Junior Paulo proved he’s still got plenty of backyard magic left in him, producing a freakish long-range pass to help Parramatta stun North Queensland on Saturday night.
The 32-year-old prop channelled his inner backyard footy player, throwing a spectacular pass from close to halfway to put Jordan Samrani over as the Eels held on for a thrilling 32-30 win over the Cowboys.
At 123kg, Paulo isn’t exactly the first player you’d expect to pull off a piece of attacking magic from long range, but his instinct to spot space and back himself has been a trademark throughout his career.
And with Paulo off-contract at the end of the season, the veteran is continuing to show Parramatta he still has plenty to offer as the Eels rebuild.
“That’s Junior in the backyard as a kid," said coach Jason Ryles.
“He knows where the space is, and he threw the ball there.
Jordan Samrani Try
“We’re probably lucky that he did get the ball in that situation. I don’t know if he knew where it was going, but he knew there was space out there.
“That’s a really good strength of his. We’re lucky he got the footy there.”
The moment was one of several reminders of Paulo’s value, in his first start since returning from a knee injury.
The veteran was back to his bruising best in the middle, producing some trademark defensive hits as Parramatta held off a late Cowboys fightback to claim their second win in three weeks.
Tallyn Da Silva Penalty Try
“He’s still in it,” Ryles said.
“He was back tonight. Junior took a couple of weeks to come back after his knee and he looked a lot freer tonight.
“He cooked there at the end and did a great job for us.”
For an Eels side whose season has already slipped away, the win was another opportunity to spoil the party for teams still fighting for September footy while continuing to build something of their own.
Parramatta have endured an injury-hit campaign but have shown glimpses of improvement under Ryles, and Saturday night’s win over a Cowboys side still in the finals hunt was another sign of their progress.
They’ll look to build on it next week when they face the fourth-placed Dolphins.
“The biggest learning from last week [against Souths] was our start and how important it is,” Ryles said.
Kelly from the kick-off
“Everyone needs to individually start well so we can start well as a group.
“We could have been talking about winning last week quite easily because of the way we came home.
“Doesn’t matter how we got it done, we got it done and we got some lessons.”
