Manly’s dominant win over Parramatta soured by huge hit on Brad Parker
Parramatta was belted by the Manly Sea Eagles and a huge shoulder charge from Ryan Matterson only made matters worse.
NRL
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Parramatta’s Ryan Matterson is set to come under serious scrutiny from the NRL judiciary for a nasty shoulder charge in the Eels clash with the Manly Sea Eagles on Saturday night.
In the second half of the match at Sunshine Coast Stadium, Manly’s Brad Parker was running the ball up to the line but was brutally sent to the turf after Matterson’s shoulder made heavy contact with Parker’s head.
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Parker was clearly dazed by the huge collision and lay on the ground as the trainer tended to him. Thankfully, he got to his feet and managed to walk off the field.
Matterson was immediately sent off by the referee and took no further part in the game.
“It didn’t look great, did it?” Fox League commentator Dan Ginnane said.
“It looked like a shoulder straight to the head,” 2004 Premiership-winner Braith Anasta added.
“That’s a shocker. That’s a real bad one from Matterson. Poor Parker.”
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“Now he has to concern himself with how long he might spend on the sidelines,” Ginnane said.
“A very long time,” Anasta responded.
“That could be his season.”
“Matterson becomes the first Parramatta player sent off in 15 years since Fuifui Moimoi in 2006,” Ginnane said.
Fox League’s Jake Duke confirmed Parker was responsive and “up and about in the Manly dressing rooms” after the hit.
Already a man down and on the receiving end of a Manly try-scoring masterclass, things got even worse for the Eels when Marata Niukore was sent to the sin bin for a professional foul.
It meant Parramatta was playing with only 11 men on the field compared to Manly’s full complement of 13.
“This night is going from worse to horrible,” Ginnane said.
The Eels became the latest side to concede 50 points in a game as the Sea Eagles ran riot to record a 56-10 victory.
“It’s a horror show here from Parramatta who came into the game with such hope,” Anasta added.
Manly scored a remarkable 10 tries, including a hat-trick to winger Reuben Garrick.
The result puts a serious dent in Parramatta’s top-four hopes as they continue to limp towards the finals.
Rubbing salt into the wound for the Eels is the fact Manly leapfrogged them into fifth spot on the NRL ladder.
Originally published as Manly’s dominant win over Parramatta soured by huge hit on Brad Parker