Halves fire as Eels burn Rabbitohs
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The Eels handed South Sydney their first loss in almost two months on Friday night, with Mitchell Moses and Dylan Brown orchestrating a comprehensive 36-16 win over the ladder-leaders.
Parramatta showed their intent with a Sean Russell try two minutes into the game and took a 12-10 lead into the break, before overcoming South Sydney with four second-half tries.
Moses set up four of his side's six tries, while halves partner Brown terrorised the Rabbitohs with his running game, chewing through 139 metres and scoring a try on his way to winning the inaugural Eric Simms Medal as player of the match.
Simonsson extends the lead
Earlier in the opening minutes, Eels captain Clint Gutherson came up with a game-changing play when he denied Alex Johnston, who as it was finished with a first-half double, a certain try with a desperate lunge.
Latrell creates magic
Parramatta got the job done despite being reduced to a two-man bench early in the second half following the loss of Andrew Davey to a failed HIA and Ryan Matterson to a calf injury.
Match: Rabbitohs v Eels
Round 12 -
home Team
Rabbitohs
5th Position
away Team
Eels
13th Position
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Match Snapshot
- Parramatta back Bailey Simonsson scored a doubled and powered to 167 run metres in the win.
- The Eels lost Andrew Davey to a failed HIA in the first half, before the man who replaced him, Ryan Matterson, was taken from the field early in the second 40 with a calf injury which he failed to return from.
- Parramatta finished the game having had 57 percent possession, while they had 16 offloads compared to South Sydney's five.
- Rabbitohs winger Alex Johnston has now scored nine tries in his past four games against the Eels.
Play of the Game
Given the confidence South Sydney had been playing with on the back of a six-game winning streak, a fast start was always going to be crucial to Parramatta's hopes, and they got it with this try to Sean Russell.
Parra fly out of the gate
What They Said
"They were more motivated than us in key areas of the game. Got to credit Parramatta, they came to play, I thought their pack, and in particular [Junior] Paulo, was outstanding. They controlled the middle third of the field and [Mitchell] Moses kicked well, and that made life hard for us and we just didn't adjust to it." – Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou.
"[The players] have been working hard. I know the results haven't been there, but it hasn't been through effort or application at training or in preparation. We got it right tonight. If we keep that attitude and keep coming with that fight, we will give ourselves a chance to get some back-to-back wins." – Eels coach Brad Arthur.
NRL Press Conference: Rabbitohs v Eels - Round 12, 2023
What's Next
Both sides will feature in the five games played in Round 13, with the Eels back in action on a Friday night against the Cowboys. The Rabbitohs are at home to the Raiders on Saturday, minus their Origin stars, but forwards Tom Burgess, Shaquai Mitchell and Jed Cartwright are set to make timely returns from injury in time for the match.
