1981 1982 1983 1986 
Post by Electric Eel on May 16, 2020 15:10:22 GMT 10
Round 9, 1986: Parramatta 10 d Norths 9
By David Middleton
Rugby League Week
May 7, 1986
The Parramatta juggernaut slipped into top gear just once last Sunday, still that was enough to secure the Eels their seventh win of the season.
When Steve Ella latched onto an Eric Grothe pass to score 16 minutes after half-time, Parramatta led for the first time in the game.
The try went into the scorebooks alongside Ella's name, but it belonged to Brett Kenny.
Kenny decided it was time to cut loose, and when he was thrown the ball on the halfway line, he sizzled into action, scorching past Brett French and providing a clear passage for Grothe, who laid on a simple pass for Ella to score.
That was one of only two genuine scoring opportunities that Parramatta had in a match that was dominated in the most part by the Bears.
Their second chance came late in the match amid a flurry of reverse passes and wrap arounds that eventually came to a halt only metres from Norths' line.
As in the past two performances, Norths failed to take advantage of their opportunities after showing some bright, attacking phases of play.
Unlike their past two performances, Norths didn't become frustrated by the missed chances, but threw everything they had at Parramatta until the final whistle.
The epitomy of Norths' missed chances was a magnificent run by winger Les Kiss that finished over Parramatta's line just after halftime.
Excellent consecutive passes by Mark Graham and Greg Florimo put Kiss away on an angled 60 metre run to the line. Kiss dived from a few metres out but was thrown on his back by Grothe and he couldn't get the ball down.
Another missed chance came from a freak up and under by Mark Cannon that struck the cross-bar and eluded Peter Sterling who was standing in at fullback. With Norths bearing down on him, a despairing lunge from Graeme Atkins put the ball over the dead-ball line.
The much publicised battle of the halfbacks, Kiwi half Clayton Friend versus Test hopeful Peter Sterling finished even.
With both players standing back in defence a head-to-head confrontation didn't eventuate.
Friend completed three magical cover defensive tackles, one picking up Eric Grothe in fullflight and organised well in attack.
Sterling marshalled his troops with his usual style, kicked prodigiously and defended well.
Rival hookers Rex Wright (Norths) and Michael Moseley (Parramatta) tackled themselves to a standstill -completing a massive 97 tackles between them. The loss was Norths' third in a row and they now face a crucial month with their semi-final aspirations resting on their performances against Manly, St George, Balmain and Cronulla.
By David Middleton
Rugby League Week
May 7, 1986
The Parramatta juggernaut slipped into top gear just once last Sunday, still that was enough to secure the Eels their seventh win of the season.
When Steve Ella latched onto an Eric Grothe pass to score 16 minutes after half-time, Parramatta led for the first time in the game.
The try went into the scorebooks alongside Ella's name, but it belonged to Brett Kenny.
Kenny decided it was time to cut loose, and when he was thrown the ball on the halfway line, he sizzled into action, scorching past Brett French and providing a clear passage for Grothe, who laid on a simple pass for Ella to score.
That was one of only two genuine scoring opportunities that Parramatta had in a match that was dominated in the most part by the Bears.
Their second chance came late in the match amid a flurry of reverse passes and wrap arounds that eventually came to a halt only metres from Norths' line.
As in the past two performances, Norths failed to take advantage of their opportunities after showing some bright, attacking phases of play.
Unlike their past two performances, Norths didn't become frustrated by the missed chances, but threw everything they had at Parramatta until the final whistle.
The epitomy of Norths' missed chances was a magnificent run by winger Les Kiss that finished over Parramatta's line just after halftime.
Excellent consecutive passes by Mark Graham and Greg Florimo put Kiss away on an angled 60 metre run to the line. Kiss dived from a few metres out but was thrown on his back by Grothe and he couldn't get the ball down.
Another missed chance came from a freak up and under by Mark Cannon that struck the cross-bar and eluded Peter Sterling who was standing in at fullback. With Norths bearing down on him, a despairing lunge from Graeme Atkins put the ball over the dead-ball line.
The much publicised battle of the halfbacks, Kiwi half Clayton Friend versus Test hopeful Peter Sterling finished even.
With both players standing back in defence a head-to-head confrontation didn't eventuate.
Friend completed three magical cover defensive tackles, one picking up Eric Grothe in fullflight and organised well in attack.
Sterling marshalled his troops with his usual style, kicked prodigiously and defended well.
Rival hookers Rex Wright (Norths) and Michael Moseley (Parramatta) tackled themselves to a standstill -completing a massive 97 tackles between them. The loss was Norths' third in a row and they now face a crucial month with their semi-final aspirations resting on their performances against Manly, St George, Balmain and Cronulla.
