The Australian: Eels have that ring of confidence

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Eels have that ring of confidence
Stuart Honeysett
[font=Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif]12sep05

[font=Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif]PARRAMATTA moved tantalisingly close to its first grand final in four years by ending Manly's season yesterday but there was better news later - inspirational Test second-rower Nathan Hindmarsh could be back for the preliminary final.

In a play-off that went almost to script at Parramatta Stadium, eighth-placed Manly put up little resistance against the minor premiers who consequently get next weekend off.



The game was as good as over at half-time after Parramatta surged to a 28-0 lead but Manly, to its credit, put a touch of respectability into the scoreline by winning the second half 22-18.

Hindmarsh is racing the clock to return from a knee injury sustained in the final round of the regular season against Brisbane. Coach Brian Smith said having the extra week off would definitely assist his best forward.

The Eels will play the winner of Saturday night's match between Melbourne and North Queensland at Telstra Stadium on Sunday week for the right to play in the grand final.

"I would say he's an outside chance," Smith said.

"I haven't spoken about it with the other players but my own personal motivation, if I need any more at this time of year, is that we want to stay alive to give him every chance to get back. Because if ever a guy deserves to be playing in the big games, it's Nathan."

Parramatta hooker Mark Riddell, who scored one of his trademark tries from dummy-half during the first-half blitz, said it would be terrific motivation for the team if Hindmarsh rejoined its finals charge.

"He's pretty much the heart and soul of this side," Riddell said. "To keep alive just for Hindy to come back and, as Brian said, play in these big games ... it won't only be a benefit to the team it will be a big buzz for us to have him back on the park."

There had been a few question marks over the Eels yesterday, given they were without Hindmarsh and had also lost impact bench forward Fuifui Moimoi (suspended) but it didn't take them long to assert their authority.

A penalty against Manly centre Steve Matai for a high tackle on Luke Burt gave Parramatta a sniff and halfback Tim Smith found Timana Tahu with a long pass. The Eels centre used his dancing feet to do the rest.

That triggered an avalanche of points for Parramatta as Manly, who failed to complete its sets of six tackles, self-destructed. They simply couldn't compete with Parramatta and another four converted tries leading into the break essentially sealed the match.

The only complaint that could be laid against Parramatta was the way it fell away in the second half, especially the two tries conceded late in the match to lock Ben Kennedy.

"I think they're to be commended for what they did today," Smith said of Manly.

"They came here and made it a fierce contest. We were a bit good for them early, they were a bit good for us in patches in the second half. That's probably about how one v eight should go.

"(Our second half) was lacking in smarts. We didn't play smart, we didn't anticipate some of the things they were going to do and that's very unlike this team. There's a lot of experience in this side. (But) it was great to get in the last four. That was our goal today and I thought out boys did a pretty good job of that."

The Sea Eagles were their own worst enemy. It took only eight minutes before the mistakes that have characterised their game in the second half of the season haunted them yet again.

They kept inviting the Eels into the contest by constantly turning over possession in their half and Parramatta didn't need to be asked twice to take advantage of the opportunities.

Conversely, Manly struggled in attack and took until the second half before cracking the Eels' defence - Kennedy flicked a ball inside for Anthony Watmough to score.

"We didn't do ourselves any favours early on," Manly coach Des Hasler said. "We didn't execute well and turned over too much ball and then we got to the other end and couldn't mount any sort of pressure and they just got too many points on us."[/font]

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,16569262%255E2722,00.html

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