The Parramatta Eels have destroyed the Brisbane Broncos 58-0 at Bankwest Stadium to eliminate them from the finals.
MATCH DETAILS
The Eels started with the better field position and had the Broncos under the pump early. It took them 10 minutes to get first points, but they eventually cracked the Broncos defence. Mitchell Moses kicking across field for Michael Jennings to juggle the ball twice in the in-goal and score. Not long after this the Eels got a penalty goal opportunity, but Moses was not able to convert. He made up for this just moments later, when he grubbered and regathered to score the Eels second try. A few tackles later, Waqa Blake made a break to set up Blake Ferguson, who went over in the corner and extended the lead to 16-0 after just 20 minutes.
The Broncos halted the Eels charge briefly when they were able to finally get some good field position. However, they were their own worst enemy as they couldn’t hold onto the ball and coughed up possession. The Eels went back on the attack and again put the Broncos under pressure. A tiring Broncos defensive line couldn’t stop a rampaging Shaun Lane, who crashed over to further extend the lead. Fijian flyer Maiko Sivo finished off the first half in style, scoring in the corner right on halftime to give the home side a huge 24-0 lead at the break.
Second half
The ball movement from Parramatta was on show early in the second half, as Clint Gutherson put Maika Sivo over for his second try of the day. The onslaught continued for Parramatta when Gutherson broke through the line and setup Dylan Brown to score under the posts. After a short period of back and forth play, the Eels went over again when Dylan Brown setup Tepai Moeroa to score. From here on out, it was all the Eels as they ran in a further three tries. Mitchell Moses and Dylan Brown both got their doubles and Daniel Alvaro got a rare try to completely embarrass the Broncos 58-0.
FOUR POINTERS
Electric Eels smash records
The first finals game at Bankwest Stadium got off to a flying start for the home side. They went on a rampage early and couldn’t seem to do anything wrong, scoring three tries in the opening 20 minutes. At halftime it was 24-0, and at fulltime it was 58-0. It could’ve been worse if Mitchell Moses had converted all his goals. This win broke the record for the biggest winning margin in an NRL finals game and is the biggest losing margin in Broncos history.
Broncos non-existent away from Suncorp
As has been the case for most of the year, the Broncos were not able to get anything going on the road. At Suncorp Stadium, they have such a big advantage with the crowd behind them and at times look indestructible. In finals footy, you have to be able to compete and win away from home and the Broncos were simply embarrassing today. The halves will come under scrutiny as they have all year. There are questions that will be asked about the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of Darius Boyd and Jake Turpin as a halves pairing, both of which are not natural halves.
Moses the Magician
There were a number of question marks surrounding how Mitchell Moses would handle the pressure of finals footy. His performance today was nothing short of brilliant. For someone with no finals experience, he was commanding with the ball in hand. He scored two tries and had a hand in almost all others for Parramatta. The only thing that was sub-par about his effort was the goal kicking (converted 5/10). If Moses can continue his rich vein of form, the Eels may be able to cause some serious upsets over the competition favourites in the coming weeks.
Eels vs Storm highlights week 2 of finals footy
By demolishing the Broncos 58-0 this afternoon, the Eels have booked themselves a date with the Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park in Melbourne next week. The Eels would not have expected to play the Storm this early in their finals campaign. They will have their hands full as it’s extremely rare for the Storm to lose back to back finals games at home in the same year. Regardless, it shapes to be one of the games of the year with the Eels full of confidence.
THE RESULT
Parramatta Eels 58
Tries: Sivo 2, Moses 2, D. Brown 2, Jennings, Ferguson, Lane, Moeroa, Alvaro
Goals: Moses 5/10, Mau 1/1
Drop Goals: n/a
Brisbane Broncos 0
Tries: n/a
Goals: n/a
Drop Goals: n/a
SQUADS
Parramatta Eels: 1. Clint Gutherson 2. Maika Sivo 3. Michael Jennings 4. Waqa Blake 5. Blake Ferguson 6. Dylan Brown 7. Mitchell Moses 15. Daniel Alvaro 9. Reed Mahoney 10. Junior Paulo 11. Shaun Lane 12. Manu Ma’u 13. Nathan Brown Bench: 14. Brad Takairangi 16. Ray Stone 17. Marata Niukore 18. Tepai Moeroa
Brisbane Broncos: 1. Anthony Milford 5. Jamayne Isaako 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Alex Glenn 2. Corey Oates 6. Darius Boyd 7. Jake Turpin 8. Matthew Lodge 9. Andrew McCullough 10. Payne Haas 11. David Fifita 12. Matt Gillett 13. Joe Ofahengaue Bench: 14. James Segeyaro 15. Thomas Flegler 16. Gehamat Shibasaki 17. Patty Carrigan
