This week, Mary Kaye reflects on last week and the Blue and Gold's win over the Dragons. Want more? Catch up on Mary Kaye's blogs at Ladies who League.
There's no doubt about it - last week was a difficult one for the Parramatta Eels, and for Members and fans of the Club alike. With off-field drama dominating the headlines for the majority of the week, I had a feeling that come Saturday night our boys would rally in the face of adversity and deliver something special.
I was right.
On Saturday night, in front of a crowd over 15,000 people, the Parramatta Eels put in a spirited display to defeat one of the in-form teams in the competition - the St. George Illawarra Dragons. How fitting for two sides with such rich and proud histories to treat the fans to a real arm-wrestle.
It was close from the outset, with a measly 2 points separating the teams at halftime. There were a couple of close calls, with the Dragons being denied two tries by the video referee (much to the delight of the Parramatta faithful).
While it was a real team effort on Saturday night, there was one man who was the difference. I must take this opportunity to play tribute to Semi Radradra who has been absolutely outstanding for the club this year. With 14 tries in just 9 games, he is an absolute superstar and a try-scoring machine. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Stadium erupt each time he received the ball and to watch the joy in people's faces as he stormed down that try line for not just one, not just two, but three epic tries was magic. Well done, Semi.
Sneakily, I would also like to mention David Gower and his newly found play-making skills. The try which Semi Radradra scored just after halftime was the result of a Chris Sandow/David Gower combination. Will Brad Arthur name Gowie in the halves in coming weeks? That remains to be seen.
Onto this week and it's going to be a tough one as the Eels travel to ANZ Stadium to face the Wests Tigers. Last time we played the Tigers at ANZ Stadium is an occasion I would rather forget. It's time to settle the score and what better time to play the Tigers than now, when they will be missing both Robbie Farah and Aaron Woods because of State of Origin.
A win on Monday night would put Parramatta on a roll - it would mean 3 wins in a row and give us some good momentum heading into what is a notoriously difficult period, post State of Origin.
I'm looking forward to a big clash on Monday night - hopefully the Eels can come away with a win (in front of plenty of fans at ANZ Stadium).
