The Newtown Jets halted Parramatta's mid-season momentum with a resounding 34-18 win over the Eels in front of their home CommBank Stadium fans in Round 13 action of The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup.
The Eels were coming off the back of four straight wins but the Jets are enjoying their own purple patch with their fifth win on the trot – seventh for the season – to put them temporarily in second spot on the ladder.
The home side opened the scoring in Parramatta and it was the former Jets flier, Isaac Lumelume who did the damage against his old club.
Some destructive passing down the left edge saw Daejarn Asi find Zac Cini in space, who passed outside for Lumelume to dive over in the corner for the first try of the night.
Newtown bounced back quickly midway through the first half when No.7 Niwhai Puru put up a bomb towards the corner, the ball eventually being recovered by the Jets and offloaded to
Mawene Hiroti who crashed over for a try. Hiroti converted his own try to give Newtown the lead (6-4).
The Jets made it back-to-back tries, when crafty hooker Jayden Berrell found his fullback Liam Ison in space. Ison blitzed passed Cini to score a comfortable try. Hiroti converted from in front to extend his side's lead.
Newtown pushed even further ahead following some extended pressure in Parramatta's red zone.
Berrell played a tidy kick in behind the defence and storming backrower Billy Burns steamed past to ground the ball (18-4).
It was one way traffic at CommBank as Jets found the try line yet again.
Berrell passed down his left edge to five-eighth Khaled Rajab, who flicked the ball onto Hiroti who in turn found Tom Rodwell in open space (24-4).
Parramatta clawed one back right on the stroke of halftime, when Asi put up a swirling kick which wasn't defused by Ison. The ball was recovered by Jake Tago, who connected with Lorenzo Mulitalo for the Eels second try and a 24-8 halftime score.
Eels picked up where they left off in the first half and scored in the 46th minute through some slick passing down the right hand side to put Cini into space. He offloaded to Tago who crashed over (12-24).
Newtown bounced back fairly quickly to put a halt to the Eels points spree. Another Puru bomb to the corner was dropped by Lumelume and the ever-reliable Sam Stonestreet was there for the scraps to score.
Parramatta refused to go quietly with an Asi bomb wreaking some havoc on the Newtown defence. The ball bounced the wrong way for the visitors as it ricocheted off the post and was recovered by Dan Keir who crashed over for a try to put the Eels within 10 points (28-18).
But Newtown put the game to bed in the final two minutes as front rower Tuku Hau Tapuha received the ball and ran free for 15 metres to score. Hiroti converted the try to make the final score 18-34.
Talking Points
- Jayden Berrell was instrumental for Newtown's win in his return to the side with his pace around the ruck leading to two try assists.
- The Jets victory takes them to five wins in a row
- Daejarn Asi was a shining light for the Eels despite the loss with his strong kicking game on display, providing dangerous bombs leading to two tries alongside a 40/20.
Key Moment
Newtown were under the pump for the opening 15 minutes but showed plenty of resilience to bounce back and score a gritty try in the 17th through Mawene Hiroti. The Jets went on to score another three unanswered tries off the back of that.
What's Next
The Parramatta Eels head south to play the St George Illawarra Dragons in Wollongong next Friday (7 June), while the Newtown Jets host Sydney Roosters at Henson Park the following day.
