The Parramatta Eels have put back to back wins together, tonight defeating the heavily fancied Bulldogs side 27-8 at ANZ Stadium in front of over 30,000 fans.
The plucky Eels were on the short turn around from their win over the Storm last Monday but came out fired up and put two early tries on the Dogs to rattle their cage.
An impressive effort to Luke Burt early in the corner off a Mortimer stab kick was the start the Parramatta side wanted, backed up by a sweeping movement that saw Eric Grothe Jnr score on the Bulldogs left edge defence.
The Dogs to their credit hung tough early, awaiting some possession and when the Eels coughed up ball – Canterbury unleashed Jamaal Idris constantly at Kris Inu to good effect.
Idris eventually busting through to get the Dogs on the board.
Soon after a smart kick from Ben Roberts exposed the jammed in Eels defence, Roberts stabbing the ball in behind Grothe for Bryson Goodwin to score untouched.
The usually accurate Hazem El Masri had an off night with the boot and couldn’t convert any of the Dogs touchdowns.
With the scores 10-8 to the Eels at halftime, it looked like the Dogs were building nicely and would roll in the second stanza, but it wasn’t to be.
A committed Eels side with consistent offloads was killing the Canterbury side. Despite a handful of possession early, the Bulldogs couldn’t break the Eels line – this game, the only time in 2009 the Dogs have been kept to single digits in attack.
As the Parramatta side turned away wave after wave of Dogs probing attack, they eventually got their shot off the back of a penalty and through replacement hooker Kevin Kingston they got on the board to setup a handy lead.
Kingston running from the play the ball, pulling a nice show and go to scramble 10m to score near the posts.
As the Eels edged away, their confidence grew – Mortimer coming into his own with ball in hand and the hot form of custodian Jarryd Hayne continuing, the flashy back looking unstoppable when he got any touch of the ball.
With the Eels ahead by 12 points, a Burt field goal stretched them to 13 points with just over 10 miuntes to go, but they weren’t finished there.
A late barnstorming run from cult figure Fui Fui Moi Moi saw the big bopper hit the burst 10m out from the Dogs line and bust through 4 defenders to leap over and score. The big prop leaving the likes of Hannant and Eastwood in his wake as he capped off a strong game for his side.
The Bulldogs were served well by half Brett Kimmorley, but otherwise were frustrated in attack when they couldn’t seem to piece together the last tackle play at crucial times. As the game wore on, their error rate crept up as they tried to up the ante as did their penalty count against.
The Eels while probably out of finals contention are mathematically a chance, but face the prospect of winning 5 of their last 6 games, starting with the Sharks at Toyota Park next weekend.
The Bulldogs need to be cautious in their shot for a Top 2 finish, with the Gold Coast Titans breathing right down their necks. If the Dragons beat the Warriors in Auckland, new Zealand tomorrow – the Saints will sit 4 points clear on top of the 2009 NRL Ladder with 6 Rounds remaining.
NRL Round 20, 2009