Injuries galore in Melbourne Storm NRL qualifying final win over Parramatta Eels
A rollercoaster of an NRL final has seen end-to-end action and plenty of tries, but a brutal injury toll has hit both teams hard.
The Melbourne Storm have continued its perfect record against the Parramatta Eels in finals football with a seventh win from seven games in a 36-24 result in the side's qualifying final.
It sees the Eels set to take on the winner of the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Newcastle Knights on Sunday afternoon.
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The Eels started perfectly, scoring inside the opening minute before a try that rugby league great Greg Alexander called "One of the great final tries".
It started as the Storm crossed their own 40m line but knocked on, with the Eels immediately going on the counter attack.
Clint Gutherson went across field and threw a ball to Michael Jennings who put on the afterburners before a Benji Marshall-esque flick pass to Blake Ferguson. Ferguson then took off for the line but passed it back to Gutherson when he was going to be tracked down.
Fergo âž¡ï¸ Gutho 🔥
— Fox League (@FOXNRL) October 3, 2020
This was beautiful to watch 😠🙌
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It was a huge try but the Storm were never going to lay down.
Romping back to score two tries before halftime before one on the other side of the break to take the lead.
The Storm were causing all kinds of havoc throughout the game and missed several tries that could have made it more comfortable.
But the Eels hit back with a try through Blake Ferguson, after hooker Reed Mahoney kicked for the winger on the first tackle to set up the try.
The honeymoon was soon over though with Ferguson making a meal of a kick behind the line, with the Storm scoring from the ensuing scrum from 10m out.
"Ferguson had a shocker," Andrew Voss said. "Oh my goodness Blake, you've given your coach a heart attack. And every Parramatta fan."
Ferguson from hero to zero in a flash. #NRLStormEels
— Alexander Grant (@AlexGrantOz) October 3, 2020
The Storm really made the Eels pay, making it three tries from eight minutes.
The night got even worse for Ferguson when he disastrously left the field after the third try as he tried to make a tackle on Justin Olam.
He hooked his leg around to try and get the centre down with Olam falling and twisting his leg in an ugly incident.
It was a horror finish to his night – and quite possibly his season.
He wasn't the only one, with the Eels' other winger Maika Sivo heading off in the first half. Eels coach Brad Arthur saying he thinks he's "done" for the season on a brutal blow on his birthday.
However, Arthur said he wasn't sure about Ferguson's injury.
The Storm also had Cameron Munster limp from the field.
The five-eighth threw his mouthguard once he left the field of play a sign Cooper Cronk said was a bad because of the star's toughness. Munster has had several knee injuries this season. But it was reportedly just a "tweak" of his MCL injury. He said himself it was a knee clash and that he would be getting scans to make sure it was fine.
As hoped initial assessment from the Storm suggests a “tweak†(minor sprain) of Cameron Munster’s MCL, expected to be fit for preliminary final in 2 weeks time #NRLStormEels pic.twitter.com/xz9vsqCk4b
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) October 3, 2020
The Eels scored again late but couldn't pressure the Storm any further with the 12-point result sending Melbourne to the preliminary final, while the Eels will likely be missing troops for a sudden death final next Saturday.
Originally published as Injuries galore in Melbourne Storm NRL qualifying final win over Parramatta Eels