The young Dyldam Parramatta Eels have run in eleven tries in Townsville to defeat the North Queensland Cowboys 64-4 in Round 8 of the Holden Cup.
The home side opened the scoring through winger Hayden Crowley, taking advantage of a dropped bomb by the Eels and using the field position to sweep through on the right edge.
But with those 4 points on the board, the Blue and Gold earned their own opportunities through fierce defence. When winger Halauafu Lavaka knocked the ball loose with a strong tackle, the Eels charged upfield and hooker Kaysa Pritchard chose his moment to sneak over from dummy half.
And with their noses in front 6-4, the Eels held on through a period of messy play from both sides to stay in front after 20 minutes, as the Cowboys sent a clean bomb out on the full, and an Eels pass missed its mark and crossed the touchline.
Second-rower Eric Newbigging broke the scoring drought, crashing over the line, followed by Tepai Moeroa on the left edge.
Pritchard notched up a second as the Eels attacked through their left side again, and Newbigging added another with his own charge from dummy-half.
To finish out the first 40 minutes, Captain Ryan Matterson saw his own opportunity, and dived over from close range to put the Eels well in front before the break.
Pinpoint kicking from Nathan Davis helped the Eels’ cause, nailing 6 from 6 goals to send the Eels back to the sheds leading 36-4.
On the other side of the break, the young Eels kept control of the match in attack, only seeming in real danger once, as the Cowboys got the ball over the line but were unable to ground it.
Fred Junior Mauala spotted a gap in the Cowboys defence to score just a few minutes in, while Joey Lussick grubbered through the line and chased his own kick to add another four points.
Zach Dockar-Clay found space to dive over on the right of the posts, and Josh Aloiai took advantage a big gap on the left Cowboys’ edge.
The Eels finished out the half with a four-pointer to centre Nathan Davis. It was the only try of the night he wasn’t able to convert, making it a 64-4 win to the Blue and Gold.
Dyldam Parramatta Eels - 64 (Pritchard 2, Newbigging 2, Moeroa, Matterson, Mauala, Lussick, Dockar-Clay, Aloiai, Davis. Davis: 10/11)
North Queensland Cowboys - 4 (Crowley. Jensen: 0/1)
