Panthers get comeback win
With ten minutes left to go in Eels vs. Panthers at CommBank Stadium on Friday, Parramatta looked set to win the match and widen the gap between themselves and bottom-of-the-table Tigers. That was until Penrith’s Brian To'o scored a try in the 73rd minute. This try sparked an unbelievable comeback for the Panthers.
Penrith scored three tries in the final 10 minutes of the match to erase Parramatta’s lead. To'o scored in the 73rd. Sunia Turuva got his try two minutes later in the 75th. Izack Tago scored the winner almost immediately after in the 76th.
Panthers’ Liam Martin took out Eels defender Daejarn Asi just ahead of Tago before he scored his match-winning try. After a lengthy bunker review, the try was upheld.
Nathan Cleary scored the conversion, granting Penrith a 36-34 victory over Parramatta.
Call “cost us the game” says coach
Despite the impressive comeback from Panthers, all eyes were on the Eels after the match. Media were keen to hear their reaction after such a devastating loss. Interim boss Trent Barrett gave them exactly what they were looking for.
The Parramatta head coach hit out at the officiating crew after the match. Barrett accused the judges of costing his team a victory.
“The last try I thought there was an obstruction in there and a pretty bad one too,” Barrett said, referencing the controversial block by Liam Martin on Eels’ Daejarn Asi during Izack Tago’s winning run.
“How that happens with the officiating that we’ve got and how many people are looking at it, I don’t know. Daejarn Asi got knocked over by Liam and it shouldn’t have been a try. The game is cruel at times and it was cruel at the end.
“There were a few (decisions) and sometimes that happens when you’re not supposed to be winning, you know when Penrith are the premiers and maybe they were a bit surprised we were in the contest and we didn’t get a couple (of decisions) tonight,” Barrett continued.
“The last one is hard to cop, you just can’t do that, you see it every other week and they get pulled up…That cost us the game,” Barrett said emphatically.
Eels captain criticises bunker calls
Barrett’s skipper Clint Gutherson also didn’t mince words after the match. “I said to challenge it and (referee Peter Gough) said it’s all going to be checked and it seemed to take a long time for them looking at it,” he said.
“If you’re looking at it that long then there has to be something there. I feel like if their lead is hitting our half and he’s hitting the deck then we can’t have cover tackles, we don’t have the movement to get there.”
Gutherson then went on to criticise how obstruction calls have been handled by the bunker this season.
“It’s a lottery at the moment which is disappointing,” Gutherson said, “It’s just disappointing, we put so much effort into that game.”
Eels currently sit just two points off the bottom of the ladder. Their next match is against Sydney. The betting sites give them almost no chance against the Roosters, who are currently in third place. If Eels want to avoid their first Wooden Spoon since 2018, they need to start winning.
