Junior Reps Wrap: Female Eels do the double over Dragons

The Eels continued their climb up the Lisa Fiaola Cup ladder when they completed a 44-0 disposal of the Dragons on Saturday.

It took just two minutes for the Eels to post their first try when Mere Sivo finished off fine work by her fellow forwards by touching down under the posts.

Leonia Vei and Fontayne Tufuga then combined in spectacular fashion as the prop sent her industrious lock on a fifty metre gallop to the line.

A long break from Evelyn Kuwendu from the kick off took the ball deep into Dragons territory. A shift left on the last tackle saw Danielle Seckold create an open channel for Jasmine Rorani to score close to the corner post.

Offloads, a knock down and quick hands then featured in a chaotic team try finished by Kaylee Andrews. The 20-point half-time lead was reflective of the Eels superiority during the first thirty minutes.

Bailey Ma Chong set the tone after the break when she burrowed through the fatiguing Dragons’ defence. She doubled down three minutes later with her second try from dummy half.

The floodgates were opening as the Eels forwards linked superbly in the lead up and then execution of Fontayne Tufuga’s second try that saw the lock steam into a hole and touch down between the posts.

With three minutes to go, the Eels turned defence into attack for the penultimate try of the day. Inside work from Leonie Vei, Aaliyah Soufan, and Danielle Seckold set Jasmine Roranion an angled 30 metre run to the sticks. 

The Eels centre then completed her hat trick, accepting another pass from Danielle Seckold to cross in the shadow of full time.

Parramatta next face the third-placed Roosters in Round 6 action at Eric Tweedale Stadium on Saturday.

Eels 44 (Tries: Jasmine Rorani 3, Fontayne Tufuga 2, Bailey Ma-Chong 2, Mere Sivo, Kaylee Anfrews; Goals: Sharon Latapu 2, Bailey Ma-Chong 2) defeated Dragons 0.

Tarsha Gale Cup

The Eels dominated all facets of play against the Dragons to register their first win of the season in the Tarsha Gale Cup.

Despite the early adversity of losing a player to the sin bin, the Eels posted two quick tries to make their intentions clear. 

Liaina Dimech was the first to cross when she surged onto a short ball in front of the uprights. Parramatta then marched back towards the red zone in the kick-off set and Ryvrr Lee Alo finished the job when she split the defence and galloped 30 metres for a converted try.

Not long after, a sweeping left edge option put Dallis Graham-Withell to within a metre of the line. Rory Muller then scored her first try of the day when she took advantage of space beside the ruck to dive over from dummy half. 

A 50-metre intercept try to Aaliyah Haumono in the closing minutes of the half rubbed salt into the Dragons wounds with the Eels taking a 22-point lead into the sheds.

Parramatta extended the margin in the early minutes of the second half when Rory Muller stole her second try from dummy half.

The Dragons tried their best to rally but it was the Eels who added the final two tries of the game. 

Kalisi Mahe capped a powerful performance by finishing a narrow blindside play in the right corner.

Finally, Ciara Stockham celebrated her debut match by crossing for the Eels seventh try in the final minute.

The Eels next face the undefeated Roosters at Eric Tweedale Stadium on Saturday.

Eels 36 (Tries: Rory Muller 2, Liaina Dimech, Ryvrr-Lee Alo, Aaliyah Haumono, Kalisi Mahe, Ciara Stockham; Goals: Bella Sandford 3, Dallis Graham-Withell) defeated Dragons 0.

Harold Matthews Cup

The Bulldogs and Eels could not be separated in their Harold Matthews Cup top-of-the-table clash at Eric Tweedale Stadium on Saturday.

Both teams struggled to find their attacking rhythm during the first half as all players looked to win the physical contest in a battle of the defences.

The Eels were first to score when Samuel Polley demonstrated his typical hustle to ground a Lincoln Fletcher kick in the in-goal.

The Bulldogs drew level at the mid point of the half before Parramatta brought the crowd to their feet when they chanced their hand as the half time siren sounded. Ezra Leota initiated the superb team try from his own side of halfway, before Lincoln Fletcher finished the movement by finding Cyrus Bloomfield who hit the afterburners in a 20 metre sprint to the line.

The second half was just three minutes old when Ezra Leota extended the Eels lead to 12 with a try between the posts. It was text book work from the middles with Ocean Vaivela and Ryda Talagi driving play towards the posts and Leota catching the defence on the back foot with dart from dummy half.

Possession and momentum then fell the Bulldogs way as they added three tries to take a two point lead with 10 minutes left on the clock.

A penalty goal to Lincoln Fletcher levelled the scores five minutes later but few were prepared for the amazing finish.

With time ticking away, the Bulldogs launched a frantic raid inside the Eels quarter, keeping the ball alive against desperate defence. After a disputed call, an Eels player was sent to the sin bin and a penalty awarded beside the posts.

Incredibly, the penalty kick struck the upright and the Eels held on for the draw.

The result leaves both teams undefeated in 2024.

Parramatta heads to Woy Woy next Saturday to take on the Central Coast Roosters.

Eels 20 (Tries: Samuel Polley, Cyrus Bloomfield, Ezra Leota; Goals: Lincoln Fletcher 4) drew with Bulldogs 20.

SG Ball Cup

Set completions will be high on the Eels agenda this week after their SG Ball Cup loss to the Bulldogs.

Critical errors gifted territory and possession to the Bulldogs with the visitors taking full advantage to record just their second win of the season.

The Eels started on a positive note and were first to score through a narrow blindside play with Corey Leigh offloading to Mohamed Alameddine for the try.

Three Bulldogs tries followed in quick succession as the Eels became their own worst enemy.

Just before half time, Jai Camilleri was injected into the game and the move paid dividends when the crafty dummy half darted over next to the posts to reduce the margin to eight points.

The Bulldogs extended their lead after the break following another Eels error, but Parra struck back soon after when Javahn Stevenson-Hala crashed through defenders to score a converted try.

Unfortunately, the Eels were unable to kick on from there and the Bulldogs wrapped up the result with two late tries.

The Eels will be looking to return to the winners list when they travel to Newcastle next Saturday to play the Knights.

Bulldogs 32 defeated Eels 16 (Tries: Mohamed Alameddine, Jai Camilleri, Javahn, Stevenson-Hala; Goals: Dominic Farrugia 2).