The Eels scored three wins from three in the weekend’s Junior Reps fixtures against Manly Sea Eagles at 4 Pines Park.
The SG Ball and Harold Matthews teams consolidated their places near the top of the table with impressive wins, while another lopsided win for the Eels’ Lisa Fiaola Cup side kicked off the day.
The Tarsha Gale Cup team recharged the batteries with a bye.
SG Ball Cup: Eels overpower Manly to claim second place
A convincing victory over Manly saw the Eels move into second place on the SG Ball Cup ladder with two weeks of the regular season remaining.
The Eels and Sea Eagles entered the SG Ball clash with contrasting seasons: Parramatta sitting near the top of the table as Manly struggled with only one win to their name. But games between these old rivals are never won on paper, a fact reinforced by the opening exchanges of this match.
Manly were the first to score after only seven minutes and the Eels were acutely aware that they could not afford to let the Northern Beaches lads get their confidence up.
An error from the kick off by the Sea Eagles provided the opportunity for Parramatta to immediately strike back. As the Eels attacked the Manly line, Josh Lynn fed the ball to Pat Spence who fought through some desperate contact to score.
Parramatta then made their own error from the kick off set and the Sea Eagles re-established a six point lead with a try in the left corner.
The hosts were now applying the pressure, but the Eels were ready to turn defence into attack.
After defusing a Sea Eagles kick, Parramatta rolled downfield and hoisted a towering bomb. The Manly winger and fullback collided in trying to field the ball and Parramatta reclaimed possession a few metres out. Charlie Guymer then charged onto a Matt Arthur pass for the try to level the scores.
Parramatta were on a roll and in a try-scoring mood.
On the back of a near unstoppable Lance Fualema charge to halfway, Parramatta worked play to the left edge. Arthur looked up and saw an opportunity down the narrow blind side. Devonte Vaivela broke through the line and linked with Mohamed Alameddine who crossed in the corner. Sanders added the extras with a huge sideline conversion.
Momentum was with the Eels, and a Sea Eagles indiscretion invited Parramatta back into the Manly quarter. A delightful short ball from Sanders to Guymer put the hard-working lock across for his second try of the afternoon and the Eels went to the break with a 12-point lead.
Parramatta’s start to the second half could not have been scripted any better.
The Eels completed their first set with a high kick into Manly’s quarter. A contest for the ball saw the rebound fall towards Ethan Sanders who quickly passed off to Devonte Vaivela. The powerful centre then beat a couple of defenders on his way to grounding the ball in the corner.
Another terrific sideline conversion from Sanders added the icing to the cake as the Eels’ lead blew out to three converted tries.
The scoreboard attendant was given a rest over the next 15 minutes before a quality set from the Eels broke the mini drought.
A series of quick play the balls through the middle took the play from deep inside Parramatta’s quarter into the Manly half. A last-tackle chip kick from Sanders found the turf on the ten metre line and broke right, beating all Manly defenders and bouncing into the arms of Dom De Stradis who dived over next to the posts.
Manly then enjoyed a period of success, scoring two unconverted tries playing expansive footy down both wings.
The Eels had the final say with a late try to Tuvaka Palu. Following a scrum close to Manly’s line, Arthur and Sanders combined to give the Eels centre a clear passage to cross in the right corner.
Parramatta host defending premiers Penrith in a massive penultimate-round clash at Cabramatta this coming weekend.
Eels 38 (Tries: Guymer 2, Spence, Alameddine, Vaivela, De Stradis, Palu. Goals: Sanders 5) defeated Sea Eagles 18.
Harold Matthews Cup: In-form Eels go equal-first
The Eels moved into equal-first place and extended their Harold Matthews Cup winning streak to five matches by beating Manly.
Parramatta’s intent was evident early in the clash as they scored three converted tries in the opening fifteen minutes.
First to cross was Lorima Rokosuka who was on the end of a terrific pass from fullback Corey Leigh. The ever-alert Eels winger took the opportunity to improve the position for his goal kicker, and Dom Farrugia gladly added the extras.
Soon after, another Eels raid in the Sea Eagles’ red zone proved fruitful when Jezaiah Funa-Iuta broke free of defenders and hooker Zaidas Muagututia loomed up in support to take the ball and cross under the posts.
The Sea Eagles then gifted the Eels territory with a penalty in the kick off set, and Muagututia made them pay once more.
Sensing an opportunity behind the ruck, the Eels dummy half weaved his way through the Manly defenders in a 25 metre run to the posts. It was another easy conversion for Farrugia to take the lead out to 18-0.
Parramatta continued to make great inroads through the middle with lock Tyson Sangalang leading the way. Just as they set themselves for a fourth try, a dropped pass was scooped up by the Sea Eagles centre who sprinted away for a converted try.
Manly’s try halted the Eels’ momentum and the hosts would have been pleased to go into half time only 12 points behind.
Just as he did in the first half, Corey Leigh provided the spark to get the scoreboard ticking over after the break.
Slicing through the defence around halfway, Leigh found himself in open pastures with Rokosuka in support. When Manly’s fullback took the odds on a pass, the Eels no. 1 held the ball and raced away to score next to the posts.
Parramatta’s pace and guile had served them well in attack to this point, but it was brute force that provided the next try.
The Sea Eagles had no answer to the power of prop Mikayel Tito when he charged at the line and planted the ball under the posts.
With Parramatta in complete control, an offside call was all that prevented Dom Farrugia from posting a spectacular try off a bomb. It would be the hosts who were last to score when they crossed in the final seconds.
The Eels now sit alongside the Bulldogs and the Raiders at the top of the competition ladder.
Eels 30 (Tries: Muagututia 2, Rokosuka, Leigh, Tito. Goals: Farrugia 5) defeated Sea Eagles 10.
Lisa Fiaola Cup: Eels dynamic in crushing victory
The Eels continued their scintillating start in the Lisa Fiaola Cup by demolishing the Sea Eagles in the second round of the competition.
The 50-point rout saw the Eels cross for ten tries in an entertaining exhibition of attacking rugby league.
Parramatta asserted their authority in the opening set of the game, rumbling through the middle to the Manly quarter then playing expansive footy to create an overlap for Fontayne Tufuga to score.
Tufuga then created the Eels second try, breaking the line around halfway before turning the ball back inside for Aaliyah Soufan to cross under the posts.
Manly were doing their best to hang on but a quick Eels play the ball in the Sea Eagles red zone gave Danielle Seckold the opportunity to take off on her own from dummy half and dart over near the right corner.
Alaianne Toai-Alaimalo and her twin sister Odesza Toiai-Alaimalo were causing all sorts of grief for Manly in attack, and when the time came to defend, the Eels were a well-drilled unit. 14 points ahead by the end of the first third, Parramatta were in complete control.
A Sea Eagles error close to their line soon after the break had the Eels back on the attack. Quick hands from Parra moved the ball from right of the posts towards the left corner and Tia Matthews scored her first try of the day.
From the kick off the Eels ruthlessly made their way through the middle towards the Manly quarter. They then hit the right wing before Seckold again saw the opportunity to take a run from dummy half and grab her second try.
The Eels were playing at a different level to their opponents and this was evident when Ryvvr-Lee Alo’s offload in front of the posts triggered a switch of play to the left for Fontayne Tufuga to nab her second.
Ava Jones was making an impact in this clash and at 26-0 going into the final break, it was a matter of how big the final margin would be.
Parramatta added their first points of the last stanza when Tia Matthews sliced through the defence around halfway and out sprinted the chasers to score under the posts.
Alaianne Toai-Alaimalo then provided her own touch of the spectacular when she split the line and took off on an angled run of about 20 metres to score beside the posts.
By now the girls were stretching Manly on both wings. Mariah Fasavalu-Faamausili was next to score when she cut through the defence from about fifteen metres out and then improved the position for the conversion by Logan Lemusu.
Another 50-metre sprint to the line for Tia Matthews put the exclamation mark on the Eels victory.
This team plays a dynamic brand of rugby league and Eels fans should be encouraged to catch them in action over the final two rounds of the competition.
Eels 50 (Tries: Matthews 3, Tufuga 2, Seckold 2, Aaliyah Soufan, Alaianne Toai-Alaimalo, Fasavalu-Faamausili. Goals: Lemusu 4, Henderson 1) defeated Sea Eagles 0.
