Mitch Moses may be out but the Parramatta Eels juggernaut claimed a new victim, a hapless North Queensland Cowboys outfit.

On the back of Clint Gutherson’s crafty play (who was playing his 100th game) and Maika Sivo, the Cowboys simply had no answer.

Surprisingly, it was the Cowboys who enjoyed the early weight of possession but yet they were unable to capitalise.

Some resolute Eels defence proved too tough to crack and once they scored the first try, the Eels would not look back.

That first try would come on the back of Gutherson, throwing a lovely cut-out pass for Michael Jennings.

A near carbon copy saw the Eels score a second; the only difference being, it was Sivo who would score the first of his four tries.

Waqa Blake then got in on the action. A Dylan Brown bomb went up and Blake was there to pluck the ball from the air and score.

Complacency or laziness, whatever you want to call it, saw the Eels allow a Cowboys try right before the break.

You may have thought that the Cowboys would mount a comeback of sorts or get back into the game but it was not to be.

That was ended prematurely when, on one of the first plays of the second half, the Eels scored.

Blake turned provider, batting the ball back for Jai Field who exploded with blistering pace to score in the corner.

Two rapid fire tries to Sivo would then put the icing on the impressive cake that was the Eels performance.

Sivo’s second off the back of a break and lovely pass from Gutherson, shining in his 100th game.

The hat-trick produced by Dylan Brown and a lovely cut-out ball that saw Sivo with an open line in front of him.

Sivo’s fourth try came soon after as quick hands down the left saw him score easily.

A final penalty goal slotted by Gutherson and that was all she wrote. Dominance by the Eels and an insipid Cowboys performance.

Cowboys coach Paul Green lamented his side’s right edge defence.

“It took them well into that second half before they started getting it right,” he said.

“Some of those guys are learning in the NRL when the game comes your way you have to be ready to do what you have to do.”

Brad Arthur praised Sivo for the work he has done to become an effective winger and destructive force.

“He’s going well, he just had to work on some of his timing and depth there and put himself in a better position to give some of those guys inside him an opportunity to make those passes to him,” Arthur said.

NRL News Player of the Game

3. Junior Paulo

2. Clint Gutherson

1. Maika Sivo

Initially joining them on loan, Jack Murchie has extended his stay with the New Zealand Warriors. 

Re-signing until the end of 2022, Murchie originally joined for the remainder of 2020 to help the Warriors side.

He made his first start just last week and has the club and coach Todd Payten back him to become a regular in the seventeen.

“Jack’s come into our bubble and has fitted into the group really well. He’s is a popular squad member,” Payten said.

“He’s working really hard on his game as he seeks to establish himself in our NRL squad.”

Payten praised Murchie for his approach to games, training and the organisation.

“Jack’s always doing extras with the coaches and has the work ethic we are looking for,” Payten continued.

“He has contributed well as he looks to move his game to a new level.”

For Murchie himself, he looks forward to establishing himself as a regular over the next two and a half seasons.

“I’ve really enjoyed my time here with the boys and getting to know them. I feel right at home,” Murchie said.

“I’m looking forward to the next two and a half years to establish myself in the team and be the best player I can be.”

In one of the games of the season, a penalty goal in golden point proved the difference as the Melbourne Storm defeated the Sydney Roosters.

With a rivalry forming between the two sides recently, the game started with a very high intensity and teams were going set for set.

Both teams were battling hard for field position and it was the Roosters who would pounce first.

Justin Olam made an error by knocking on 30 m out from his own goal line.

Wiley veteran winger Brett Morris was very quick to retrieve the loose ball to off-load a great ball to Flanagan to race over to score.

Flanagan converted his own try for the Tricolours to take the early lead and put the Roosters up 6-0.

Flanagan then became a bit of a villain, with an errant pass picked off by Josh Addo-Carr who saw open space and ran 45 m to score.

Addo-Carr continued his great strike rate of scoring tries at Suncorp. He has now scored a try in his last 6 matches there and his 10^th career try at the venue.

As Smith converted to make it six all, the intensity and physicality was reminiscent of an Origin match.

Despite pressure on Storm fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen, he rose to the challenge every time.

The Roosters offloads were creating havoc for the Storm defensive which allowed Luke Keary to weave his magic.

The Roosters resiliency in defence suffocated the Storm attack at times and it proved important late in the first half.

Veteran Roosters centre Josh Morris crossed for his 140^th NRL try.

Keary nailed a cross field kick form Daniel Tupou to take out of the air.

The high-flying Tupou offloaded a pass around the back of himself for Morris to show great body strength to score in the corner.

Flanagan slotted the goal from the sideline to take the Roosters out to a 12-6 lead.

Heading into the break with the Roosters up 12-6, the match was evenly poised to be a spectacle.

The second half began and it was Roosters co-captain Boyd Cordner with an speculative pass in his own half.

The pass was intercepted by Tom Eisenhuth who got the ball to Storm halfback Jahrome Hughes.

Hughes evaded some Roosters defenders and ran 40 m to score for his team and draw first blood in the second half.

Cameron Smith again converted to tie the game up at 12-a-piece.

As the team’s big men tried to stamp their authority on the game, the physicality intensified.

Showing just how good they have been in their careers, Brett Morris scored for a total of 300 NRL tries between he and his brother.

Aback line shift and a great pass from Angus Crichton saw Morris score in the corner to record his 160^th NRL try.

Flanagan was great with the boot  and converted the try to put the Roosters up 18-12.

Josh Morris would then bag his second on the back of great lead-up from Keary and his brother Brett.

The play started from his brother Brett who made a great run to get Keary over the advantage line to find Josh Morris out the outside to score.

Flanagan missed the conversion for the Roosters to lead 22-12 with 30 minutes to go.

From the restart, the Storm got a penalty for a player being taken out.

A few tackles later, Hughes scored a double after a good pass by Cameron Smith and a lead up run by Brandon Smith.

Hughes used good footwork to score under the posts, Smith slotted the conversion and the Roosters led 24-18.

A Daniel Tupou error late on would prove costly and ultimately levelled things up.

The dropped ball was scooped up by Hughes who threw a basketball type pass for Paul Momirovski to score the Storm’s 2^nd try in 3 minutes.

He beat Josh Morris with a right foot step and also beat Keary close to the line for the Storm to take the lead 24-22 after Cameron Smith converts the goal after the ball coming off the upright.

With the game drawing to a close, a bad defensive decision by Storm winger Suliasi Vunivalu to tackle a player without the ball was penalised.

Flanagan was ready to step up to the plate and made no mistake, slotting the penalty to make it 24-all.

With a minute remaining on the clock, the Roosters got in good field position from a Tedesco run.

Keary, the Clive Churchill medallist from last year’s Grand Final slotted a field goal from 32m out.

This was his 4^th career field goal and 3^rd against the Storm.

From the kick-off restart, Tupou jumps up to retrieve the ball, lost it and the Storm retrieved the ball for one final crack.

An unlikely hero in Ryan Papenhuyzen was there when it mattered, slotting a pressure field goal to force golden point.

This was the first field goal of his career.

In the end, the Roosters were their own worst enemy when it mattered most.

A Boyd Cordner error in his own half coupled with a silly penalty given away by Jake Friend and it would be all she wrote.

From right in front, Smith slotted the easy penalty goal for the Storm to take the win 27-25.

Storm coach Craig Bellamy praised his side’s effort and resiliency.

“It makes me real proud of them,” Bellamy said.

Having said that, had we been beaten by 10 points, I still would have been fairly proud of them.

“We got 10 behind against a team that has been head and shoulders above every other team since the break.

“So it would have been easy for our blokes to say it was going to be too hard.”

Despite an ankle injury to Daniel Tupou, Keary knows the side has the players in their arsenal to still compete.

“We have dealt with this the last few years where we have had people out all the time,” Keary said.

“Last year we got out full squad for the first time on grand final day,” Keary said.

“To lose the two boys last week with ACLs was devastating for them but you can’t dwell on it.”

NRL News Player of the Game

3 – Jahrome Hughes

2- Luke Keary

1 – Brandon Smith

What another week of footy we had! Highs, lows, big wins, tight games. 

It was a week that had everything but also some long-term injuries, always a blow to clubs.

With a top tier of teams now starting to form, can any side below that level put pressure on them?

Can teams at the bottom force their way out of the slump?

Time will tell but in the mean time, here are teams for round eight of the NRL Telstra Premiership:

Melbourne Storm v Sydney Roosters (#NRLStormRoosters); Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane; Thursday, July 2. Kick-off: 7:55 pm.

Storm: 1. Ryan Papenhuyzen 2. Suliasi Vunivalu 3. Justin Olam 4. Paul Momirovski 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Ryley Jacks 7. Jahrome Hughes 8. Jesse Bromwich 9. Cameron Smith (C) 10. Christian Welch 11. Felise Kaufusi 12. Kenny Bromwich 13. Dale Finucane.

Interchange: 14. Brandon Smith 15. Tino Faasuamaleaui 16. Tom Eisenhuth 17. Nelson Asofa-Solomona.

Reserves: 18. Cooper Johns 19. Marion Seve 20. Albert Vete 21. Chris Lewis.

Coach: Craig Bellamy.

Roosters: 1. James Tedesco 2. Daniel Tupou 3. Josh Morris 4. Joey Manu 5. Brett Morris 6. Luke Keary 7. Kyle Flanagan 8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 9. Jake Friend 10. Siosiua Taukeiaho 11. Boyd Cordner (C) 12. Angus Crichton 13. Nat Butcher.

Interchange: 14. Poasa Faamausili 15. Sitili Tupouniua 16. Mitch Aubusson 17. Lindsay Collins.

Reserves: 18. Daniel Fifita 19. Ryan Hall 20. Freddy Lussick 21. Lachlan Lam.

Coach: Trent Robinson.

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Canberra Raiders v St George Illawarra Dragons (#NRLRaidersDragons); GIO Stadium, Canberra; Friday, July 3. Kick-off: 6 pm. 

Raiders: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 2. Bailey Simonsson 3. Jarrod Croker (C) 4. Michael Oldfield 5. Nick Cotric 6. Jack Wighton 7. George Williams 8. Josh Papalii 9. Josh Hodgson 10. Iosia Soliola 11. Hudson Young 12. Elliott Whitehead 13. Joseph Tapine.

Interchange: 14. Curtis Scott 15. Emre Guler 16. Ryan Sutton 17. Siliva Havili.

Reserves: 18. Tom Starling 19. Dunamis Lui 20. Matt Frawley 21. Kai O’Donnell.

Coach: Ricky Stuart.

Dragons: 1. Matthew Dufty 2. Jason Saab 3. Euan Aitken 4. Zac Lomax 5. Mikaele Ravalawa 6. Corey Norman 7. Adam Clune 8. Blake Lawrie 9. Cameron McInnes (C) 10. Paul Vaughan 11. Tyson Frizell 13. Tyrell Fuimaono 13. Trent Merrin.

Interchange: 14. Ben Hunt 15. Josh Kerr 16. Korbin Sims 17. Jackson Ford.

Reserves: 18. Eddie Blacker 19. Tristan Sailor 20. Billy Brittain 21. Tim Lafai.

Coach: Paul McGregor.

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Parramatta Eels v North Queensland Cowboys (#NRLEelsCowboys); Bankwest Stadium, Parramatta; Friday, July 3. Kick-off: 7:55 pm. 

Eels: 1. Clint Gutherson (C) 2. Maika Sivo 3. Michael Jennings 4. Waqa Blake 5. Blake Ferguson 6. Dylan Brown 7. Jai Field 8. Reagan Campbell-Gillard 9. Reed Mahoney 10. Junior Paulo 11. Shaun Lane 12. Ryan Matterson 13. Marata Niukore.

Interchange: 14. Ray Stone 15. David Gower 16. Oregon Kaufusi 17. Brad Takairangi.

Reserves: 18. Stefano Utoikamanu 19. Daniel Alvaro 20. George Jennings 21. Will Smith.

Coach: Brad Arthur.

Cowboys: 1. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow 2. Kyle Feldt 3. Tom Opacic 4. Esan Marsters 5. Justin O’Neill 6. Scott Drinkwater 7. Jake Clifford 8. Josh McGuire 9. Reece Robson 10. Jordan McLean 11. Shane Wright 12. Coen Hess 13. Jason Taumalolo.

Interchange: 14. Ben Hampton 15. Gavin Cooper 16. Peter Hola 17. Francis Molo.

Reserves: 18. Reuben Cotter 19. Valentine Holmes 20. Corey Jensen 21. Valentine Holmes.

Coach: Paul Green.

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Gold Coast Titans v Cronulla Sharks (#NRLTitansSharks); Cbus Super Stadium, Robina; Saturday, July 4. Kick-off: 3 pm.

Titans: 1. Corey Thompson 2. Anthony Don 3. Brian Kelly 4. Tyrone Peachey 5. Philip Sami 6. Ashley Taylor 7. Jamal Fogarty 8. Moeaki Fotuaika 9. Mitch Rein 10. Jaimin Jolliffe 11. Kevin Proctor (C) 12. Keegan Hipgrave 13. Jai Arrow.

Interchange: 14. Tanah Boyd 15. Sam Lisone 16. Bryce Cartwright 17. Jarrod Wallace.

Reserves: 18. Erin Clark 19. Beau Fermor 20. Jai Whitbread 21. Tyrone Roberts.

Coach: Justin Holbrook.

Sharks: 1. Matt Moylan 2. Sione Katoa 3. Josh Dugan 4. Jesse Ramien 5. Bryson Goodwin 6. Shaun Johnson 7. Chad Townsend 8. Andrew Fifita 9. Blayke Brailey 10. Aaron Woods 11. Briton Nikora 12. Wade Graham (C) 13. Jack Williams.

Interchange: 14. Toby Rudolf 15. Braden Hamlin-Uele 16. Siosifa Talakai 17. Royce Hunt.

Reserves: 18. Scott Sorenson 19. Connor Tracey 20. William Kennedy 21. Nene Macdonald.

Coach: John Morris.

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New Zealand Warriors v Brisbane Broncos (#NRLWarriorsBroncos); Central Coast Stadium, Gosford; Saturday, July 4. Kick-off: 5:30 pm. 

Warriors: 1. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (C) 2. David Fusitu’a 3. Peta Hiku 4. Patrick Herbert 5. Ken Maumalo 6. Kodi Nikorima 7. Blake Green 8. Jamayne Taunoa-Brown 9. Wayde Egan 10. Agnatius Paasi 11. Jack Murchie 12. Tohu Harris 13. Adam Blair.

Interchange: 14. Chanel Harris-Tavita 15. Jack Hetherington 16. Karl Lawton 17. Josh Curran.

Reserves: 18. King Vuniyayawa 20. Isaiah Papali’i 21. Adam Pompey 22. Gerard Beale.

Coach: Todd Payten

Broncos: 1. Tesi Niu 2. Jamayne Isaako 3. Herbie Farnworth 4. Darius Boyd 5. Xavier Coates 6. Anthony Milford 7. Brodie Croft 8. Matthew Lodge 9. Issac Luke 10. Payne Haas 11. Alex Glenn 12. Tevita Pangai Junior 13. Patrick Carrigan.

Interchange: 14. Tom Dearden 15. Thomas Flegler 16. Rhys Kennedy 17. Ben Te’o.

Reserves: 18. Corey Oates 19. Cory Paix 20. Richard Kennar 21. Jamil Hopoate.

Coach: Anthony Seibold

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Wests Tigers v Penrith Panthers (#NRLTigersPanthers); Bankwest Stadium, Parramatta; Saturday, July 4. Kick-off: 7:35 pm.

Tigers: 1. Adam Doueihi 2. David Nofoaluma 3. Joey Leilua 4. Moses Mbye 5. Tommy Talau 6. Josh Reynolds 7. Luke Brooks 8. Josh Aloiai 9. Harry Grant 10. Oliver Clark 11. Luke Garner 12. Luciano Leilua 13. Matthew Eisenhuth.

Interchange: 14. Elijah Taylor 15. Thomas Mikaele 16. Sam McIntyre 17. Michael Chee-Kam.

Reserves: 18. Benji Marshall 19. Chris Lawrence 20. Billy Walters 21. Russell Packer.

Coach: Michael Maguire.

Panthers: 1. Dylan Edwards 2. Josh Mansour 3. Dean Whare 4. Stephen Crichton 5. Brian To’o 6. Jarome Luai 7. Nathan Cleary 8. James Tamou (C) 9. Apisai Koroisau 10. James Fisher-Harris 11. Viliame Kikau 12. Liam Martin 13. Isaah Yeo.

Interchange: 14. Matt Burton 15. Zane Tetevano 16. Moses Leota 17. Billy Burns.

Reserves: 18. Mitch Kenny 19. Brent Naden 20. Spencer Leniu 21. Tyrone May.

Coach: Ivan Cleary.

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Manly Sea Eagles v Newcastle Knights (#NRLManlyKnights); Lottoland, Brookvale; Sunday, July 5. Kick-off: 4:05 pm. 

Manly: 1. Reuben Garrick 2. Jorge Taufua 3. Brad Parker 4. Moses Suli 5. Tevita Funa 6. Lachlan Croker 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Addin Fonua-Blake 9. Danny Levi 10. Martin Taupau 11. Joel Thompson 12. Curtis Sironen 13. Jake Trbojevic.

Interchange: 14. Cade Cust 15. Jack Gosiewski 16. Sean Keppie 17. Taniela Paseka.

Reserves: 18. Morgan Boyle 19. Brendan Elliot 20. Abbas Miski 21. Haumole Olakau’atu.

Coach: Des Hasler.

Knights: 1. Kalyn Ponga 2. Edrick Lee 3. Enari Tuala 4. Bradman Best 5. Hymel Hunt 6. Kurt Mann 7. Mitch Pearce (C) 8. David Klemmer 9. Andrew McCullough 10. Daniel Saifiti 11. Lachlan Fitzgibbon 12. Sione Mata’utia 13. Herman Ese’ese.

Interchange: 14. Tex Hoy 15. Jacob Saifiti 16. Aidan Guerra 17. Pasami Saulo.

Reserves: 18. Tautau Moga 19. Brodie Jones 20. Phoenix Crossland 21. Josh King.

Coach: Adam O’Brien.

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Canterbury Bulldogs v South Sydney Rabbitohs (#NRLBulldogsRabbitohs); Sunday, July 5. Kick-off: 6 pm.

Bulldogs: 1. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 2. Nick Meaney 3. Reimis Smith 4. Marcelo Montoya 5. Christian Crichton 6. Kieran Foran 7. Brandon Wakeham 8. Aiden Tolman 9. Jeremy Marshall-King 10. Dylan Napa 11. Josh Jackson (C) 12. Raymond Faitala-Mariner 13. Adam Elliott.

Interchange: 14. Kerrod Holland 15. Dean Britt 16. Renouf To’Omaga 17. Sauaso Sue.

Reserves: 19. Ofahiki Ogden 20. Jack Cogger 21. Luke Thompson 22. Sione Katoa.

Coach: Dean Pay.

Rabbitohs: 1. Latrell Mitchell 2. Dane Gagai 3. Campbell Graham 4. James Roberts 5. Alex Johnston 6. Cody Walker 7. Adam Reynolds (C) 8. Tevita Tatola 9. Damien Cook 10. Thomas Burgess 11. Jaydn Su’A 12. Ethan Lowe 13. Cameron Murray.

Interchange: 14. Liam Knight 15. Bayley Sironen 16. Hame Sele 17. Braidon Burns.

Reserves: 18. Mark Nicholls 19. Patrick Mago 20. Troy Dargan 21. Corey Allan.

Coach: Wayne Bennett.

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