Round 1, 2020: Parramatta 8 Canterbury 2

NRL.com

Eels v Bulldogs: Waqa fit to start; Injured Dogs quartet named

Traditional rivals Parramatta and Canterbury meet in a Bankwest Stadium blockbuster to kick-off the new season.

Having risen from last to fifth last season, the Eels have widespread expectation to improve again and challenge for the title.

The Bulldogs showed promise at the back-end of last year and were left rueing a slow start as they missed the finals by three points.

They have their work cut out to topple Parramatta at home, though, with Brad Arthur men's putting many a team to the sword on the fresh Bankwest Stadium turf in 2019.

The Rundown

Team news

Eels: Marquee forwards Ryan Matterson and Reagan Campbell-Gillard make their official club debuts in the Parramatta pack while Waqa Blake has won his battle to return from off-season surgery and will take his place in the centres. Maika Sivo also takes his place on the wing after being cleared to play by the NRL. The Eels will go into the clash with a monster bench featuring Brad Takairangi, Marata Nuikore, Kane Evans and Peni Terepo.

Bulldogs:Brandon Wakeham has been named to take Kieran Foran’s place at five-eighth and will partner Lachlan Lewis in the halves, pushing Jack Cogger to the extended bench. It's mostly good news on the injury front for the Bulldogs with Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Christian Chrichton, Nick Meaney all back after missing the final trial and Jeremy Marshall-King taking his place in the starting side after seeing no trial action. But Sauaso Sue (knee) and Marcelo Montoya (knee) failed to make the 21-man squad, joining Raymond Faitala-Mariner (ankle) and Chris Smith (knee) on the sideline.

Key match-up

Clint Gutherson v Dallin Watene-Zelezniak. Both men are leaders. Gutherson's strength is working with his fellow attacking players while Watene-Zelezniak boasts a running game capable of lifting any team.

For the Eels to win

They'll take confidence from last year but Parramatta will have to crawl before running again in 2020. If the Eels do the basics right, we know they've got the firepower to blow anybody off the park.

For the Bulldogs to win

It was Canterbury's gritty defence that inspired their late-season charge in 2019 and more of the same is required if they're to get off to a flyer. The kicking games of Lachlan Lewis and Brandon Wareham will be crucial given Parramatta boast one of the best back fives in the competition.

Brett Kimmorley says

I'm expecting Parramatta to make Bankwest Stadium a fortress again in 2020. Mitchell Moses would have already benefited from Andrew Johns's tutelage, while Reagan Campbell-Gillard could return to the best prop in the game at his new club. Eels by 8.

Stat Attack

The Eels had plenty of individual chart-toppers last year, led by Mitch Moses finishing first in try assists (25), kicks (343) and kick metres (9,413). Maika Sivo was the NRL's leading try-scorer (22), Reed Mahoney topped the tackle count (1,221), while Junior Paulo was equal first in offloads (59) with Bulldogs back-rower Corey Harawira Naera.

And another thing ...

The Eels' top-four hopes were dealt a massive blow in round 23 last year when they were upset 12-6 by the Bulldogs at Bankwest Stadium. It was just the second loss all season at Bankwest for Brad Arthur's men as their much vaunted attack was restricted to a single try by a red-hot Bulldogs side which was coming off impressive wins over the Panthers, Wests Tigers and Rabbitohs.

NRL.com

Scrappy Eels sneak past Bulldogs in season opener

Parramatta's current cohort have been hailed as likely as any to end the club's 34-year premiership drought, and they've started with an Eighties-esque 8-2 grinding down of arch-rivals Canterbury.

On a night of coronavirus contingencies, concussion drama and sex scandal fallout, the Eels and Bulldogs gave a nod to their famed grand final bouts of yesteryear with bruising defence and a try-less first half.

The comparisons to Parramatta's golden age ended there as errors and infringements dominated.

But their 2020 season kicks off with two points nonetheless.

It took Parramatta over an hour to register a four-pointer, and even then it came in fumbled fashion when Lachlan Lewis couldn't defuse a Mitch Moses grubber.

Scrambling on to the 65th minute loose ball was former Canterbury junior Reed Mahoney – cut loose from Belmore and first signed by the Eels on a $6000 deal – for the defining try of the game by default.

Heavy hits provided the thrills and spills where any great attacking passages did not.

Shots from Eels big men Nathan Brown and Shaun Lane were answered in kind by Bulldogs Adam Elliott and Renouf To'omaga.

Meanwhile speedsters on both sides also made several desperate cover tackles out wide, Michael Jennings and Will Hopoate waging their own entertaining war.

The Bulldogs gutsed and ground their way through the contest after a week from hell, losing another sponsor in MPA just hours before kick-off as a result of allegations from their pre-season trip to Port Macquarie.

Their 1988-premiership winning coach Phil Gould had warned the drama could derail Canterbury's campaign before it even started.

But the defensive commitment of Dean Pay's men at least spoke of a side desperate to keep the issue on the sidelines.

They did so in front of a 21,363-Bankwest Stadium crowd impacted by growing coronavirus fears.

Winger Christian Crichton could face a judiciary-imposed isolation next weekend himself after landing on report for an ugly shoulder to the head of Maika Sivo.

The Parramatta powerhouse looked rattled by the shot but was cleared of a HIA by the club's trainer and stayed on the field for the duration.

However an NRL spokesperson confirmed that connection issues meant the usual sideline surveillance of such incidents was not available to NRL medicos.

A penalty goal each was all either side had to show for their efforts in the first half, with six errors in the Eels' first 10 sets cruelling them of any fluency in attack.

The first captain's challenge of the NRL season went the same way, Parramatta wasting it by contesting a blatant knock-on from Reagan Campbell-Gillard. Canterbury similarly botched their challenge early in the second stanza.

An hour later Mahoney's try was all that separated the fierce rivals.

The Bulldogs stayed in it right until the final minutes but their last attacking foray – ended by a misdirected early kick in the tackle count from Lewis – went the same as all the rest.

Parramatta's defence held strong and the Dogs were held at bay.