Eels and Rabbitohs share the points at ANZ

In terrible conditions the Parramatta Eels and South Sydney Rabbitohs have played out the second draw of the year tonight at ANZ Stadium.

In a match that reflected the conditions, neither team looked to chance their arm and play any sort of expansive football.

As a direct result of the conditions, the first scoring play of the game came on the back of a dropped ball on the very first play of the game from Parramatta. Josh Cordoba lost the ball trying to play it, and at the end of the resulting set Craig Wing kicked out to Colin Best, who batted it back for Michael Crocker to dive on for his first try as a Rabbitoh.

In the 14th minute of the game, Parramatta tried to spread the ball wide, but a wayward pass from Jarryd Hayne was latched onto by Nathan Merritt, who sprinted 50 metres fo extend Souths lead to ten.

Hayne attoned for his mistake in the 25th when he dove under some soft line defence for snatch one back for the Eels, and gave us our half time score of 10 points to 4 in favour of the Rabbitohs.

Parramatta had the first chance of the second half, and capitalised when Eric Grothe dove over in the corner to reduce the deficit to two.

Hayne continued to threaten the Souths defensive line, almost breaking through in the 51st only to be undone by a knock on. A minute later his opposing fullback Luke Capewell showed him how it's done as he slipped past Nathan Hindmarsh and darted away to extend the Rabbitohs lead to eight.

Hayne once again proved to be the goto man, as in the 67th he received the ball at first receiver close to the Rabbitohs line and decided to go himself, dragging three defenders over as he scored his second of the night.

Luke Burt evened it all up at 16 all in the 71st after Crocker took out a player off the ball, and we were going to extra time!

What followed was ten minutes of missed field goal attempts, mid-field chip kicks, miracle pass attempts and a whole slew of low percentage plays, with nothing to show for it but a solitary point for each team.

MATCH DETAILS Parramatta Eels 16 drew with South Sydney Rabbitohs 16 Round 11 - Friday, May 22nd, 2009 Venue: ANZ Stadium Referee: Gavin Badger & Brett Suttor Sideline Officials: Daniel Eastwood & Mohamad Fajajo Video Referee: Sean Hampstead Crowd: 10,670 Half time: Souths 10-4

Parramatta Eels 16 Tries: Jarryd Hayne (2), Eric Grothe Field Goals: Jarryd Hayne (0/2), Luke Burt (0/1) Goals: Luke Burt (2/4) South Sydney Rabbitohs 16 Tries: Michael Crocker, Nathan Merritt, Luke Capewell Field Goals: Luke Capewell (0/1) Goals: Issac Luke (1/2), Craig Wing (1/1)

LeagueUnlimited.com Player of the Match 3 Points: Jarryd Hayne (Eels) 2 Points: Michael Crocker (Rabbitohs) 1 Point: Eric Grothe (Eels)

LeagueUnlimited.com Live Commentary Good evening and welcome to a wet and windy ANZ Stadium for tonights clash between the Parramatta Eels and the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Tonight's clash is technically a home game for the Eels, however as ANZ is Souths home ground any advantage is therefore lost.

Team changes are as such: EELS: For the 'home' team, Eric Grothe makes an early comeback from injury to slot straight onto the wing at the expense of Etu Uasiele. Captain Nathan Cayless is out, with Josh Cordoba in off the bench and young Jeremy Latimore rounding out the bench in 20. RABBITOHS: The Bunnies have lost halfback Chris Sandow to an ankle injury picked up against the Tigers. Craig Wing shifts to first receiver, with Jamie Simpson off the bench at 5/8. Beau Falloon is the addition to the bench.

Talk about the game as it happens - Eels v Rabbitohs forum discussion - click here!

EELS: 1. Jarryd Hayne 19. Eric Grothe 3. Taulima Tautai 4. Krisnan Inu 5. Luke Burt 6. Joel Reddy 7. Jeff Robson 15. Josh Cordoba 9. Matt Keating 10. Fuifui Moi Moi 11. Nathan Hindmarsh 12. Joe Galvuao 13. Todd Lowrie Interchange: 14. Kevin Kingston 16. Tim Mannah 17. Brendan Oake 20. Jeremy Latimore RABBITOHS: 1. Luke Capewell 2. Nathan Merritt 3. Colin Best 4. Beau Champion 5. Fetuli Talanoa 14. Jamie Simpson 6. Craig Wing 8. Luke Stuart 9. Issac Luke 10. Roy Asotasi (c) 11. David Kidwell 12. David Fa'alogo 13. Michael Crocker Interchange: 15. Eddy Pettybourne 16. Jaiman Lowe 17. Shannan McPherson 20. Beau Falloon

Both teams are making their way out onto the field, and kickoff is just moments away!

0 min: Referee Badger signals time on, and the ball falls off the tee! Luke replaces it, and we're underway!

0 min: Terrible start for the Eels, with Cordoba losing it on the very first play.

2 min: VIDEO REF - Possible Rabbitohs Try...:Crocker is claiming the try, just checking for onside.

2 min: TRY South Sydney Rabbitohs Following the cross field kick on the last, Best gets up and taps it back to Crocker for his first in Souths colours. Conversion attempt by Issac Luke unsuccessful. South Sydney Rabbitohs 4-0

7 min: Fairly safe play from both teams, with neither really looking to promote the ball, instead more content to take it up one off the ruck and get to their kick

10 min: An attacking bomb on the last from Hayne is far, far, FAR too big, landing at least 5 metres past the dead ball line.

14 min: VIDEO REF - Possible Rabbitohs Try...:Possible try to Merritt, just checking to see whether he made it to the in-goal

14 min: TRY South Sydney Rabbitohs Completely against the run of play, Nathen Merritt latches onto a wayward pass from Hayne and sprints 50 metres to the try line, getting the ball down despite a last ditch tackle from Hayne. Conversion attempt by Issac Luke successful. South Sydney Rabbitohs 10-0

18 min: PENALTY - Rabbitohs: Eels are all offside, and the Rabbits get the first penalty of the game. Perfect opportunity to capitalise and further extend their lead.

19 min: PENALTY - Rabbitohs: The Rabbits get the second penalty of the game as well, this time for a spear tackle by Inu on Simpson.

23 min: Capewell comes up with a simple dropped ball just five out from his own line, giving Parramatta a perfect opportunity to get on the board.

25 min: TRY Parramatta Eels Soft line defence from the Bunnies sees Hayne crash over for the Eels first of the night. Conversion attempt by Luke Burt unsuccessful. South Sydney Rabbitohs 10-4

27 min: Two quick penalties to the Eels following the restart get them in prime position to score back to back tries, however they throw it away through a knock on.

33 min: The Eels earn themselves a repeat set down in Rabbits territory, but throw it away on the second play with a lazy pass that is dived on by a Rabbitoh.

35 min: Two more penalties back to back for the Eels will give them another chance to equal the game up just before half time.

36 min: As the rain starts to cascade down, Robson dribbles the ball into the ingoal where it is dived upon by Crocker. Repeat set coming up for the Eels.

39 min: A show of sheer strength from Hindmarsh almost gets him over the line despite the attention of four Rabbitoh defenders.

HALF TIME It's half time here at ANZ and it's a game to reflect the weather...dour. Neither team really taking any risks, and all the tries have been off fairly simple plays. Considering the weather, neither team has been awful, with handling errors being kept to a relative minimum. With no signs of the rain stopping any time soon, it will be up to the teams to continue playing long sets, getting to their kicks and keeping mistakes to a minimum. Whichever team does this best should go on to win this game.

40 min: And we're back underway!

42 min: Early pressure for the Rabbitohs as the Eels get a repeat set.

43 min: TRY Parramatta Eels Simple short side play sees Grothe dive over in the corner. Conversion attempt by Luke Burt unsuccessful. South Sydney Rabbitohs 10-8

45 min: Mannah coughs it up on the set following the try, and the Rabbits will look to extend their lead once again.

51 min: The Eels starting to up the tempo here, with Hayne almost making a break up the middle, only for a lost ball to bring it back.

52 min: TRY South Sydney Rabbitohs Capewell shows Hayne how a fullback should bust the line, squeezing past Hindmarsh to score next to the posts. Conversion attempt by Craig Wing successful. South Sydney Rabbitohs 16-8

55 min: A knock on for the Rabbitohs after the restart gives the Eels a golden chance to nullify the try.

61 min: Relieving penalty for Souths will get them off their line after Parra have had all the field position lately.

64 min: A lack of urgency at the back of the scrum from Wing very nearly results in a scrum against the feed.

65 min: No pressure on Burt whatsoever allows him to catch the cross-field kick ingoal for a free 20 tap.

67 min: TRY Parramatta Eels Hayne, at first receiver, does it all himself as he carrys three defenders over with him for the try. Conversion attempt by Luke Burt successful. South Sydney Rabbitohs 16-14

71 min: A penalty against Crocker for taking a player out off the ball will give Burt a chance to square this game up.

71 min: PENALTY GOAL Parramatta Eels Luke Burt makes no mistake from 30 out. 16 all

75 min: It's taken 75 minutes, but finally both teams are starting to throw the ball around.

79 min: What was initially ruled a knock on against the Eels has been overruled into a penalty against Souths.

80 min: Parramatta almost snag a try right on full time, but Capewell takes the ball dead, and we're going to extra time!

82 min: ATTEMPTED FIELD GOAL Parramatta Eels Hayne has a crack from 30 out, but is waved away. 16 all

83 min: Capewell makes a half break down the middle of the field, and instead of taking the ball to ground, tries to throw the miracle ball, handing possession over to the Eels in good field position.

84 min: ATTEMPTED FIELD GOAL Parramatta Eels Hayne has another crack from similar position, but it's off the crossbar! 16 all

87 min: ATTEMPTED FIELD GOAL Parramatta Eels Burt misses from ten out! 16 all

88 min: ATTEMPTED FIELD GOAL South Sydney Rabbitohs Capewell has a shot from 40 out. 16 all

89 min: Souths have a scrum feed ten out from Parras line, but just as they feed the scrum the refs call full time!

FULL TIME It's full time here and in a match where both teams were faily evenly matched for the large majority it's only fair that they share the points.