Dyldam Parramatta Eels Head Coach Brad Arthur has called on his side to win the Eels’ final three games of the season to earn a place in the top eight following a disappointing 18-16 loss to the Bulldogs in Round 23.
The loss saw the Eels controversially denied a try from a 20m tap following a Chris Sandow 40/20, and Arthur said while he disagreed with the ruling, he thought the Blue and Gold showed wore their hearts on their sleeves in a gutsy performance.
“I don’t know how many times I’ve seen players run down and get the ball-boy to throw the ball in and it’s play on,” Arthur said.
“Vai actually passed the ball off the sideline, what more do they want? Go up in the grand stand and pass it from the grand stand? It’s a stupid rule.”
“We can say our piece now but that isn’t going to help us; we’re going to have to make sure we win the next three to make sure we are in the semi-finals, that’s all there is to it.”
“But what I want to focus on is the courage and commitment that these blokes showed: we were the better team.”
Click through to see how the game unfolded in the highlights.