NRL: Parramatta’s perfect start brings back memories of halcyon days

Parramatta have a side boasting more highlights than Dylan Brown’s hair.

Parramatta’s Waqa Blake scores against Penrith at Bankwest Stadium on Friday night. Picture: AAP

Parramatta have a side boasting more highlights than Dylan Brown’s hair.

The last time the Eels started a season like this, it was another blond playmaker who constantly stole the show. Peter Sterling, remember him? Which is also why the hype around this Eels outfit is starting to build – quickly.

Despite being on the longest title drought of any NRL club, Parramatta beating Penrith has secured the club’s best start to a year since 1986. Or put another way, the Eels last premiership year.

Brad Arthur’s side did it the hard way in front of a crowd of 507 at Bankwest Stadium, stealing the win with a three-try, six-minute blitz in the second half to get home 16-10.

The Panthers themselves were looking at their best start since their maiden premiership in 1991 when they scratched their way to a 10-0 half-time lead.

But it was former Panthers centre Waqa Blake who was the catalyst, scoring the Eels’ first try in the 62nd minute before setting up the second, scored by Clint Gutherson, in the next set.

Parramatta completed the comeback three minutes later when a Mitchell Moses grubber wrong-footed the Penrith fullback Caleb Aekins for Ryan Matterson to touch down.

The Panthers fought hard in search of the equaliser in the final minutes, but were held out by a desperate Eels defence.

Penrith welcomed back their NSW Origin halfback Nathan Cleary and he showed the sort of fancy footwork which causes opposition trouble and not himself.

Playing his first game since that TikTok dancing video, Cleary was strong on a night where his side led at the break, were level with 14 minutes to play and almost stole it at the death.

When he stepped up to take a shot at goal in the first half, the Eels did their best to put him off, with the DJ playing ‘Blinding Lights’ by The Weeknd, the song Cleary was dancing to when busted on TikTok. The ruse paid off, with Cleary hooking his shot badly.

Apart from having a hand in two tries, Cleary also produced some strong touches with the boot and for large chunks of this one looked every inch the man who would lead Penrith to victory.

A fortnight back against Newcastle, Penrith looked abysmal. But with Cleary back, they are a totally different beast.

Penrith suffered a setback in the opening set of the game, when second-rower Kurt Capewell limped off with a suspected knee injury. After a closely contested opening 20 minutes, it was Parramatta who cracked first when Brian To’o danced over down the right flank.

The Panthers took a two-try lead into the break when Josh Mansour took advantage of a poor defensive read to score. The visitors also showed plenty of commitment in defence, at one stage turning the Eels away for five consecutive sets on their line early in the second half. Then Blake turned the game on its head.

First the centre stiff-armed Stephen Crichton to score, before he broke into the backfield for Gutherson in the next set to get the comeback in full swing.

He wasn’t the only star for the Eels. Lock Nathan Brown in his first game back since lockdown, was in everything as he tackled and ran strongly.

According to the Fox Sports Lab, Brown travelled furthest of any forward on the field with his 143m – including the outstanding solo run that would eventually lead to a try that put Parramatta in front for the first time all night.

In a match that featured plenty of big hits it was Eels skipper Gutherson who came up with the biggest defensive play when he somehow held up giant backrower Viliame Kikau over the tryline in the second half to keep the Panthers in sight.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, AAP