2020 NO janitors allowed

Broncos were winning 18-0 and got run down, how bad are they!!

Eels are due for a loss, but might not be until the following few weeks? Only two hours until kick off and looking forward to the game. The plunger will ruin the Eels second half performance tonight with his halftime speech so hopefully Eels will have a big lead at the break.

NRL.com

Eels power home to take honours in epic battle of the west

Former Panther Waqa Blake came back to haunt his old side and spark the Eels to a 16-10 win in the Battle of the West at Bankwest Stadium.

A barnstorming effort from Blake in the 62nd minute started a three-try onslaught in a five-minute period after the Panthers led 10-0 with a quarter of the match remaining.

The Fijian international broke the line again shortly to lay on another for Eels skipper Clint Gutherson to level the scores and bring the 507 fans allowed into the ground back to life after a sluggish opening 60 minutes.

The remarkable change in momentum, further aided by a tremendous run from Nathan Brown on the previous play, brought about Parramatta's third through Ryan Matterson two minutes from a Mitchell Moses kick which bounced horribly for Panthers fullback Caleb Aekins.

The Panthers had a chance to send the game into golden point on the fulltime siren but the Eels held on to secure their best start to a season since their premiership-winning season in 1986.

Earlier, the Panthers lost in-form forward Kurt Capewell two minutes into the clash with a suspected medial ligament knee injury as both sides were denied tries in the opening stages.

Eels winger Blake Ferguson was ruled to have pushed Stephen Crichton before a small push from Dean Whare on Dylan Brown at the other end of the paddock gave the Eels a reprieve.

Reagan Campbell-Gillard made his presence felt early against his former club with a monster hit on former teammate James Fisher-Harris but the Panthers repelled any further shots from the home side to deliver a 10-0 lead at halftime.

Momentum carried Brian To'o over the line after a loose pass from Aekins popped up for the Panthers winger to score out wide.

Cleary, who was returning from a two-week NRL suspension for his role in a breach of social distancing protocols in April, was forced to attempt the conversion with the TikTok song that landed him in trouble playing beforehand.

The sideline miss was his only blemish in an otherwise strong display.

The Panthers knocked back the chance for two points in front with four minutes remaining in the first period and were rewarded the following set with Cleary chiming in on the left edge to help send Josh Mansour over.

In a concern for the Eels, Kane Evans was placed on report for an alleged chicken wing effort on Liam Martin. The match review committee will on Saturday decide whether a charge will eventuate.

I have to give the Eels some credit because in past seasons they would have lost that game after being 10-0 down sixty minutes into the game, but they found a way to win. The front rowers did have a good game.

Roosters next weekend and Raiders the following week and that will test the Eels. I have faith in the Eels defence, but question their attack.

Agree, need more individual brilliance like Waqa Blake against the Panthers, Michael Jennings will need to improve, he had a shocker. Brown and Moses need to be heavily involved.

Eels v Roosters will be one hell of a game. Roosters are looking ordinary on the ladder, but should beat the Bulldogs this weekend and are still a competitive team even without Tedesco. Eels need to play this game the same way they did against the Sea Eagles, driving the ball deep not giving Turbo Tom any room to move. Keep the Roosters pinned down in their half, although they have decent forwards that make yards. The one thing the Eels have going for them is their defence which should keep them in the game unlike previous seasons.

CONDOLENCES TO GUTHO AND FAMILY


This is the emotional moment Clint Gutherson realised he'd helped secure a come-from-behind win in honour of his grandfather Greg, who had died just 36 hours earlier.Clint Gutherson sinks to his knees after the win over the Panthers on Friday night. His grandfather had died the previous day.

Eagled-eyed Eels fans would have noticed Parramatta players and coach Brad Arthur sporting black armbands during the 16-10 victory over Penrith on Friday.Gutherson received the tragic news just before Thursday's captain's run, but would not sit out the final training session nor skip the battle of the west.Greg had been ill for some time and, because of the NRL's strict biosecurity measures, Gutherson was unable to say a proper goodbye.

The 25-year-old has previously shed tears after losses, which are less frequent these days, and he was unable to contain his emotions at full-time.Teammates rallied around their skipper and praised him for another spirited effort despite a heavy heart. The relaxed restrictions on crowds meant Gutherson was also comforted at the ground by his partner Jess."Gutho was outstanding, he's our captain and it was an emotional game for him - this game was for him and his family," Nathan Brown told The Sun-Herald. "It was pleasing to get the win for him. He made his grandfather proud.

"He was emotional there at the end so it was pleasing for the team to back him up. You know Gutho turns up every week and he's the type of player who has your back on the field."Gutherson scored the Eels' second try after Waqa Blake stormed down field and passed off the ground back inside for his fullback.

I might tip the Eels by 4. Maybe 5 wins in a row have gone to my head but I'm thinking the Eels will do better against the Roosters this weekend than last year. However, this game really means nothing if they lose in the finals, so a win will be great but will mean zero if they crumble at the end of the year. I'm basically waiting around until the end of the year to see the final result, because the Eels should make top 4 in 2020. If Eels lose both games against the Roosters and Raiders then the first 5 wins won't feel that great.