The Parramatta Eels have defeated the Cronulla Sharks 12-14 at a waterlogged Jubilee Stadium in Kogarah. The Sharks might consider themselves unlucky, having scored three tries to the Eels' two in a tight game in wet weather football.
The Eels started off the scoring about twenty minutes into the contest after a dogged opening to the game which saw some tough goal line defence from both sides. Despite the defensive efforts of Cronulla, it was a simple defensive lapse which saw Eels five-eighth Dylan Brown scurry over from dummy-half to put the Eels in front 6-0.
Parramatta didn't score again until early in the second-half, when nice footwork and an offload from Dylan Brown saw Kane Evans go over, making the scoreline 4-12 in their favour. When the game was locked at 12-12, a simple penalty in front of the sticks saw the blue and gold take the lead through a Mitchell Moses penalty goal, taking the game to 12-14.
The Sharks were probably the better of the two sides in this game and will rue the fact that ,similar to many occasions last year, they scored more tries than their opposition and still lost. They started their scoring when a kick from Shaun Johnson went deep into the in-goal and looked certain to go dead, before pulling up suddenly in a puddle of water. Centre Jesse Ramien dived on the ball just before Maika Sivo got to it to take the score to 4-6.
Midway through the second-half, Cronulla got their second through another Shaun Johnson try assist. Johnson through a cut-out ball to winger Ronaldo Mulitalo who scored out wide. Mulitalo soon had his second after stepping through some defence and straightening up, leading to the scores being tied at 12-12 at that point.
In torrential conditions, this game was what you would expect and some more. There were a fair few errors from both sides, but it didn't take away from the entertainment of the game as both teams fought this one out until the very end. Cronulla were probably the better team, but couldn't get the win. Still though, coach john Morris will be pleased with their apparent improvement and they will look onwards to keep their place in the top 8 with a clash against the Titans next weekend.
The Eels may not be happy with their lapses at times and they also had more errors than Cronulla. The pleasing thing will no doubt be the composure they showed in the latter stages of the game, closing it out well. They face the Dragons next Friday night.