Eels put Broncos one week away from wooden spoon

Parramatta have one week to find their mojo. Brisbane have one week to avoid the wooden spoon.

Maika Sivo celebrates with Jai Field after a try for the Eels Picture: Getty Images

Brisbane has one week to avoid the wooden spoon. Parramatta has one week to find its mojo. Brisbane needs to beat North Queensland on Thursday night to have any hope of saving a remnant of their season. The Eels need to spoil Benji Marshall’s final game for Wests Tigers or they could lose their place in the top four.

The Broncos will be playing for pride and Darius Boyd. Parramatta is playing for a premiership. Brisbane showed flashes of fight at Bankwest Stadium on Friday night. Parramatta showed flashes of their best before their home fans.

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Flashes don’t get it done though. Not when you are anchored to the foot of the ladder. And not when you want to prove to people – and more importantly yourself – that you are a genuine title contender.

“It was a step in the right direction,” Parramatta coach Brad Arthur said after his side’s 26-12 win. “It was better. I thought we tried to play a lot more football. We played a nice power game there for a while.

“I thought our defence was good. We moved the ball around a little bit which was better. We scored five tries, could have had six. It was better than the zero we had last week.”

If there was a disappointment, it was that Junior Paulo was placed on report for an incident that forced David Fifita to leave the field. Arthur was aghast.

“There was nothing in that was there,” he said. “It shouldn’t have even been a penalty. What is he supposed to do?”

Brisbane was 14 points down at halftime and any hope of a comeback suffered a setback minutes after kickoff when the massive figure of Paulo slid into the legs of Fifita.

Fifita let out a scream and was helped from the field, his evening over. It didn’t stop the Broncos scoring the first try after the break as they worked their way back into the contest thanks to a smart kick by Darius Boyd that was snaffled by Herbie Farnworth.

The comeback was short lived and the Broncos only had themselves to blame. Brisbane was on top but Issac Luke threw an aimless pass that finished in the hands of Jai Field.

Good luck. He sprinted away and Parramatta was rolling. There was still time for the Eels to have a try disallowed to Blake Ferguson. It had no bearing in the end.

The Broncos were beaten and a wooden spoon awaits unless they can topple the Cowboys.

“We need to win for a number of reasons – Darius’s last game, we’re back at home,” Brisbane interim coach Peter Gentle said. “You can see the boys are trying.”

Asked whether Parramatta could win the premiership, Gentle said: “I am not going to bag anyone above us.”

That basically gives everyone a chance.

The Broncos’ night could not have got off to a worse start. The game was only minutes old when Tyson Gamble went in to make a tackle on Eels winger Maika Sivo and was left dazed and confused.

After receiving treatment on the ground, he went straight up the tunnel. For the best part of 20 minutes, Brisbane showed the sort of resolve and resilience that has been missing for most of the year.

They turned up in defence. They put some sting in their tackles. They kept Parramatta at bay. The Eels finally opened the scoring in the 21st minute when Clint Gutherson showed his class and Ferguson benefited.

Ferguson had to wait 17 weeks for his first try of the season. Suddenly, he had two in three weeks. They were in again moments later when they sliced open the middle of Brisbane’s defensive line.

The Broncos scrambled to prevent a try but they were over from the next play as Mitchell Moses created some space for Sivo. Having started so well, the Broncos were on the back foot and they needed a response.

They found it when Tom Dearden isolated Fifita on Moses. Moses has no chance. Fifita hurtled over and the Broncos were back in the game. Not for long.

Luck has deserted the Broncos all year and it went AWOL again with six minutes remaining in the half when Gutherson’s kick bounced off the legs of Kotoni Staggs and back for the Eels skipper.