Cowboys v Eels: Five things we learned

FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED: Michael Morgan’s struggles continue, Kalyn Ponga can’t be dropped, the Cowboys right edge must improve and more.

Kalyn Ponga makes a break for the Cowboys. Picture: Wesley Monts

THE injury-ravaged Cowboys were no match for the Eels in an error-riddled loss at 1300Smiles Stadium.

Here’s what we learned from Parramatta’s 26-6 win over North Queensland.

1 – MICHAEL Morgan said this week that he hoped his call up to the Kangaroos would give him a confidence boost to find his form against Parramatta. This was not the case.

With Johnathan Thurston out, Morgan should have been the one to step up to the plate but he has struggled to do so. The Cowboys were poor in attack and hardly ever looked like putting points on the board. Their kicking game was weak. The absence of Jake Granville and Lachlan Coote has not helped either, but Morgan could still have done more to make up for the missing Thurston.

2 – JOHN Asiata has been solid playing in the halves while Thurston has been out injured, but seemed to try just a little bit too hard. While he did produce a stunning try assist to Antonio Winterstein, the young forward also put in an error-riddled game as he tried to find some spark for his team. He made five errors across the night, including kicking a bomb over the sideline and spilling the ball over the try-line while trying to offload to Gavin Cooper.

Eels centre Michael Jennings gets away from Michael Morgan. Picture: Wesley Monts

3 – PAUL Green has to do something about his right edge. With or without Thurston, Kyle Feldt has been well below his best this season while Justin O’Neill continued a rocky return from a hamstring injury. Feldt conceded two penalties in the first 40 minutes and O’Neill struggled to make any impact with the ball. They also let in two tries.

4 – THE Cowboys may have leaked 26 points, but it was in attack where they completely failed to fire. Aside from Winterstein’s try, the Cowboys hardly threatened Parramatta’s line. They finished with a poor completion rate of 65 per cent and made a shocking 12 errors across the park.

Kalyn Ponga makes a break for the Cowboys. Picture: Wesley Monts

5 – KALYN Ponga was undoubtedly the best Cowboys player on the park. He played most of the game on one leg after suffering an ankle injury but still managed to run for 143m and was constantly trying to find ways to break the game open.

Paul Green cannot drop Ponga once Lachlan Coote returns. He has to find a spot for him.

Originally published as Cowboys v Eels: Five things we learned