Eels rout Warriors in dead rubber

v BYE

The Eels have ended their season on a high note, defeating the New Zealand Warriors 40-18 on a rainy Sunday afternoon at Mt Smart Stadium.

While both sides offered standout players on the night - such as Simon Mannering (2 tries), Issac Luke (2 try assists), Semi Radradra (1 try, 1 goal, 1 try assist and 2 line breaks), Bevan French (3 tries and 2 line breaks) and Isaac De Gois (2 tries) - there was no stopping the Eels in the second half, putting 18 unanswered points on the Warriors. But that wasn't the case in the first half when the Warriors and the Eels were neck and neck.

Throughout the 80 minutes there were 6 drop-outs, 7 penalties and 10 knock-ons, mostly conceded by the Warriors. Despite the big number of drop outs, the Warriors were strong in some parts of their defence.

From kickoffs there were mistakes to be made, a Michael Gordon dropped ball giving the Warriors a big advantage - and taking the most of that advantage they scored within the next two sets through Manu Vatuvei.

Simon Mannering was not too far away for the second try in the match 2 minutes later, both being converted giving the Warriors a 12 point buffer, but it seemed like the Warriors got too comfortable and through some crucial mistakes, cue Parramatta's comeback. Isaac De Gois came away with a try off some poor handling from Tuimoala Lolohea and some ingenuity from Isaac De Gois. Points were made, but it didn't stop there as a scrum from inside the Warriors 20m is where Issac Luke was pushed into an error, passing into Bodene Thompson and the Eels taking full advantage. Scores locked at 12-all, the Warriors were caught short on the left as Clinton Gutherson put Radradra into space for an unconverted try 8 minutes later. Mannering grabbed his second just before halftime, but it was rendered moot by a French four-pointer which sent the Eels to the sheds 22-18 up.

There was no wasting time in the second half where Bevan French was at it again within the first 6 minutes scoring not one but two tries, pushing the Eels to a 34-18 lead. Just to finish the game off Michael Jennings scored from broken play to smack that one last nail into the coffin, and to make it a real insult for the hosts, Semi Radradra kicked a goal from on the sideline to close proceedings.

Both teams are now done for 2016 - a long fall from grace after the pair competed in the Final of the pre-season Auckland Nines competition.