Round 11, 2018: New Zealand 24 Parramatta 14

NRL.com

Parra continue to slip further from finals contention, going down to the Bulldogs in last week's Indigenous Round to fall to a 2-8 record this season.

They will probably eventually look back on 2018 as a huge wasted opportunity and wonder how they went from a top four team in 2017 to an under-achieving mob of misfits in the space of six months.

Maybe that's too harsh on a team coach Brad Arthur said was in tears after the loss to the Dogs, but they stumbled out of the blocks with zero wins from their first six games and will be fighting a steep uphill battle for the rest of the season. The Eels only have themselves to blame.

The Warriors were cruising with a 7-2 record before last week's 32-0 thumping from the Roosters. They clearly missed Issac Luke and Shaun Johnson and it'll be interesting to see how they bounce back against the Eels.

Injuries haven't been kind to the over-achieving Warriors, but they continue to defy the odds as they push for a top eight finish nobody saw coming in the pre-season.

Key match-up: Parra fullback Clint Gutherson didn't hide the fact he was in tears after last week's loss to the Bulldogs, candidly telling reporters he was to blame after his late-game in-goal blunder allowed the Dogs to score a match-winning try. On Friday he is up against one of the best fullbacks around in Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and you can bet 'Gutho' will be looking to atone with a big game for the struggling Eels.

For the Eels to win: If they hadn't already hit rock bottom with no wins from their first six games, the last-placed Eels are now officially in a position where the only way is up. Somehow coach Brad Arthur has to find the right words to drag this team off the canvas. Five-eighth Corey Norman needs to start playing to his potential on a weekly basis.

For the Warriors to win: For a team with seven wins from 10 games, the Warriors have copped two of the heaviest beatings this season. They bounced back well from the 50-10 flogging from Melbourne a few weeks ago and are in the same situation this week after being caned 32-0 by the Roosters. They should find a few more holes in Parra's defence than they did last week and will be counting on a good kicking game from NSW Origin candidate Blake Green.

Eels stat attack: Parra have had to do more defensive work than any other team this season, making 3477 total tackles. Newcastle are second with 3421. Four teams have worse defensive records than the Eels (226 points conceded): the Titans (267), Knights (261), Sea Eagles (247) and Broncos (242).

Warriors stat attack: The Warriors were off their game in last week's thrashing, making zero line breaks and running for 240 metres less than the Roosters. The Warriors are third on the Telstra Premiership ladder but six teams have scored more points. A more worrying sign for coach Stephen Kearney is that the Warriors have conceded more points than any other team in the top eight.

And another thing: Let's hope for Parra's sake that they aren't out of the game by half-time, because the last thing they need is to hear boos raining down from the stands. The Eels have some of the most passionate and appreciative fans in the NRL, but they are a win-starved bunch right now and patience is wearing thin.

Parramatta Eels v New Zealand Warriors, Friday 6pm at ANZ Stadium

Eels: 1 Clint Gutherson (c), 2 Bevan French, 3 Michael Jennings, 4 Brad Takairangi, 5 George Jennings, 6 Corey Norman, 7 Mitchell Moses, 8 Daniel Alvaro, 9 Cameron King, 10 Peni Terepo, 11 Beau Scott (c), 12 Tepai Moeroa, 13 Manu Ma'u

Interchange: 14 Will Smith, 15 Suaia Matagi, 16 David Gower, 17 Marata Niukore

Reserves: 18 Josh Hoffman, 19 Siosaia Vave, 20 Jaeman Salmon, 21 Raymond Stone

Kenny Edwards is out pending a court appearance for a traffic violation. Cameron King replaces Will Smith (bench) at hooker. Manu Ma'u swaps to lock with Beau Scott who moves to second row. Marata Niukore has been named to make his debut in jersey 17 with Siosaia Vave dropping out. Young gun Jaemon Salmon makes his first appearance in the 21-man squad in the reserves but is unlikely to debut just yet.

Warriors: 1 Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (c), 2 David Fusitu'a, 3 Peta Hiku, 4 Solomone Kata, 5 Ken Maumalo, 6 Blake Green, 7 Mason Lino, 8 Bunty Afoa, 9 Issac Luke, 10 Agnatius Paasi, 16 Isaiah Papali'i, 12 Tohu Harris, 13 Adam Blair

Interchange: 14 Jazz Tevaga, 15 Chris Satae, 16 James Gavet, 17 Simon Mannering,

Reserves: 18 Gerard Beale, 19 Karl Lawton, 20 Albert Vete, 21 Anthony Gelling

Issac Luke (shoulder) has been named to return at hooker with Karl Lawton dropped to the reserves. Mason Lino has been named at halfback despite injuring an ankle last week. Chris Satae replaces Sam Lisone on the bench.

Head-to-head: Played 38; Eels 21 wins, Warriors 17 wins
Matches at venue: Played 1; Eels 1 win
2017 results: Warriors won 22-10 at Mt Smart Stadium in round 6; Eels won 32-24 at ANZ Stadium in round 13
Points per game: Eels 14.6; Warriors 19.8
Points conceded per game: Eels 22.6; Warriors 19
Televised: Live on Fox League

Steve Turner’s prediction: Parramatta were their own worst enemy last weekend in their loss to the Bulldogs after failing to capitalise on a number of chances, which has them now sitting on the bottom of the NRL ladder. The Warriors were poor in the loss to the Roosters after failing to score a point and it’s a concern for Stephen Kearney’s men because two of their three losses this year have come in the past three weeks against genuine title contenders who have scored 82 points collectively against them. The Eels are desperate and need a win for any hope of playing in September, while the Warriors will be hoping for the return of Shaun Johnson and Issac Luke.

Tip: Eels by 4

NRL.com

Warriors continue painful 2018 for Parramatta

Parramatta's wretched season went from bad to worse on Friday night with a 24-14 loss to an injury-weakened New Zealand Warriors at ANZ Stadium.

With just two wins from 11 games, Parra need a minor miracle to turn their season around and qualify for the finals. Last year's top four finish is now just a distant memory.

The Warriors were without injured halfback Shaun Johnson, while fullback and captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck stayed home in Auckland, with his partner due to give birth to the couple's first child any day.

The absence of two of their best players didn't stop New Zealand from notching their eighth win from 11 games, keeping them on course for a top-eight finish that few predicted.

Leading 12-2 at half-time, New Zealand briefly fell behind 14-12 before finishing with two unanswered tries – the last of which by Issac Luke put the result beyond doubt with four minutes remaining.

The Eels enjoyed a territorial advantage for the opening 10 minutes and almost crossed through Beau Scott before settling for a Mitch Moses penalty goal for a 2-0 lead after seven minutes.

It took just three minutes for the visitors to hit back, with winger David Fusitu'a scoring a spectacular one-handed try in the corner. Mason Lino guided the sideline conversion over for a 6-2 lead.

A Lino penalty goal made it 8-2 minutes later before the Warriors went over for a second try, with Peta Hiku shrugging off a weak tackle attempt from Parra winger George Jennings and touching down in the corner. Lino narrowly missed the conversion but the Eels were behind 12-2 after 22 minutes.

The Warriors dominated the home side for most of the first half, playing deep inside Eels territory and starving them of possession.

They almost stretched the margin in the 27th minute but the Eels just managed to keep them out.
Parramatta finally got their hands on the ball again in the closing minutes of the half and were camped inside the Warriors' end of the field.

Prop Isaiah Papali'i was sent to the sin-bin in the 34th minute after repeated infringements by the Warriors, but the Eels failed to capitalise, as the Warriors continually showed up in defence with several try-saving tackles.

Lino's last-second field goal was charged down and New Zealand held a 12-2 half-time lead.
Parra grabbed the initiative with Clint Gutherson's 43rd-minute try, trimming the gap to 12-8 with Moses's sideline conversion.

Spurred on by their success-starved fans, the Eels continued to surge, locking it up at 12-12 with Manu Ma'u's try. Moses made no mistake with the conversion to put his side up 14-12 with 19 minutes remaining.

But the lead was short-lived, as Jazz Tevaga pounced onto Blake Green's perfectly placed kick to score beside the posts.

Lino's conversion made it 18-14 to the Warriors – a lead they would not relinquish. Luke put a cherry on top with a powerful solo try.