Round 19
Warriors 12 l. Eels 20

2006 NRL Telstra Premiership Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: Aus_NZ > National > First Grade Competition: NRL Telstra Premiership

Parramatta keep Finals hopes alive
Sun July 16, 2006
Parramatta has now made it four wins in a row and under the coaching of Jason Taylor are putting themselves in as a serious contender to steal the 7th or 8th positions come Finals time. The Eels were a club in complete turmoil only a month ago but Taylor is now making his impact at the Club and with North Queensland now in trouble, Newcastle one injury away from not being a contender and Wests Tigers facing the remainder of the season without their best player, Parramatta are now good odds to make the Finals.

The Eels made a brilliant start with exciting young Jarryd Hayne backing up his four try effort last week with two tries in the opening ten minutes. The first try came when Manu Vatuvei lost the ball in the tackle and it popped straight into the arms of Hayne who scored the try. Hayne's second try was another slice of luck but good players make their own luck when he intercepted a pass from Simon Mannering and had too much pace for the Warriors defence to score.

Nathan Hindmarsh scored a powerful try in the 15th minute and the Eels were up 14-0 with Hayne converting the Hindmarsh try.

Warriors captain Steve Price crossed over from close range to reduce the margin to eight points following Tony Martin's conversion. The Warriors had ample opportunities to put further points on the board but the usual poor handling and trying to force the miracle ball let them down.

Parramatta got one opportunity before half-time and capitalised when Luke O'Dwyer scored to push the score out to 18-6 with the conversion unsuccessful.

Grant Rovelli got the Warriors back within a converted try in the 54th minute but the usual handling mistakes and poor discipline cost the Warriors as Parramatta was able to close out the victory with Mark Riddell landing a penalty goal in the final 30 seconds.

Parramatta are now two points out of the top eight and with North Queensland really in a hole on and off the field, Newcastle struggling along, Canberra starting to fade away, Penrith not all that convincing and Wests Tigers missing their No.1 player for the remainder of the season - Parramatta is in with a real show to snare 7th position and avoid playing Melbourne in the opening week of the Finals.

Each victory and good performance is a bonus for Taylor as his odds will shorten each time to replace Shaun McRae as Head Coach of South Sydney next year. Taylor has signed with Souths in an assistant role but the whispers will be getting louder with each impressive Eels victory.

The Warriors have tried hard all year under coach Ivan Cleary but the loss of four competition points has hurt them and finally taken its toll. They were unable to win the close matches against the Bulldogs and Eels in the last two weeks and on numerous occasions this year have been close to victory but poor handling, poor options and poor discipline has cost them. Cleary has done an outstanding job but will always have his work cut out trying to narrow down the mistake rate in the Warriors.

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