Knock-on Effect NSW Cup - Eels Team

[Forty20]

Useful run by Crooks this set. Nelson goes next before there is a slow left edge shift via Henry to Toutai. Nothing doing there.

Good bomb by Kelly that is spilled bu the Tigers, Tepai comes up with it and it takes 3 or 4 Tigers to hold him up short of the line. Fresh set of six for Wenty.

They waste the first two tackles down the right before a really simple movement down the left sees Henry fire the cut out to Goodall who steps back between the winger and centre to slam the ball down in contact.

Good reply from Wenty.

Conversion is just missed.

Wenty trail 4-6

15min gone.

 

[Forty20]

Wenty get their first penalty of the game now.

Will want to ride that momentum.

Howard takes the first run. Ball then come to Alvaro down the middle. Kelly then goes to Morgan down the right but he is well taken.

Henry looks for a grubber down the left on the last, it cops deflection and flies into touch. A bit of confusion as the ref takes some time to come to a ruling but it ends up going Wenty's way.

They waste little time taking advantage of the call, spinning the ball down their right edge as he find Morgan on a subtle inside slant.

Looked like he was going to just end up short from my angle but he has reached out to plant the ball for our second try. Good effort.

The conversion is good.

Wenty in front now 10-6

19min gone.

 

[Forty20]

Toutai cleans up a shortish kick. Loose offload from Nelson next tackle that is tidied up by Alvaro.

Tepai has a carry down the right before Wenty go back to their left for Henry to complete their set with a stabbing kick.

 

[Forty20]

Error now from Wenty, Quinlan fields a kick and quickly turns the ball to Crooks. Ben loses the ball in contact, hint of a two man strip there and indeed Wenty and then pinged immediately after for the very call as Wests lose the ball after jumping on it.

Karma or luck, depending on how you view it as the Tigers lose the ball on the first tackle following the call.

Wenty then get another penalty to take them short of halfway.

Kelly shows up this set, good run as he cuts through the line and makes a break. Tepai pushes up straight away and is rewarded for his efforts with the try as Kelly picks him out before the fullback. Good play from both boys there.

Conversion is successful.

Wenty extend their lead to 16-6

25min gone.

 

[Forty20]

Nelson and Lussick up early, Lussick finding an offload for Gorman. Moeroa comes up with an error late in the count, 50/50 call between error and strip there.

Some good cover work from Goodall there, committed to a jam before racing back to make the cover tackle.

Wests are able to capitalise on Wenty being short on the other edge as a result and some good passing sees them cross in the far corner.

Conversion is waved away.

Wests trail Wenty 10-16

29min gone.

 

[Forty20]

Beau Henry has been left behind from the first tackle of the kick off set. Time is called off from the next tackle and he is struggling big time with a head knock. Trainer is taking him off.

Wenty concede a penalty from the resumption of play and are nearly caught napping to a quick tap. Very lucky to be saved blushes there but Wests have a big roll on.

They punish the home team as well, scoring off the last tackle of the set. They shoot for the cross field bomb, down Wenty's left edge. Goodall is torn between contesting for the ball and taking the jumper as he gets it and loses out as a result. The Tigers grab the ball and despite a decent hit from Goodall they are able to reach out and score.

Conversion is successful.

Tigers lock the score up at 16-all

33min gone.

 

[Forty20]

Good set after points for the Tigers. Roll it up to half way before finding touch 10m out from Wenty's line.

Fabian Goodall has the first carry from the scrum win and is met by some willing defence. Tigers continue to aim up this set, restricting carries from Lasalo and Gorman to short gains.

Kelly kicks from a smidgen inside the 40m line, was never going to be a 40/20 but the fullback for the Tigers barely stays in the field of play retrieving the ball in spite of it.

 

[Forty20]

Better set of defence from Wenty, hold the Tigers out comfortably to their kick that Quinlan fields well before again using Crooks. No mistake this time around though!

Set play from Kelly and Quinlan now with 4min on the clock. Kelly chips midfield and chases hard with Quinlan right next to him. Adam gets a check but Kelly is hot after the ball and only an unfriendly bounce prevents him from regathering the ball. Not a bad play IMO.

Wests fail to throw anything of note at Wenty in the next set and finish that set with an ineffective bomb.

Great run from Tepai in return that opens up the Tigers after his offload, ball ends up coming to Toutai who steps several times for a further 20m gain. A good kick from Kelly nets a line drop out with under 2min on the clock.

 

[Forty20]

Lasalo has the first run. Pakutoa to follow. Quinlan is the option down the right but is well tackled.

Far too easy on the next tackle though as we spread it down our left. Toutai gets the ball with the 2-on-1 and opts against linking up with Goodall. He is good enough to get over as well, crossing between the sliding defenders as the siren sounds.

Conversion is successful.

Half Time

Wenty lead the Tigers 22-16

 

[Forty20]

We are good to go for the second half with Wenty kicking off.

Error from the Tigers straight up! Trying to push the offload from the first tackle and Lasalo is more than happy to pinch the bouncing ball and make a nice run. Wests are at all sorts from the turnover and Sam Gorman shows some heads up ability to get out of dummy half and make a dart for the posts and score.

The conversion is successful.

Wenty secure the two try lead, 28-16

42min gone.

 

[Forty20]

Wenty come up with an error after some enterprising play down our right. Morgan had offloaded to Tepai Meoroa down the sideline but Tepai lost the ball in contact. Could have been a strip but that was a loose carry for sure.

Wests take advantage of the unexpected turnover, crossing down our right in the resultant set. We were direly short down our right and Morgan and Crooks had little chance of holding out there.

The conversion raises the flags.

Wests back to trailing by the sole converted try, 22-28

46min gone.

 

[Forty20]

Decent set after points for the Tigers but they hit the ball too heavy on the bomb and Quinlan takes it in goals for a 20m restart.

Easy metres for Wenty from the seven tackle set but Crooks trips over trying to compete for Kelly's kick on the last and although he gets the ball he quickly has a hand laid on him for the turnover.

Wests come up with an error just over halfway as they work the ball out gifting Wenty another chance to get into their half. The home team venture down their left and Toutai pokes his head through a gap, looks like he was through before a good cover tackle drags him into touch.

 

[Forty20]

Some sloppy ruck defence there lets the Tigers make a half break. That was Penani Manulelleui (sp), came to the Tigers by way of Cronulla this year. Copped a knock in the tackle as well which kept him down for a minute.

That brings up the last tackle and Ben Crooks is tested with a decent kick but he is equal to the challenge.

Good defensive set by the Tigers it must be said. Tui Kamikamica is on and makes a useful gain late in the count but Kelly is still forced to kill from his 30m line. Manages to find the carpet so a fair result but Wenty give away a penalty early in the set to nullify the gain.

 

[Forty20]

Wenty do well to hold the Tigers out right up until the last tackle, they went very close to scoring a couple of times that set.

Quinlan is perfectly positioned as the Tigers shift down their right on the last and cleans up the grubber in the field of play.

Wenty do much better coming out of their red zone in this set and eventually earn a penalty for some offside defenders.

Play resumes 10m into the opposition's half.

Great charge from Kamikamica now! Plenty of energy there.

Unfortunately Moeroa again loses the ball in contact, this time after a good run down the right. Wenty compound the matter by then conceding a penalty from the first tackle of the Tiger's set.

Stiff shot from Lussick and Tepai there. Santi makes a solid run for the Tigers up the guts before they go down their right.

Tigers are making healthy gains but lose the ball as Santi coughs up a short pass - however the ref has ruled that Wenty were offside. The visitors squander the repeat sets though as they lose control of the ball while attacking our left edge.

 

[Forty20]

Another bustling run to Kamikamica there. Very good stint from him today.

Wenty ruck it out to just inside the Tiger's half on the last before Kelly puts up a testing bomb. Plenty of flux on that kick but the Tigers' fullback was cool under the pressure to take it very, very well.

The Tigers then kick early, gunning for a 40/20 with Quinlan standing fairly shallow. Adam has plenty of work to do but races back to bat the ball into the field of play and then clean it up.

Very simple set for Wenty from the Quinlan save. Tepai makes a good run and manages to hold onto the ball before Kelly drills it into touch 15m out from the Tigers' goal line. Don't mind that play at all.

62min gone.

 

[Forty20]

Another nice take from Quinlan. Under fair pressure from the kick chase there and he secures the pill and a few metres to boot.

Toutai makes a very handy contribution up the middle before Kelly finds his range on his kicking game, very nearly forcing a line drop out from 35m out. We had a good kick chase but the Tigers showed plenty of hustle to get out before Wenty then give away a soft penalty of the next tackle.

 

[Forty20]

And the Tigers pounce after a long period devoid of points. Odd kick from Drinkwater there, shallow banana kick of sorts. Was good enough though as the Tigers chasers get to it before Quinlan or Crooks can and toe it ahead where they lead the chase to where it pulls up in goals for a try out wide.

Important conversion attempt now and it gets waved away.

Tigers still trail Wenty, 26-28

67min gone.

 

[Forty20]

Simple set for the Tigers and it is completed with a poor bomb that put Quinlan under no pressure.

Alvaro is back on and has a decent carry. Wenty put in another great kick that finds the in goals but our kick chase can't earn the line drop out.

The Tigers make some huge in roads around the ruck, no clean breaks but plenty of metres and for their efforts they do what Wenty can not and find a line drop out. It was Toutai at the back there with Quinlan having a stint on the wing.

Good shot from Lussick on Santi there, Darcy has been disappointing for the most part though.

Fantastic set of defence from Wenty though as they hold the Tigers out for the full set. Oh dear, Darcy has cost us there going back to the Santi tackle. Has put a forearm into him following the completion of the tackle and the Tigers get a penalty after the completion of the set thanks to the touch judge.

Easy shot at two points if they want it.

 

[Forty20]

They indeed opt for the shot and Drinkwater has little problem slotting it.

The Tigers lock the score up at 28-all

72min gone.

 

[Forty20]

Nearly a disaster there for Wenty! Toutai and Crooks fail to communicate who will take the kick from the Tigers and they run into each other. Crooks holds onto the ball which is well enough.

A great run from Alvaro sets up a decent shot at the field goal for Kelly but he misses it to the right. The ball doesn't go dead either and the Tigers catch out Wenty on the kick return to get back to 20m out. Probably a better result than running dead when all is said and done but it is always shit to see them go to sleep.

Wests ruck it out to just past halfway and have their own crack at the one point but get no where near the uprights.

Quinlan has shifted into the halves, sorry for the wing comment earlier. I say this because it is Quinlan who comes up with a big error by kicking out on the full from halfway. Wenty will be under huge pressure this set.