The Parramatta Eels won the game against the Sydney Roosters but the talking point is Drew Hutchison and his visit to the hospital. 

Hutchison, who was hit late on the ground by some sliding knees from Dylan Brown, suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung.

Anger arose from the situation when Brown was not put on report immediately, but rather just before the second half was to begin.

On top of that, Victor Radley suffered a HIA and did not return. Eels hooker Reed Mahoney also suffered a HIA and failed to return.

Prior to all of that, however, there were points scored and it was the Roosters who drew first blood.

Matt Ikuvalu produced a spectacular mid-air effort, as he contorted his body despite the defensive pressure to score while over the sideline.

Not to be outdone, Blake Ferguson then scored an impressive try of his own.

The acrobatics were not on display here but rather, the brute strength. Ferguson threw himself into the defence and finished strongly.

Ikuvalu would have a second when an errant pass from Brown found the ground and the Roosters had just enough pace to run 70m to score.

At 10-6 and leading, the Roosters looked good.

Though that would not last long, however, as the Eels Bryce Cartwright – their very own supersub – scored a quickfire double.

His first came off a Moses kick that was batted back by Ryan Matterson and in what appeared to be Cartwright’s first touch of the ball, he scooped it up to score.

His second was on the back of some classy work from Eels hooker Mahoney.

Mahoney took the line on, feigned an initial pass to draw in Joseph Manu and then delivered a pass to the back-rower to score his second.

The next Eels try would have to wait until the second half and it was the ever-reliable Tom Opacic.

Ikuvalu was unable to hold onto a Moses bomb and Opacic was there to pounce and score.

Showing their resolve, however, as they trailed 24-12, it was Sam Walker’s time to shine once again.

A lovely cut-out pass for Ikulvau saw him outgun Eels winger Maika Sivo to cap off his hat-trick.

The Eels attack was then rather clunky in the second half and it took a Mitch Moses field goal to extend the lead to two scores.

The game was iced soon after when Isaiah Papali’i evaded some tacklers on the left and found Brown inside who raced away to score.

Despite their injuries, Roosters coach Trent Robinson had a basic message as to why they continue to compete.

“We’re enjoying our footy, it’s not difficult,” Robinson said.

“We enjoy when Tuku [late bench call up Tuku Hau Tapuha] gets to debut.

“We’re enjoying hanging out together and playing footy.

“It’s not what we wanted but it’s the situation. So yeah… rock on.”

Eels coach Brad Arthur said his side worked for everything and that it was close to a 80-minute performance.

“It was tough for both teams. We had to fight and scrap for everything we got,” Arthur said.

“We had three tries disallowed against us and I didn’t see any frustration creep into them.

“I probably got more frustrated in the box than they did on the field. That’s what I saw anyway.”

NRL News Player of the Game

3. Mitch Moses (PAR)

2. Nat Butcher (SYD)

1. Bryce Cartwright (PAR)

Sydney Roosters forward Nat Butcher

By ricky

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.