Manly v Parramatta - Brookvale Oval. Monday 17th May 2010.
Question - If Timana Tahu completely outplays Jamie Lyon tonight, will the selectors take this into account? How can they since the team has already been selected before kick off? Monday Night games are great for footy but not so good at this time of year. All players should be given the full 10 days to prepare for Origin and the teams should be named on Sunday.
Moving on...
1st minute - The Sea Eagles start well with a good set of six from the kick-off but there last tackle kick is charged down. This signals a common occurrence for the evening for Manly without Kieran Foran. Parra ball in good attacking position.
3rd minute - they take advantage as Jarryd Hayne is given space to run and a retreating Manly defence is destroyed with a perfect Hayne cut out pass to Luke Burt who crosses for the opening try. Eels 6-0.
6th minute - Tahu error relieves a mountain of pressure from the Eagles after he burst on to a fantastic Mateo offload. Rushes to play the ball and spills it.
8th minute - Shane Rodney takes a monster hit up. How good has Rodney been going this year? He is a perfect example of how a good coach can make a huge difference to the career of a footballer. Rodney was a career interchange forward with a few clubs but mostly considered a worker. Des Hasler now has him attacking the line and hitting hard and a definite starter in the back row for the co-premiership favourites.
9th minute - A Trent Hodkinson bomb is allowed to bounce by the Eels and Tony Williams scores. Video referee takes 18 hours to rule No Try. Horrible decision. Eels still lead 6-0.
Thought - At this time of year, notice how every single play suddenly has origin connotations? I hope the NSW selectors are not like us fans and take more into account than I am right now. I can’t help but judge everything Lyon is doing, can’t help but break down every Josh Perry hit up, monitor every tackle involving Jarryd Hayne to make sure he is OK. Origin drives me insane.
12th minute - Speaking of Origin connotations - Nathan Hindmarsh saves another certain try for Parra. On this occasion he brings down Matt Ballin headed right under the sticks after good lead up work from Jamie Lyon and T-Rex.
14th minute - Hayne safe under the high ball to defuse another attacking opportunity for Manly. The Eagles seem to have the momentum though - Matai high shot on Hayne does not help. He is put on report. Pay TV commentators mention something about Matai being sent off. Mute button - thank you.
17th minute - The home side is kick happy. They miss Kieran Foran in this regard but are also missing the variety that he adds to the attack. Should run more.
Thought - Hayne doing noticeably more kicking for the Eels tonight. He's had plenty of good touches which reminds us of the Eels 2009 run to the GF. In all honesty, he really was the spark for everything last year for Parramatta. Jeff Robson was the defensive specialist and Daniel Mortimer flourished only when the attention was all on Hayne. I might tip against Parra next week when Hayne is on Origin duty. My tipping record thus far this season suggests that the previous comment should be ignored.
21st minute - Another excellent Hayne kick gives the Eels good field position but a penalty ruins their momentum.
22nd minute - Jason King pops out of the line to rip Justin Poore in half with a great hit. This good work is undone with a penalty. Parra now in good attacking position.
23rd minute - Jarryd Hayne is having one of those nights. He fakes a long ball with the defence still concerned about his previous try assist, but goes short to Feleti Mateo who easily beats a wrong footed Hodkinson and carries the cover defence over with him to score. Hayne must be given plenty of possession and the Eels attack looks like its designed to do just that tonight. Parra 12-0.
26th minute - Jamie Lyon's side of the field is being targeted and it seems to be working for the Eels. I'm just saying.
29th minute - Kris Inu lets his teammates down and returns a kick too close to the sideline. He is taken into touch and Manly now need to end this set with something better than what they have offered up so far.
30th minute - They do. Running the ball this time as Matai scores. Ben Farrar chimes in well here to deliver the last pass to Matai who hits the hole hard. Eels 12-6.
35th minute - Injury takes it toll doesn’t it? Without Foran the Manly attack looks hesitant. Chris Bailey shows the effect of this by throwing an intercept. Parra turn it back over though and are defending their line against a hard running home side.
37th minute - Lyon the difference here as he scores after Justin Poore and Tahu leave him a yawning gap for him to run through. 12 all.
39th minute - The Eels still looking to attack with only a few seconds to play until halftime. This is a good sign for them. They push too hard on this occasion and turn it over.
Halftime - 12 all.
42nd minute - Matai pops Poore with a beauty and then hits Hayne with a high shot. The Eels have looked good with the ball in just 3 minutes of the second half gone and are attacking again here. Hayne throws a beauty to Joel Reddy who is stopped dead on the try line by Michael Robertson. Parra denied only centremetres short by a good Manly defence but the Eagles give it right back through error.
46th minute - The Eels fail to consolidate as Mortimer has a very...big...look and drops the ball cold.
47th minute - This seems to inspire the Sea Eagles. They now have good field position and are hitting hard in defence. Fantastic. The rivalry continues. Momentum now with Manly as they receive a penalty although a tough call and what looks like a home ground decision on replay. They are now attacking the Parra line - Glenn Stewart needs to be more involved here.
49th minute - Intercept by Kris Inu saves the day. He finds rookie Tom Humble in support after a 70m run with a desperation flick to send Humble to the try line. Jamie Lyon comes across in defence with a magnificent tackle to take the debutant into touch at the corner post. Video ref asked to confirm. Massive effort by all involved.
eplay is not enough to confirm either way. Benefit of the Doubt rule must be invoked. NO TRY!!! - Big call. Tremendous tackle by Jamie Lyon.
Wash up sees Steve Matai hobble off the field and Manly ruck it out.
53rd minute - Jamie Buhrer makes his long awaited first grade debut. Great name.
Thought - can anyone believe Joel Reddy played City v Country this year? Is there no young footballer who could have gained more from the rep experience? Joel was named on the bench as well. Not even a specialist position!! This would have been the perfect opportunity to blood a young prospect but the chance was wasted by selectors. They waste these development opportunities at the same time as wasting the possible rep careers of people like Nathan Hindmarsh, Alan Tongue and Michael Jennings. All absolute stars of our game and treated with complete ignorance by the selectors. Tongue has been ignored for 10 years. Hindmarsh used as the scapegoat for a series loss a few years back and Jennings forced to endure playing on the wing in city v country and then completely left out of this years NSW squad in favour of a left centre specialist!!! Not good.
57th minute - Jamie Buhrer makes his first error in 1st grade. Eels with possession - still 12 all. This is a tight battle and fitting for these rivals.
59th minute - Plenty of feeling now in this match. Every tackle suddenly has that sting and niggle and every bit of contact looks like it could escalate into something else. This is the best part of footy these days. We’ve had to waive goodbye to the brawling... understandably so... but this has been replaced by the increased urgency and drama in encounters where the violence bubbles beneath the surface. Fantastic.
60th minute - Lucky bounce puts Manly in great field position and they are throwing everything at the Eels who are holding out bravely. The attacking raid ends meekly with Tony Williams not able to catch a bomb for a certain try. He never looked like taking it.
62nd minute - The Eels reply well and go 80 metres to score on a bust up the left side through Burt who places a perfect grubber kick to Robson. Jamie Lyon caught out again in defence. Video ref involved. TRY! Great game this. The ebb and flow even until now as Parra lead again. Try scorer Jeff Robson makes a T sign to the camera. Interesting. If he did that in the US he would have been shot by rival gangs. Careful Jeff. Parramatta leads 18-12.
65th minute - Great effort from Lyon to dive on a loose ball and tap it back to Tony Williams who makes a great pick up as plenty of Eagles chasers come through. It’s no wonder every other code is chasing NRL footballers. They have all the skills.
67th minute - Timana Tahu rocks Steve Matai with a bone cruncher. Hope he does the same to Folau. The Sea Eagles need something special here. 10 minutes to go and their attack has not been as threatening as has been in the past.
69th minute - Jarryd Hayne you are the man!! One on one with Matai who busts the line and steps through defenders... is certain to score. Hayne somehow gets his body in front of the ball runner to bring him down short. Massive effort to come up with this tackle and possession for his club.
70th minute - The ensuing Eels set of six ends with Hayne kicking the absolute crap out of the Steeden to force the home side to ruck it out of their own end.
73rd minute - Desperation. Manly attacking the Eels try line but Glenn Stewart panics and loses possession through an intercept by Luke Burt. Eels have been the better side for the most part but it’s been close all the way. Parra still lead 18-12 with 5 to go. Manly give it up again under pressure and Parra can close it out now.
76th minute - They do though a Burt field goal. Perfectly executed play and the Eels now up 19-12. Manly's attack has struggled tonight and there is no way they can score 2 tries in 3 minutes; they turn it over as I write this.
79th minute - Matai puts in a grubber kick that teammates appear to be clueless about. Garbage time so it doesn’t really matter. Good defence by the Eels tonight made manly attack look like it lacked direction and incisiveness. Hayne just attempted a 50m field goal. Hilarious.
Game over - Parramatta win 19-12.
Tune in next week as we head to CUA stadium as Penrith host the Canterbury Bulldogs.
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