‘I had to hope and pray’: Eels star avoids charge to play in grand final

Simaima Taufa hardly slept on Sunday night but was in party mode the next day after she was cleared by the match review committee.

Co-captain Tiana Penitani is racing the clock to overcome an injury to join Simaima Taufa and the Eels in the biggest game of 2022. Picture; Richard Dobson

She’s Parramatta’s most important player and the main reason why they can cap a remarkable run to win the NRLW grand final.

It’s why Simaima Taufa hardly slept on Sunday night, knowing that she was on report and facing a ban that could have rubbed her out of the most important match of her life because of a hip-drop tackle on Sarah Togatuki in the semi-final.

But the good news came through on Monday, with the Eels skipper not charged for the incident in the epic upset win over the reigning champions who hadn’t lost a game all season.

Simaima Taufa and the other captains helped launch grand final week in style. Picture; Jenny Evans/Getty Images

“I’m not going to stand here and lie to you. I was a bit nervous,” Taufa said.

“It was out of my control, so all I could do was hope and pray that I was able to play this week.

“But I knew regardless of what happened that there’d be a person able to come in and get the job done.

“The best part about our team is that we’re versatile and many players can play different positions. (If I was suspended) then the girl who was ready to replace me would’ve got the job done.”

The NSW star leads the Eels for running metres and tackles this season, while she’s level with Rikeya Horne on three tries.

Her efforts in the middle have helped the Eels go from wooden spoon certainties after four rounds to a team just 70 minutes away from a stunning premiership against fellow expansion side the Knights.

The Eels were written off by everyone after their slow start but found a way to sneak into fourth spot after downing the Broncos to steal their spot in the finals on a dramatic final day of the regular season.

They then dominated the Roosters in the semi-final, much like their opponents did last season when they rode a wave of momentum to take out the title.

It’s party time in Parramatta with the NRLW and NRL teams in the grand final. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images

“Any team on their day can win. We didn’t ideally start the season like we wanted, but we knew we were better than what we were in those weeks,” Taufa said.

“It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.

“And it’s your ability to want to get better every week, which is what we wanted. We expected a lot more from ourselves (after the start we had).

“We were 0-4 and everyone ruled us out. We were the massive underdog in this competition, and we thrived on that because we didn’t need the outside to validate us as a team.

“We believed from day dot that we could be where we are today, and no one can take that away from us.

“We earned the right to be here and we busted our behinds off to be where we are today.

“We know we can get the job done if we stick to our game plan and stick to our systems.

“We’ve been able to knock off the Broncos and Roosters because of our desire to want it for each other.”

Originally published as ‘I had to hope and pray’: Eels star avoids charge to play in grand final