NRL Round 10: Dolphins defeat Parramatta Eels 20-16

A piece of Herbie Farnworth brilliance helped the Dolphins to a gritty win over the uninspiring Eels, with the Parramatta side remaining rooted to the bottom of the NRL ladder.

A piece of Herbie Farnworth magic has helped the Dolphins to a gritty 20-16 win over the Eels who threatened a late comeback but are rooted to the bottom of the ladder and face a tricky Origin period if their biggest stars get picked again by the Blues.

This was a crucial clash between two teams that suffered 10-point defeats at Magic Round, with the Dolphins getting their season back on track despite being on the wrong end of a lopsided penalty count.

“I thought we showed a lot of fight,” Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf said.

“We got challenged in so many ways… but we just had to come up with really good efforts to save tries at different times.”

The Eels had jumped out to a 12-6 lead early in the second half when Dylan Walker’s no-look pass put Matt Doorey into a yawning gap, but that’s as good as it got for the hosts who conceded two quick tries to slump to their seventh loss of the season.

Herbie Farnworth celebrates with teammates after scoring a try. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

After Kodi Nikorima set up his second try of the evening, it was Farnworth’s turn to torture the Eels as he received a pass inside his own half and burst through some flimsy defence before he sped past Isaiah Iongi to score.

Jamayne Isaako then slotted a penalty goal to seal the result with nine minutes to go, with Mitch Moses blowing up at the crusher tackle call against his side.

Jack Bostock try vs Eels

EELS SLIP AWAY

This was one that got away for the Eels who had their chances at the death to steal a win in front of a modest crowd at home.

Just when the game looked over, Parramatta clicked into gear with a brilliant offload unleashing Iongi who found Dylan Brown in support to get them within four.

Mitchell Moses was quiet by his standards. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

Brown and Addo-Carr then made long breaks in the final five minutes, with the winger streaking clear in the final 60 seconds and finding his five-eighth who tried to turn the fullback inside out but ended up losing the ball instead.

“In the end we just weren’t good enough,” Jason Ryles said.

“We didn’t execute our opportunities, and that’s what got us in the end.”

It was a costly loss for the Eels who will likely be without Mitchell Moses for Origin, while Zac Lomax is also in the mix depending on how he performs in his return from injury next week.

At least Lomax will provide them with some quality off the tee with Sean Russell missing two conversions that would have sent the game into golden point if he’d nailed them.

To make matters worse, winger Bailey Simonsson failed to finish the game with a left foot injury.

Jack Bostock scores a try. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

PHINS UP

This was a big result for a Dolphins side that has an awful record in Sydney.

They weren’t at their flashy best in attack but came up with points when they needed them, while Farnworth also produced a crucial tackle on Will Penisini when he looked like scoring the try that would have levelled the scores.

“He really came to the fore when we needed him, and they were two massive plays in the second half,” Woolf said.

“He’s a very talented player and that’s what he’s capable of.”

HEAD HIGH BACK DOWN

The alleged crackdown on high contact is officially dead after Dolphins prop Mark Nicholls avoided a stint in the sin bin for a tackle gone wrong on Iongi.

The Eels fullback was whacked across the chin with no mitigating factors but Nicholls was allowed to stay on the field as the penalty count swelled to 8-1 against the visitors.

Originally published as NRL Round 10: Dolphins defeat Parramatta Eels 20-16