Tigers forward Joe Ofahengaue will play his first game for the Eels.
“Maybe earlier in my coaching career I would have dwelled on it but we just have a mentality now that it’s a challenge and opportunity for other players,” said Parramatta coach Brad Arthur.
“I’m not going to dwell or over-think it.”
Arthur has been forced to blood new talent and rookies to cover for the amazing loss of talent.
And the Parramatta coach is excited at the rise of his younger players, who helped Parramatta out-muscle premiership heavyweights Souths 36-16 last Friday evening.
“Sometimes these things are a blessing in disguise. I like the fact that we’ve been able to give other players opportunities that mightn’t have come about,” Arthur said.
“They have now earned trust from the group and trust from the coaching staff. The only way to keep that trust is to keep doing their job.
“We might not have necessarily been able to get game time into Wiremu, he is getting better and better and has shown he can handle it, and Ofahiki Ogden on the weekend. He got 40 minutes and did a really good job against a very good forward pack and one of the better teams in the competition.
“J’maine Hopgood. He could have played more NRL (at former club Penrith) but had too many in front of him. He really came to us as a reserve grader but has now established himself as a week-in, week-out NRL player.
“‘Carty’ (Cartwright) is getting better with more game time.
“When you’ve got a lot of really good forwards, you’re sometimes hesitant to take them off and put these other blokes on because you’re paying them a lot of money and they’re there to win games for you.
“You take the safe option and leave them there. But the position we’re in now, we’re forced to give the other blokes more game time.”
Matterson is recovering from a calf injury and may only miss one game.
Parramatta has a bye next weekend.
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