Parramatta has turned on the attack to flog the lifeless Wests Tigers 51-6 on opening day at Bankwest Stadium.
The ground looked stunning with a near capacity crowd of 29,047 packed in and the Eels put on a show for them.
The first ten minutes saw Dan Alvaro and Robbie Farah both leave the game after each failing Head Injury Assessments. Marata Niukore also went off for an HIA but was allowed to return.
In the 14th minute, Mitch Moses was put into space and he raced away to score in the right corner, the first try at the new ground. He then nailed the sideline conversion, the first goal at the ground as well.
Congrats to @mitchmoses6 who picked up the first try, goal AND field goal at the newly opened @BankwestStadium #NRLEelsTigers pic.twitter.com/v3MQ02BtQA
— LeagueUnlimited Rugby League News (@LeagueUnlimited) April 22, 2019
Just four minutes later the Eels ran in a second try when a Moses kick was caught by Brad Takairangi who then scored. Moses slotted the conversion.
The onslaught then took off in the 24th minute. Michael Jennings scored after stepping through some woeful right side defence. In the 28th minute Clint Gutherson split the defence before sending Jennings in for his second try and Moses converted both for a 24-0 lead.
Two minutes later and Jaeman Salmon strolled through feeble goal line defence and Moses made it 30-0.
Wests Tigers finally got on the board with four to go in the half when a clever little kick inside from Luke Brooks evaded a bunch of players. Ben Matulino picked it up and easily dived over under the posts, Esan Marsters converting to reduce the margin to 30-6 going into halftime.
The second half was more of the same. In the 47th minute Moses spread the ball to Oregon Kaufusi who ran hard and straight onto the ball, busted through the Tigers' defence all too easily and scored a soft try under the sticks. Moses converted another.
A few minutes later Moses put up a bomb and Takairangi tapped it back into hooker Reed Mahoney's hands who then ran ten metres to score under the posts. Moses added another two.
Just over 29,000 in the house for opening day at @BankwestStadium! #NRLEelsTigers https://t.co/V0zuXOHWZu pic.twitter.com/xtBadM7oIa
— LeagueUnlimited Rugby League News (@LeagueUnlimited) April 22, 2019
A Tigers drop out in the 59th minute went over the sideline on the full. From the ensuing penalty Gutherson threw a long pass out to Maika Sivo on the left wing, who stepped inside the disinterested defence and scored a soft try. Moses was unable to convert from touch, ending his run of 22 consecutive goals.
Five minutes later Salmon sent a deft short ball to the lead runner Shaun Lane, who strolled through the feeble Tigers defence to bring up the 50 points. Moses again sprayed his conversion attempt.
In the final minute, Moses kicked a field goal, also the first kicked at the venue, to seal a brutally dominant victory.