The combination between Moses and Gutherson was a crucial element in Parramatta’s win over the Bulldogs on Monday afternoon.
Result
Parramatta Eels 34
Tries: (6) Clint Gutherson 5th, 22nd, 24th; Bailey Simonsson 30th; Will Penisini 50th; Maika Sivo 65th
Goals: (5) Mitchell Moses 6th, 23rd, 26th, 32nd, 66th
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 12
Tries: (3) Matt Burton 15th; Hayze Perham 58th
Goals: (2) Matt Burton 17th, 60th
Report
Monday afternoon footy isn’t something we see often anymore, but the games we do get are often a treat to watch. This afternoon, the Bulldogs hosted the Eels at Accor Stadium for the NSW King’s Birthday holiday (and the i4Give Cup).
Parramatta didn’t waste much time scoring the first points of the afternoon, with Clint Gutherson being the one to do it.
The Bulldogs then broke through multiple Eels defenders to pass the ball to Matt Burton who finished the job, getting the Bulldogs’ first points of the afternoon.
The competition looked like it was was well and truly heating up, however it was still early days at Accor Stadium.
While the Eels were on the attack, Mitch Moses and Gutherson found a gap in the Bulldogs’ defence, which they ran straight through to score their second try of the afternoon.
Quite literally two minutes later, both Moses and Gutherson combined to score another try for Parramatta. Their combination was proving to be lethal in the opening half.
Parramatta scored three tries in eight minutes, putting themselves further and further ahead of the Bulldogs, who were struggling to keep up with the speed of their opposition.
The Eels led the Bulldogs 24-6 at half-time.
The Eels looked to have carried some momentum from the first half right into the second. While the Bulldogs were trying to play a bit of catch up, and to their credit, their attack was looking stronger than in the first half.
Parramatta added to their try tally once again, making the gap between themselves and the Bulldogs even larger, making a Canterbury-Bankstown comeback look harder to achieve.
The Bulldogs finally put themselves back on the board, Hayze Perham being the one to score their second try of the afternoon. They were putting in effort, but it was too late to muster a comeback.
The Parramatta Eels were well and truly running away with it, gaining more confidence and momentum as the game went on.
In the final minutes, Maika Sivo was awarded a try, however, upon review, the try was taken off him for obstruction. Parramatta, at this point, were up by 22 points.
With less than a minute to go, the Bulldogs made a last-ditch attempt to close the gap a little more, as Josh Addo-Carr grazed the ball in the in-goal area; however, the Bunker got involved and the try was disallowed, despite being awarded on field.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR POINTS
3 – Mitch Moses (Eels)
2 – Clint Gutherson (Eels)
1 – Bailey Simonsson (Eels)
