Buoyed by victories in all three grades in Round 6, the Eels Junior Representative teams travelled to Ironmark High Performance Centre (Redfern Oval) for their respective matches against the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
The Tarsha Gale side were looking to consolidate their top four placing, whilst for the Matts and Ball teams, wins were essential to remain in finals contention.
Tarsha Gale Cup
The Eels Tarsha Gale team had the Rabbitohs on the back foot from the opening minutes of the match.
An almighty charge from Petalina Atoa set the stage for the Eels first try as she firstly scattered defenders then earned the penalty in the ruck. Parra followed that by hitting the Bunnies right edge, and crisp ball movement put fullback Debbie Doueihi over for the touch down.
Next on the agenda was some Rosemarie Beckett magic.
She firstly scooped up a loose pass on the last tackle and chipped ahead. Tamerah Leati chased through to collect it on the bounce before linking back up with Beckett who finished off the movement by crossing for a converted try.
If that wasn’t inspiring enough, just seven minutes later Beckett produced another chip kick on the last tackle, and Leati was again on the spot to collect it. This time the centre offloaded to Ameena Kanj and, as fate would have it, it was Beckett who again received the final pass to add her second try.
The conversion from Alysha Bell was successful and at 16 nil the Eels were keeping pace with the clock.
A nicely worked set play off the scrum put the Eels in prime position for their next scoring opportunity. The Rabbitohs scramble defence had just managed to stop the Eels short of the line, but a well worked short side movement provided enough space for Tamerah Leati to crash through behind the ruck for a well deserved try of her own.
Parra continued to hold the territorial advantage for the final minutes of the first half but the Bunnies hung on to keep the score at 20 – 0.
That holding pattern changed soon after the commencement of the second half as the Eels forwards asserted their physical superiority.
With the middle won, Beckett put on another play with Leati, and this time the hard running centre weaved back against the flow of traffic before flicking the ball spectacularly to Kasey Quye on the inside. The dummy half then produced her own highlight moment as she plucked the ball out of the air in full stride on her way to the line.
The successful conversion from Bell extended the Eels lead to 26 points.
Parra’s pack were next to star, this time via their middles. Finding herself in the unusual position of dummy half, Ruby-Jean Kennard expertly distributed the ball to fellow prop Melunuku’o ‘Akau’ola Laula in front of the posts. Laula would not be denied her place on the scorer’s sheet and the converted try took the Eels total to 32.
The longer the match continued, the tougher the Rabbitohs found it to defend their line. Interchange forward Chelsea Steele finished the Eels scoring when she crashed over with three minutes left on the clock.
With only two rounds remaining, the convincing victory has lifted the Eels to second place on the table and all but guaranteed they will be playing finals football.
Eels 36 (Tries: Rosemarie Beckett 2, Debbie Doueihi, Tamerah Leati, Kasey Quye, Melenuku’o ‘Akau’ola Laula, Chelsea Steele Goals: Alysha Bell 4) defeated Rabbitohs 0
Harold Matthews Cup
Parra had the early ascendancy in their Harold Matthews match against the Rabbitohs, but it would be the home team who would be first to score.
A Rabbitohs rush down the Eels left looked to have been negated by a well timed jam, but a fortuitous pass deflection fell Souths way and they took full advantage to cross for an unconverted try.
The reply from the Eels would be swift. A forward pass by Souths following the kick off gifted Parra both possession and territory, and Michael Gabrael was soon diving over for his team’s first try of the day.
Improved defence from the Eels repelled repeat sets from the Bunnies, and this provided the launch pad for the Eels next raid.
This time fortune would favour the Blue and Golds.
After being put into space, left winger Luke Maroun looked for centre Michael Gabrael who was looming in support. The play momentarily appeared to have broken down as the pass hit the ground, but Mohamed Alameddine was on the spot to scoop up the loose ball and dive over for the Eels second unconverted try.
The Eels were winning the physicality of the contest with dummy half Matt Arthur getting his forwards over the advantage line. Parra’s four point lead was extended to eight with a try before the break courtesy of a sharp reverse shift to the right that allowed winger Richard Penisini to step back inside the desperately sliding Souths defence.
Not long after half time, the Eels 8 point buffer seemed to be under threat with game ending injuries to both Richard Penisini and Junior Fagalele.
However, Parra would be next to score when Matt Arthur took a quick tap from a penalty and knifed through the retreating defenders. Blaize Talagi flew onto Arthur’s pinpoint pass and brushed past the fullback to score a converted try.
Pressure was now mounting on the Rabbitohs and the Eels exerted their superiority with two tries to interchange forward Zaidas Muagututia who was occupying the newly vacant wing position.
In the first of that brace, Zaidas was the beneficiary of a scrum play to the right which stripped Souths for numbers. In the second, Matt Arthur attacked the right edge short side before drawing defenders in and hitting the emergency winger with a superb pass.
The Eels forwards put the icing on the victory cake with a try started by a rampaging run from Jacob ‘Bobby’ Johns, and finished by a mint cutout pass from Kobi Hurford to winger Luke Maroun.
In a congested ladder, the Eels are now in 5th place and starting to find momentum. Victories in the final two rounds remain critical in ensuring their place in the finals.
Eels 32 (Tries: Zaidas Muagututia 2, Michael Gabrael, Mohamed Alameddine, Richard Penisini, Blaize Talagi, Luke Maroun Goals: Mohamed Alameddine 2) defeated Rabbitohs 4
SG Ball Cup
The Eels had plenty to play for in their SG Ball game against a similarly placed Rabbitohs team. Victory would keep them in contention for finals football. Defeat would mean planning for 2023.
After surviving an early scare, the Eels were the first to score. Dom De Stradis was all hustle as he charged down a kick before recovering the ball and linking with the flying Reilly Canning. A last ditch tackle on Canning only delayed the inevitable as Yehya Ayache seized the moment to crash over from dummy half.
Parra seemed to be holding the upper hand, and Dom De Stradis and Joshua Alzahim were both denied tries by desperate Souths defence.
Unfortunately for the Eels, piggy-back penalties cost them momentum, territory and ultimately their lead when Souths struck back to level the scores in the 17th minute.
The pressure mounted on the Blue and Golds for the remainder of the half as Souths launched raid after raid on their line, only to be turned away by resolute defence.
At six all going into the sheds, the game was anybody’s and the Eels season was in their hands.
The big collisions continued after the break, but it was Parra who was first to crack at the 47th minute mark. Poor first up contact in the Eels defence opened the opportunity for Souths to break the line and a shift to their right earned the converted try and a six point lead.
It seemed like Souths had invited the Eels back into the contest when they lost a player to the sin bin. This was Parra’s opportunity to strike, but unfortunately a sequence of errors would prove to be their undoing.
From there, proceedings fell apart for the Eels. They firstly lost Reilly Canning to a HIA, and then they lost all momentum.
The Rabbitohs added tries in the 54th, 61st and 67th minutes to take the score to 28 – 6 and earn a well-deserved win.
Parramatta now sit in 10th place with only 6 competition points. Player elevations and injuries have taken their toll on the team, but this match was not the side at their best.
They’ll be looking to finish the season on a positive note with improved performances in their final two outings.
Rabbitohs 28 defeated Eels 6 (Tries: Yehya Ayache Goals: Reilly Canning)
Team of the week
- Mohamed Alameddine HM
- Luke Maroun HM
- Tamerah Leati TG
- Petesa Lio TG
- Richard Penisini HM
- Tallara Bamblett TG
- Rose Beckett TG
- Saxon Pryke SG
- Matt Arthur HM
- Jacob John HM
- Tahlesha Maeva TG
- Tyrese Lokenin HM
- Kobi Hurford HM
- Josh Alhazim SG
- Zaidas Muagututia HM
- Kasey Quye TG
- Sebastian Piukala HM
