Media Reports

[Guest]

Season slips away from fighting Eels
Updated August 22, 2010 17:48:00
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Parramatta's NRL finals hopes are on life support after the Eels came up just short of completing a miracle comeback in a 20-18 loss to Wests Tigers on Sunday.

Handed a shot a goal from 25 metres out and just off centre and with less than a minute on the clock, the NRL's most accurate goalkicker Luke Burt pushed it wide after the Eels had set up a thrilling finish with two late tries.

A relieved Robbie Farah was counting his lucky stars after the full-time siren.

"I'd put my house on him kicking that, he's probably going to be pretty shattered, Burty," Farah told Grandstand.

"He's kicked some pretty important goals for them in the past, he's unlucky to miss that one but I'm just happy it didn't go to extra time."

Trailing 20-6 with just 11 minutes left, the Eels stormed back into the game via tries to Justin Horo and Anthony Mitchell, but were unable to conjure one last piece of magic to remain two points behind eighth-placed Brisbane with two games to go.

The Tigers are now almost assured of a home final, thanks in large part to a brilliant game from Benji Marshall, who directed the side around the park with aplomb.

Despite trailing 10-6 at the break, the Eels would have gone to the sheds the happier of the two sides given the Tigers had every chance to have the game and a home final wrapped up by half-time.

Twice the visitors were denied by the video referee - once when Farah fluffed a simple put-down from a gorgeous Marshall grubber - while Chris Lawrence came up with an unwanted double of his own with two passes finding the sideline instead of unmarked winger Lote Tuqiri.

The pair finally combined for the opening try thanks to a switch of play inside their own half, winger Krisnan Inu caught out of position as Lawrence cruised over.

A delicate Marshall chip on halfway had Farah scampering downfield, his kick for Beau Ryan out wide clean up a by a retreating Jarryd Hayne, who was having a quiet first half.

Ryan was not to be denied however with more Marshall brilliance with a held up pass giving his winger an open passage for a 10-0 lead.

One-sided first half

The scoreboard was hardly indicative of the Tigers' dominance, and it was almost unjust when Joel Reddy and Inu swivelled out of tackles with the Kiwi winger cutting the deficit to four.

Farah was happy with how his side performed before the break.

"We played awesome in the first 40, I thought we probably should have been up by a bit more at half-time," he said.

"We bombed a couple of tries and luckily in the end it didn't come back to bite us.

"To hold on to win, it's a pretty crucial win. It cements our spot in the top four and we'll take it and move on."

A pin-point Farah kick had the Tigers back on top after the restart as he earned his side a repeat set, the visitors capitalising when a Timana Tahu intercept attempt went horribly wrong with Farah cleaning up the crumbs and finding Ryan for his second and a 14-6 lead.

The Eels were fighting hard, but the sloppiness which had been a hallmark of their first-half effort continued to limit their effectiveness.

"I don't know how we almost threw that game away, jeez they came home strong," Farah said.

"We were probably lucky in the end, 14 points up and we almost threw it away.

"The penalty count gave them a sniff and when they're attacking your line, they're pretty hard to hold out so that didn't help but… maybe it was our discipline as well."

Never was this more evident than when Hayne failed to find touch from a penalty that would have put the Eels 20 metres out, the Tigers making them pay when Andrew Fifita barged over for what seemed an unassailable 20-6 lead with 18 minutes on the clock.

 

[Guest]

Last-minute Burt miss leaves Eels short
August 22, 2010 - 6:06PM

Wests Tigers 20 Parramatta 18

Parramatta's NRL finals hopes are on life support after the Eels came up just short of completing a miracle comeback in a 20-18 loss to Wests Tigers today.

Handed a shot at goal from 25 metres out and just off centre and with less than a minute on the clock, the NRL's most accurate goalkicker Luke Burt pushed it wide after the Eels had set up a thrilling finish with two late tries.

Trailing 20-6 with just 11 minutes left, the Eels stormed back into the game via tries to Justin Horo and Anthony Mitchell, but were unable to conjure one last piece of magic to remain two points behind eighth-placed Brisbane with two games to go.

The Tigers are now almost assured of a home final, thanks in large part to a brilliant game from Benji Marshall, who directed the side around the park with aplomb.

Despite trailing 10-6 at the break, the Eels would have gone to the sheds the happier of the two sides given the Tigers had every chance to have the game and a home final wrapped up by halftime.

Twice the visitors were denied by the video referee - once when Robbie Farah fluffed a simple put down from a gorgeous Marshall grubber - while Chris Lawrence came up with an unwanted double of his own with two passes finding the sideline instead of unmarked winger Lote Tuqiri.

The pair finally combined for the opening try thanks to a switch of play inside their own half, winger Krisnan Inu caught out of position as Lawrence cruised over.

A delicate Marshall chip on halfway had Farah scampering downfield, his kick for Beau Ryan out wide clean up a by a retreating Jarryd Hayne, who was having a quiet first half.

Ryan wasn't to be denied however with more Marshall brilliance with a held up pass giving his winger an open passage for a 10-0 lead.

The scoreboard was hardly indicative of the Tigers' dominance, and it was almost unjust when Joel Reddy and Inu swivelled out of tackles with the Kiwi winger cutting the deficit to four.

A pin-point Farah kick had the Tigers back on top after the restart as he earned his side a repeat set, the visitors capitalising when a Tim ana Tahu intercept attempt went horribly wrong with Farah cleaning up the crumbs and finding Ryan for his second ana 14-6 lead.

The Eels were fighting hard, but the sloppiness which had been a hallmark of their first half effort continued to limit their effectiveness.

Never was this more evident than when Hayne failed to find touch from a penalty that would have put the Eels 20 metres out, the Tigers making them pay when Andrew Fifita barged over for what seemed an unassailable 20-6 lead with 18 minutes on the clock.

 

[Guest]

WESTS TIGERS BEAT EELS 20-18 IN NRL
By Wayne Cousins, Parramatta Stadium.
22/08/2010 5:41:17 PM

Wests Tigers had to dig deep in the dying minutes to record a hard fought 20-18 victory over Parramatta Eels at Parramatta Stadium today in round 24 of the Telstra Premiership.

In front of a crowd of 19, 854, Wests Tigers were in control for most of the match before a late Eels comeback set the scene for a grandstand finish.

Video referee Sean Hampstead was called on in the opening minutes to see whether second-rower Gareth Ellis or hooker Robbie Farah had scored from a grubber kick by half-back Robert Lui after the ball bounced off the leg of an Eels defender. Hampstead ruled Ellis and Farah were offside.

Hampstead was called on for the second time in the ninth minute to rule whether Farah had scored near the posts from a grubber kick. He appeared to have picked the ball up cleanly before planting it down only for Hampstead to rule no try.

Wests Tigers bombed a tryscoring opportunity in ther 17th minute when a pass by centre Chris Lawrence to an unmarked Lote Tuqiri saw the ball roll into touch behind the winger’s back.

Lawrence made up for his mistake three minutes later when a long pass from five-eighth Benji Marshall found Lawrence who sent the ball to Tuqiri. The winger raced down the left flank before drawing in full-back Jarryd Hayne to turn the ball back inside for Lawrence to score near the posts.

Marshall converted the try from 15 metres out for a 6-0 lead after 21 minutes.

A chip kick behind the line by Marshall saw Farah regather the ball before he kicked the ball ahead for winger Beau Ryan only to see Hayne knock the ball dead in the 29th minute to give Wests Tigers a repeat set.

Ryan then stretched the Wests Tigers lead to 10-0 when on the last tackle, Marshall held up a pass for full-back Mitch Brown to receive who then sent the final pass out for Ryan to dive over in the corner to score. Referee Ben Cummins awarded the try on the spot.

Marshall hooked the ball across the front of the posts from the sideline to leave it 10-0 after 33 minutes.

Wests Tigers bombed a certain try again in the 36th minute when a poor pass from Lawrence to Tuquri again saw the ball roll into touch just inches from the line.

The Eels took advantage of the mistake when centre Joel Reddy offloaded for winger Krisnan Inu to score in the far right corner a minute later. Winger Luke Burt converted the try for a 10-6 scoreline after 39 minutes.

Wests Tigers took a 10-6 lead into half-time but should have been further ahead in a first half they dominated.

2nd Half

Wests Tigers applied plenty of pressure early in the second half through repeated sets.

It paid off when a pass from Farah was knocked down on the last tackle by centre Timana Tahu. Farah picked up the ball to send a pass out to Ryan who planted the ball down with one hand to score in the corner.

Marshall failed to convert the try from the sideline to give Wests Tigers a 14-6 lead after 49 minutes.

Mistakes by the Wests Tigers gave the Eels plenty of attacking opportunities in the 57th minute bur the Wests Tigers defence held firm.
Wests Tigers soaked up the pressure well before exciting young prop Andrew Fifita hit a hole before pushing off Nathan Hindmarsh to score near the posts. It was his third try in two games.

Marshall converted the try to give Wests Tigers a 20-6 lead after 63 minutes.

The Eels got back to 20-12 when second-rower Justin Horo ran into a gap left by Fifita to score behind the posts. Burt converted from in front with 11 minutes remaining.

Wests Tigers prop Todd Payten saved a try to centre Timana Tahu with just over 2 minutes remaining when he punched the ball out of his hands for the ball to go dead and give the Eels a repeat set of six.

The Eels then got a penalty 25 metres out after Hayne ruled a strip but with the pressure on, Burt missed the goal kick, much to the shock horror of his home fans.

Wests Tigers took a drop out with six seconds to go with the Eels taking the ball 60 metres downfield. The ball was sent to Hayne who split the defence and found support on the outside before a grubber kick ahead saw Mitch Brown ground the ball in-goal.

With the Eels team rushing to Hayne to say the kicker was hit late, Hayne blew full-time to give Wests Tigers a two point victory.

The win moves Wests Tigers to 32 points and into second position for the time being.

Lock Chris Heighington turned in another fine game in his 150th match in the NRL.

 

[Guest]

Sharpshooter Burt kicking himself after missing late and crucial sitter
Daniel Lewis

WHEN the fate of your club's season hangs on a kick for goal, Eels winger Luke Burt is the man you want kicking for you. Going into yesterday's round-24 match against Wests Tigers at Parramatta Stadium, Burt had kicked 57 goals from 67 attempts this season for an 85 per cent success rate.

No other regular goalkicker in the competition has been as accurate this year. He had kicked three from three yesterday - the first from the right-hand touchline - before his darkest moment of the season arrived.

With less than a minute left on the clock and the scoreline 20-18 to the Tigers, Burt inexplicably missed a penalty kick he would normally put over with his eyes closed.

Instead of sending his side into golden-point extra time, where the Eels looked likely to claim a stirring come-for-behind victory to keep their finals hopes alive, the Parramatta veteran's miss meant his teammates trudged off the field knowing there is little chance of repeating last year's famous march to the grand final.

As the final whistle neared, the Eels were awarded a penalty about 25 metres out and not far to the left of the posts when Feleti Mateo had the ball stripped.

The sell-out crowd believed an electric period of extra time was on the cards as Burt moved in to strike the ball - but the kick went wide.

After the game, Burt was too distraught to speak to the media. His coach, Daniel Anderson, said: ''He's taking it pretty hard. It can be a cruel game sometimes. It's going to be bitter for him, that memory. Maybe we should have taken opportunities [to score] before that moment. It's difficult to put the blame at one person's feet for a game like that.''

Burt is a good mate of retiring Eels co-captain Nathan Cayless, who said: ''Obviously I felt pretty bad for Luke. He's kicked so many goals for us over the years.''

And Cayless added: ''It's probably the first 50 minutes of the game that let us down'' rather than Burt's missed penalty. ''We just didn't play as well as we could of. We let the Tigers skip out to too much of a lead and just made a few too many errors. Not everything goes your way. You don't always get a fairytale.''

Tigers coach Tim Sheens couldn't believe that Burt missed. ''We got a bit of luck,'' he said.

Tigers captain Robbie Farah ''said a little prayer'' when Burt was lining up for the kick. ''I wouldn't have expected him to miss that in a million years. Burty's kicked some really important goals for Parra in the past and I dare say he's probably pretty shattered at the moment. I feel for him, but we're happy.''

The Eels' other co-captain, Nathan Hindmarsh, said Burt would kick the penalty blindfolded ''any other day … that's just rugby league''.

Had the kick been successful, Hindmarsh said he believed the Eels would have snatched the game in extra time because of the momentum they had.

 

[Guest]

Tigers on a mission show their might against fiery, brilliant Eels
Phil Gould
August 23, 2010

The Wests Tigers’ nail-biting two-point victory against the Parramatta Eels yesterday rates as one of the best by any team in the NRL this season.

They had to overcome the emotion emanating from a packed Parramatta Stadium, the parochialism of the home crowd, the frustration of a 9-3 penalty deficit and a determined Parramatta team fighting for their season. Not many teams could have walked into this environment against such quality opposition and come home with a win.

The value of this triumph can be gauged by the quality of their opponents. We all know that when the mood strikes the Eels they can blow away any team. Yesterday the Parramatta boys were switched on, desperate and dangerous.

Parramatta gave their best and never gave up at any stage. For this reason I believe this was easily the Tigers’ best performance this season. The kings of Sunday afternoon football have entertained us on so many occasions over the years with their electrifying brand of attacking rugby league.

Yesterday, though, there was an extra element to their success. The Tigers produced a consistent intensity over the course of the 80 minutes, and they managed to do it on both sides of the ball. It was the kind of sustained power of concentration that leads to premiership glory. That’s a big call, but yesterday the Tigers showed they are at least capable.

The Tigers attacked on every play of the game, whether they were in attack or defence.

In possession their tactics were obvious. The Tigers looked for constant ball movement to run the big Parramatta forwards around and get their smaller players and outside backs making most of the tackles.

They pointed a lot of their heavy traffic directly at Eels playmaker Feleti Mateo in an effort to sap his energy and blunt his attacking brilliance. After 30 minutes Mateo left the field exhausted, having completed more than 20 tackles and provided little attacking football.

In the first half the Tigers threw their entire repertoire of attacking play at the Parramatta right-hand defence.

Long spiral passes moved the ball swiftly from the right-hand touch line to the likes of Robert Lui and Benji Marshall standing in wide open spaces with support runners at their command and eager for work.

Sleight of hand, intelligent use of decoy runners and the power running of players such as back-rower Gareth Ellis and left centre Chris Lawrence continually stretched the Eels to the limits of the defensive capabilities.

They created a number of try-scoring opportunities and could easily have led by 20 points at half-time.

In the second half the Tigers changed tack and focused their attacking raids down the other side of the field to great effect. Their relentless attacking mentality was matched only by their extraordinary skill set.

Defensively, the Tigers were just as aggressive in their approach. In big games coach Tim Sheens like to instil in his troops the attitude that “we have to meet them to beat them”.

Knowing the best way to control the Eels’ attacking brilliance was to contain the momentum and offloads of the Parramatta forwards, the Tigers attacked the Eels’ ball runners with tremendous fervour and courage.

Parramatta build their offence on the back of strong charges from their big men Fuifui Moimoi, Nathan Cayless, Justin Poore and Tim Mannah. Tigers forwards Todd Payten, Keith Galloway, John Skandalis and Gareth Ellis warmed to the physical challenge and, if anything, probably finished on top for the day.

Even the Tigers’ outside backs showed great confidence and aggression in the way they came forward quickly to cut down the thinking time of the Parramatta playmakers. It was scary stuff as they raced infield looking to cut off attacking raids before they began; in doing so they left a lot of open space out wide available to the Eels’ quick men.

This was nearly their undoing in the dying stages of the contest when a late Parramatta surge threatened an amazing come-from-behind victory, but these Tigers were on a mission. They stuck to their beliefs, they scrambled brilliantly on the occasions their defence was breached, and they completed their assignments with distinction.

It’s disappointing the Eels probably won’t be a part of this year’s finals series, but they have only themselves to blame. Lethargic and careless performances earlier in the season meant they had too much ground to make up in August.

Had they played every game during the season with the urgency, energy and passion they displayed yesterday, they would not have found themselves in this position. The Tigers are now well entrenched in the top four and can set their sights on another tilt at premiership glory. They deserve the opportunity.

 

[Guest]

Wests Tigers beat Parramatta Eels 20-18 in NRL round 24 clash
By Steven Jancetic From: AAP August 22, 2010 2:18PM

FOR a team that has collapsed so meekly over the past five years, Wests Tigers have suddenly found a ruthless and heartless edge.

The Tigers are safely into the finals but still aren't satisfied. They want more - top two and then a premiership.

They are audacious and bold aspirations for a team that couldn't crack the finals in 2006, 2007, 2008 and last year.

But they are certainly attainable given their high-class performance at Parramatta Stadium yesterday.

In a belter of a match before a sellout 20,000 crowd, Wests Tigers withstood a rampaging finish from Parramatta to secure a thrilling two-point win.

The result all but ends the season for a Parramatta side that promised so much but, ultimately, delivered nothing but heartbreak.

The Tigers now move to 32 competition points and are eyeing a top-two finish and home semi-final, which would be at the Sydney Football Stadium and not Leichhardt or Campbelltown.

The joint-venture club has suddenly realised that a top-eight spot means little.

"We want a strong finish," Tigers coach Tim Sheens said. "We just don't want to squeak in.

"We want to preferably finish second or third and get two shots.

"In fourth spot you could go out. There are no guarantees. We want to finish as high as we can."

Tigers skipper Robbie Farah was also thinking about higher honours for his team.

"There is still a lot of work to be done," Farah said.

"We want to finish high up. We aren't getting too excited. There are still a couple of weeks to go.

"Two losses and we could slip right back down the ladder."

Yesterday's match had a dozen turning points and another dozen moments that mattered.

And it produced a stunning finish which proved yet again that the best footy is played on Sunday afternoons.

Wests Tigers led 10-6 at halftime but had two first-half tries disallowed by video referee Sean Hampstead and bombed two more when centre Chris Lawrence twice threw passes over the sideline with winger Lote Tuqiri unmarked.

The visitors looked too fast and creative throughout the opening 40 minutes.

However, a try right on halftime gave Parramatta a lift and the home side went in at the break down by just four points.

The second half was unbelievable.

The Tigers skipped out to a 20-6 lead before Parramatta finally started to play some football.

Why the Eels waited until they were behind by 14 points remains a mystery.

Eels forward Justin Horo scored in the 69th minute before young hooker Anthony Mitchell went over three minutes later to reduce the margin to just two points.

A stripping penalty against Wests Tigers in the final moments gave winger Luke Burt the chance to level the scores and send the game into golden point.

Burt, one of the competition's best goalkickers, pushed the kick wide with just 26 second remaining.

He was in tears later.

Right on fulltime, Eels star Jarryd Hayne made a break before Timana Tahu kicked ahead.

Tahu finished up on the ground as debate raged as to whether he was taken out.

No penalty was awarded and Wests Tigers, who lost the second-half penalty count 7-0, had held on for a memorable win.

"We came here to play football and not grind away," Sheens said.

"We stuck to the game plan but in the second half they [referees] weren't happy with us.

"I yelled myself hoarse on the sideline like a schoolboy. I thought we were the better side on the day. It was a great day for the club.

"We had two disallowed tries and we bombed two more. But we were creating stuff."

Parramatta are stuck on 24 competition points and must win their final two games and hope Brisbane lose theirs to be any chance of playing in the finals.

"We thought we had enough petrol and ability to win the game," Parramatta coach Daniel Anderson said.

Sadly for Parramatta fans, he was wrong.