| Eels and Rabbitohs share the points at ANZ | | Print | |
| Saturday, 23 May 2009 00:56 | |||
League Unlimited Written by:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
May 22, 2009 10:13pm In terrible conditions the Parramatta Eels and South Sydney Rabbitohs have played out the second draw of the year tonight at ANZ Stadium. In a match that reflected the conditions, neither team looked to chance their arm and play any sort of expansive football. As a direct result of the conditions, the first scoring play of the game came on the back of a dropped ball on the very first play of the game from Parramatta. Josh Cordoba lost the ball trying to play it, and at the end of the resulting set Craig Wing kicked out to Colin Best, who batted it back for Michael Crocker to dive on for his first try as a Rabbitoh. In the 14th minute of the game, Parramatta tried to spread the ball wide, but a wayward pass from Jarryd Hayne was latched onto by Nathan Merritt, who sprinted 50 metres fo extend Souths lead to ten. Hayne attoned for his mistake in the 25th when he dove under some soft line defence for snatch one back for the Eels, and gave us our half time score of 10 points to 4 in favour of the Rabbitohs. Parramatta had the first chance of the second half, and capitalised when Eric Grothe dove over in the corner to reduce the deficit to two. Hayne continued to threaten the Souths defensive line, almost breaking through in the 51st only to be undone by a knock on. A minute later his opposing fullback Luke Capewell showed him how it's done as he slipped past Nathan Hindmarsh and darted away to extend the Rabbitohs lead to eight. Hayne once again proved to be the goto man, as in the 67th he received the ball at first receiver close to the Rabbitohs line and decided to go himself, dragging three defenders over as he scored his second of the night. Luke Burt evened it all up at 16 all in the 71st after Crocker took out a player off the ball, and we were going to extra time! What followed was ten minutes of missed field goal attempts, mid-field chip kicks, miracle pass attempts and a whole slew of low percentage plays, with nothing to show for it but a solitary point for each team. MATCH DETAILS Parramatta Eels 16 LeagueUnlimited.com Player of the Match LeagueUnlimited.com Live Commentary Team changes are as such: Talk about the game as it happens - Eels v Rabbitohs forum discussion - click here! EELS: 1. Jarryd Hayne 19. Eric Grothe 3. Taulima Tautai 4. Krisnan Inu 5. Luke Burt 6. Joel Reddy 7. Jeff Robson 15. Josh Cordoba 9. Matt Keating 10. Fuifui Moi Moi 11. Nathan Hindmarsh 12. Joe Galvuao 13. Todd Lowrie Both teams are making their way out onto the field, and kickoff is just moments away! 0 min: Referee Badger signals time on, and the ball falls off the tee! Luke replaces it, and we're underway! 0 min: Terrible start for the Eels, with Cordoba losing it on the very first play. 2 min: VIDEO REF - Possible Rabbitohs Try...:Crocker is claiming the try, just checking for onside. 2 min: TRY South Sydney Rabbitohs 7 min: Fairly safe play from both teams, with neither really looking to promote the ball, instead more content to take it up one off the ruck and get to their kick 10 min: An attacking bomb on the last from Hayne is far, far, FAR too big, landing at least 5 metres past the dead ball line. 14 min: VIDEO REF - Possible Rabbitohs Try...:Possible try to Merritt, just checking to see whether he made it to the in-goal 14 min: TRY South Sydney Rabbitohs 18 min: PENALTY - Rabbitohs: Eels are all offside, and the Rabbits get the first penalty of the game. Perfect opportunity to capitalise and further extend their lead. 19 min: PENALTY - Rabbitohs: The Rabbits get the second penalty of the game as well, this time for a spear tackle by Inu on Simpson. 23 min: Capewell comes up with a simple dropped ball just five out from his own line, giving Parramatta a perfect opportunity to get on the board. 25 min: TRY Parramatta Eels 27 min: Two quick penalties to the Eels following the restart get them in prime position to score back to back tries, however they throw it away through a knock on. 33 min: The Eels earn themselves a repeat set down in Rabbits territory, but throw it away on the second play with a lazy pass that is dived on by a Rabbitoh. 35 min: Two more penalties back to back for the Eels will give them another chance to equal the game up just before half time. 36 min: As the rain starts to cascade down, Robson dribbles the ball into the ingoal where it is dived upon by Crocker. Repeat set coming up for the Eels. 39 min: A show of sheer strength from Hindmarsh almost gets him over the line despite the attention of four Rabbitoh defenders. HALF TIME 40 min: And we're back underway! 42 min: Early pressure for the Rabbitohs as the Eels get a repeat set. 43 min: TRY Parramatta Eels 45 min: Mannah coughs it up on the set following the try, and the Rabbits will look to extend their lead once again. 51 min: The Eels starting to up the tempo here, with Hayne almost making a break up the middle, only for a lost ball to bring it back. 52 min: TRY South Sydney Rabbitohs 55 min: A knock on for the Rabbitohs after the restart gives the Eels a golden chance to nullify the try. 61 min: Relieving penalty for Souths will get them off their line after Parra have had all the field position lately. 64 min: A lack of urgency at the back of the scrum from Wing very nearly results in a scrum against the feed. 65 min: No pressure on Burt whatsoever allows him to catch the cross-field kick ingoal for a free 20 tap. 67 min: TRY Parramatta Eels 71 min: A penalty against Crocker for taking a player out off the ball will give Burt a chance to square this game up. 71 min: PENALTY GOAL Parramatta Eels 75 min: It's taken 75 minutes, but finally both teams are starting to throw the ball around. 79 min: What was initially ruled a knock on against the Eels has been overruled into a penalty against Souths. 80 min: Parramatta almost snag a try right on full time, but Capewell takes the ball dead, and we're going to extra time! 82 min: ATTEMPTED FIELD GOAL Parramatta Eels 83 min: Capewell makes a half break down the middle of the field, and instead of taking the ball to ground, tries to throw the miracle ball, handing possession over to the Eels in good field position. 84 min: ATTEMPTED FIELD GOAL Parramatta Eels 87 min: ATTEMPTED FIELD GOAL Parramatta Eels 88 min: ATTEMPTED FIELD GOAL South Sydney Rabbitohs 89 min: Souths have a scrum feed ten out from Parras line, but just as they feed the scrum the refs call full time! FULL TIME
|