Hayne on report in classy display
By Ben Blaschke | February 21, 2009 12:00am
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PARRAMATTA 18 PENRITH 10
PARRAMATTA star Jarryd Hayne could face an anxious few days after he was put on report last night for a tackle that left Penrith's Shane Elford dazed. Playing five-eighth for half the game, Hayne scored two tries, while regular No6 Feleti Mateo produced a five-star performance at lock.
The efforts of Hayne and Mateo stood out for the Eels, who are two wins out of two under new coach Daniel Anderson.
Hayne showed glimpses of the form that saw him represent NSW two years ago. Despite spending only half the game at five-eighth before returning to his more familiar role at fullback, he produced the decisive play when he raced 80m to seal the win.
Eels coach Daniel Anderson said his side's win, while scrappy at times, was still encouraging.
"I thought we just battled and we had to. I think we showed some little signs in the game that we've made some progress, even since last week when most of the big boys didn't play,'' Anderson said.
"We've still got areas that we can work on, which is important.''
Panthers coach Matthew Elliott was pleased with his side's effort in defence.
"We did some really good stuff and showed some intent defensively, obviously in attack, we've got some work to do.''
Penrith coach Matthew Elliott will need plenty of improvement if he is to start the season well and ultimately save his job.
It was a timid affair early as both sides experimented with new halves combinations.
The Eels coach wouldn't have been too thrilled to see Fuifui Moimoi and Weller Hauraki putting in last-tackle kicks from consecutive sets.
Hayne scored the Eels' opening try after 22 minutes when he barged his way through three defenders from dummy-half.
Four minutes later, Parramatta were in again thanks to Brett Finch and Krisnan Inu.
Finch's angled grubber was fumbled in-goal by Penrith centre Brad Tighe and Inu was on hand to dive on the loose ball.
Penrith struggled to find their rhythm for much of the first half, but young five-eighth Wade Graham finally got the ball rolling after 35 minutes with a superb short-ball for Tim Grant.
Grant found Luke Lewis on the inside and although his last pass was knocked down, Michael Jennings pounced on the scraps to open his side's account.
Penrith closed the gap to two when Jarrod Sammut picked up a loose ball and out-paced Hayne in a 70m dash to the line.
Fulltime
PARRAMATTA 18 (J Hayne 2 K Inu tries L Burt 3 goals) bt PENRITH 10 (M Jennings J Sammut tries M Gordon goal) at CUA Stadium, Penrith. Referees: J Maxwell A Devich. Crowd: 5,783.
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