Sick Eels end Tigers defence
Jacquelin Magnay
July 24, 2006
Parramatta 34 West Tigers 6
Caught
Parramatta's two-try hero, Jarryd Hayne, struggles to break through the Tigers' defence.
Photo: Steve Christo
THE Wests Tigers' season is all but over after the premiers lost key players Brett Hodgson and Bryce Gibbs with significant injuries during yesterday's demoralising loss to an illness-ravaged Parramatta.
The Eels ran in six tries to one for a comfortable 34-6 win, but only after Chad Robinson withdrew yesterday morning because of a virus, Nathan Hindmarsh was sick in the dressing rooms before the game and Mark Riddell was quickly shifted to the bench after vomiting on the field during the team's warm-up.
In a game that was particularly costly to Wests Tigers in terms of their player roster, the loss also hurt the team dearly on the ladder. They fell to 12th, two points behind Parramatta and Penrith and four points shy of the four teams on 22 points.
Not only will the depleted Tigers have to win their remaining games against front-runners Melbourne, Brisbane and St George Illawarra and borderline Canberra, they will have to hope other results swing favourably for them to scrape into the top eight.
Coach Tim Sheens refuses to entirely concede defeat for the year, but he acknowledged "we have got to win a game first and [getting] ready for next week considering the issues [from the game] will be a big challenge."
The No.6 hoodoo at the club continued yesterday. With star playmaker Benji Marshall sidelined with a shoulder injury, captain Hodgson had slotted in well until a sickening tackle in which his leg twisted awkwardly near the tryline in the 18th minute.
Screaming in agony Hodgson knew straight away his season was in doubt.
"It was killing me," he said, hobbling on crutches from Telstra Stadium after team doctor Donald Kuah diagnosed a grade two or three medial ligament tear. While not requiring surgery, such an injury requires two months of recuperation. Hodgson's teammate Gibbs didn't go back on for the second half after being crunched in two big hits from his front row opponent Fuifui Moimoi and then the diminutive PJ Marsh. It appears he may have ripped his bicep tendon from his elbow, which would require surgery, but the medical staff want a full scan before predicting his future. The mood in the Tigers rooms was disconsolate.
Clearly Wests Tigers struggled without Hodgson directing play and halfback Scott Prince suffered in his attempts to get the ball out wide. Sheens said he knew the game was "over at half-time" after Parramatta had enjoyed two intercept tries to their flying winger Jarryd Hayne and the disarray of his own team.
Hayne - a former state representative hurdler - scored his first length-of-the-field try after Wests Tigers had applied relentless pressure on the Parramatta line for four consecutive plays and they appeared certain to score out wide before Eels centre Luke O'Dwyer grabbed an intercept then passed to Hayne to streak away. His second 98m effort, right on half-time, was just as heartbreaking for the home team. Again Wests Tigers had an overlap out wide but Hayne swooped on the flat pass from Prince and galloped down field, smiling broadly.
"That was a big play," Eels coach Jason Taylor said. "They are so heart-breaking for the opposition because they had so much ball
then we scored."
Yesterday's game was also crucial for the Eels, who notched up their fifth straight win. But Nathan Hindmarsh, who relished the triumph with a try himself, said the Eels were used to each game being a vital match. "This week a number of Wests Tigers players were saying this was a do or die match for them, but funnily we didn't feel that, and we were on the same number of points, perhaps because we have been in that position for a number of weeks," he said.
Riddell said he felt unwell the entire match, but at least stopped vomiting after the doctor had given him a needle. He said the team's solid defence in the past month was the difference between the Parramatta of April and the Parramatta of July. Another difference shown yesterday was the confidence of O'Dwyer, who combined superbly with Dean Widders to create havoc down the Tigers' right-hand side.
Meanwhile, NSW police will view closed-circuit TV footage of an ugly brawl in the lower bowl of the eastern stand during the second half of the match. Four patrons were evicted from the ground and police want to view the footage before deciding whether charges would be laid.
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