The Parramatta Eels have pulled off a gutsy but controversial upset over the Cowboys to book their place in the NRL Grand Final.
The Parramatta Eels have pulled off a huge 24-20 upset over the North Queensland Cowboys to book their place in the NRL Grand Final.
The Cowboys had never lost the seven previous finals they had hosted in Townsville, but the Eels broke that record in a gutsy performance on Friday night.
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Parramatta opened the scoring when halfback Mitchell Moses threw a blatant forward pass to Will Penisini, who crossed untouched for a try that was unbelievably not disallowed.
The touch judge was in the perfect position to see the forward pass but remarkably let it go, much to the disbelief of NRL fans.
Jason Taumalolo was sin binned for a clumsy high shot but the Cowboys weathered the storm and the scores were all tied up at 12-12 at halftime.
But Reagan Campbell-Gillard scored two soft tries to keep the Eels in it, before Maika Sivo crossed for a crucial four-pointer to give Parramatta the lead.
It looked like the Cowboys might steal the win but winger Kyle Feldt grazed the touchline with his foot in the dying minutes, meaning his diving effort in the corner was disallowed.
The Eels were the better team, particularly in the second half, but pundits couldn't help but point out they would have lost if Penisini's try off the forward pass was disallowed as it should have been.
Gee, good thing that Parramatta try from a clearly 2m forward pass definitely wasn’t important in a game decided by 4 points… 🤷â€â™‚ï¸ #nrl #nrlcowboyseels #nrlfinals
— Mark Gottlieb (@MarkGottlieb) September 23, 2022
That forward pass .. #nrlcowboyseels
— matt (@mattencarnacion) September 23, 2022
I've been an @nrl tragic since I was 5. I couldn't finish watching the game tonight. If we're not calling forward passes anymore, we might as well be watching gridiron. Despicable. #NRLCowboysEels #NRLFinals #NRL #NRL360 @NRLcom @FOXNRL @NRLNEWS
— Toby Leonard Moore (@tobesmoore) September 23, 2022
Speaking after the game, Cowboys coach Todd Payten wouldn't blame the loss on the forward pass and said his team had enough chances to win.
"My first instinct was I thought it was forward but looking back on replay a couple of time, I thought it was pretty tight," he said.
"It happened early enough in the game to get over it. We went in 12-all at halftime and 20-12 after 55 minutes, so we moved on pretty well."
Parramatta had lost to Penrith in their qualifying final but bounced back with a dominant win over the Canberra Raiders to keep their premiership hopes alive.
Earlier this week, Cowboys legend Johnathan Thurston questioned the Eels' decision not to travel up to Townsville until Thursday and said they would struggle in the humid conditions.
But Parramatta proved him wrong to spring an upset for the ages and progress through to their first Grand Final since 2009.
The Eels have the longest premiership drought of any team in the NRL and the win gives their fans hope of a first trophy since the Peter Sterling era in 1986.
In the ultimate sacrifice, Moses missed the birth of his first child on Friday to play in arguably the biggest game of his career.
The Eels will face the winner of Saturday's preliminary final between Penrith and South Sydney.
Parramatta have been excellent in the second half and took the lead when Maiko Sivo scored. Mitch Moses kicked the conversion to make the score 24-20.
North Queensland's Kyle Feldt thought he had scored in the corner but a desperate tackle forced Feldt's foot onto the touch line and the try was disallowed.
A game of inches… #NRLCowboysEels pic.twitter.com/OP81crtjRt
— TAB (@tabcomau) September 23, 2022
The Cowboys have the upper hand in the second half thanks to another converted try and penalty goal.
Murray Taulagi scored a try in the corner to finish off some silky build up play from Tom Dearden and Valentine Holmes.
But the Eels stayed in touch when Regan Campbell-Gillard scored a very soft try on the last tackle right under the posts. The Cowboys lead 20-18.
It's all tied up at 12-12 at halftime between the Cowboys and the Eels in Townsville.
North Queensland survived Jason Taumalolo's sin bin and even managed to score with only 12 men on the field went Luciano Leilua scored in the corner.
A penalty goal to Valentine Holmes levelled the scores on the stroke of halftime.
The Cowboys hit back quickly as Reuben Cotter crossed for a rare try.
But then North Queensland's star lock Jason Taumalolo was sin binned for connecting his shoulder with the jaw of Isaiah Papali'i, who went off to undergo an HIA, which he passed.
Parramatta made the most of the sin bin, with Regan Campbell-Gillard scoring a slick try.
If the Cowboys win, Taumalolo could miss the Grand Final if he is suspended for the clumsy tackle.
The Eels scored the first try but somehow it wasn't disallowed for a blatant forward pass in the build up.
Mitch Moses pick up a loose ball and threw it over his head to Will Penisini and it clearly travelled forward, but the touch judge didn't think so and let play continue.
Cowboys players immediately signalled it was a forward pass but Penisini crossed untouched for a try to open the scoring.
NRL fans couldn't believe the referee and touch judge didn't see the forward pass.
Parramatta strike first! 💥#NRLFinals #NRLCowboysEels pic.twitter.com/fTvU2En141
— NRL (@NRL) September 23, 2022
Oh my goodness
— Bernie Coen (@berniecoen) September 23, 2022
HOW did ALL the officials miss that forward pass !!!
Unbelievable #NRLCowboysEels #NRL
Atkins was in poor position to call it but the touchy DEAR ME!!!
If it wasn’t a preliminary final that backwards-pass call would be quite funny.
— Scott Bailey (@ScottBaileyAAP) September 23, 2022
Except it’s a preliminary final, and it’s not at all funny. How do you miss that? #NRLCowboysEels
Forward pass!!! #NRLCowboysEels
— Chris Smith (@chrissmithonair) September 23, 2022
Touch judge was right there! Unbelievable #NRLCowboysEels
— Anthony Chisholm (@AnthonyChisholm) September 23, 2022
That pass was an absolute mile forward…. #NRLCowboysEels
— Adam Santarossa (@adamsantarossa) September 23, 2022
A spot in the Grand Final is on the line tonight and Parramatta halfback Mitchell Moses has missed the birth of his first child today so he can play in the must-win game in Townsville tonight.
Moses' partner Bri gave birth to a baby girl but Moses made the huge sacrifice to stay in Townsville for the game.
Fox League's Yvonne Sampson said: "It's a huge decision for any player to make – to miss the birth of your first child or to play in the biggest game of your career."
Cooper Cronk said it was "the most important day of Mitch's life, he's got football and family coming together all in one day.
"Now there's the added pressure of having his first baby coming into the world today. If he can't do it today, he's probably never going to do it."
Moses was spotted cradling a ball in the change rooms and Broncos legend Gorden Tallis joked it was as if he was pretending to hold a new-born baby.
"When he was holding the footy it looked like he was nursing something already," Tallis said.
"Sitting in the sheds and he was practising already."
Vibes are high in Kangaroos camp with players going from grand final rivals to good mates ahead of this week’s clash with the Kiwis.
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