It will go down as one of the most controversial and entertaining Easter Monday clashes in memory.
Wests Tigers are suddenly second on the NRL ladder after Jock Madden slotted a penalty goal from in front of the posts in golden point extra-time to break Parramatta hearts.
Nothing could separate the western Sydney rivals in regulation time, despite a few debatable calls that could have handed both teams victory.
In the 78th minute, with the scores locked at 18-18, Mitchell Moses claimed he had been hit in the jaw by Samuela Fainu when he ran the ball on the last tackle. Fainu had made contact with Moses’ face but could not believe he had been sanctioned.
Moses slotted the penalty to put the home side 20-18 in front, but a minute later, Eels forward Sam Tuivaiti was penalised for an equally soft high tackle after collecting Sione Fainu in the head, which allowed Madden to level the scores.
“I take my hat off to Parramatta because they had a lot of injuries, they moved a lot of their players around, and they fought their way back into the game we were in control of for a while,” Tigers coach Benji Marshall said.
“It’s a tough way to lose. If we were on the other side of it, I would have been content because of the way the players fought their way back into the game.”
The flashpoint in this bell-ringer came on the hour when the Tigers led 18-10 and winger Luke Laulilii tackled Bailey Simonsson in the air.
Simonsson came down awkwardly on his left leg and immediately hit the ground in pain. He was taken from the field on a stretcher and later rushed to hospital with a suspected dislocated ankle.
Referee Peter Gough binned Laulilli and told the winger: “It’s foul play, he’s tackled in the air, and there’s a high risk of injury.”
Debutant Apa Twidle came on to the field after Simonsson’s exit and had crossed for two tries in two minutes. His first four-pointer was outstanding, as he evaded a desperation tackle from Madden.
Twidle is still on a train-and-trial deal and scored four tries in reserve grade the week before playing as a fullback.
Eels coach Jason Ryles, has now seen a third player suffer a serious injury in as many weeks due to foul play.
A week earlier, fullback Isaiah Iongi went down with an ankle injury in a hip-drop tackle, while J’maine Hopgood’s season came to an end because of a ruptured ACL the previous round, also as a result of a hip-drop.
The carnage did not stop there for the blue and golds, with Sean Russell forced off the ground with a sickening concussion in the first half – the centre was placed on report for hitting Heamasi Makasini high as a result of the contact – Jonah Pezet picking up a hamstring injury, and Moses appearing troubled by a groin problem.
Ryles said after the game: “I just said to the players then, the performance is what really matters tonight.
“The fact there was a period where we had three five-eighths, three or four different combinations in our centres, three combinations in our back row, and three right wingers. To be in the game that deep for as long as we were, and to show the fight, especially in front of our fans, it was important to us.
“The result is really disappointing, but if we continue to show that each week, we’ll win more games than we lose.”
The Eels led 10-0 early but gave up two tries before half-time, both coming from suspect calls, leaving Moses clearly upset.
He remonstrated with Gough when Brian Kelly appeared to have the ball stripped from him, only for Jahream Bula to score from the next set.
Then Jack Williams was ruled to have knocked on after he scooped up a loose ball and looked ready to score, only to have the ball punched out by Api Koroisau.
At first, it looked a tremendous defensive effort by the Tigers, and that Williams had simply butchered a try. Moses said Williams was trying to play the ball and wanted to challenge, only to be waved away.
Moses was a standout early in the game for Parramatta, while Kai Pearce-Paul, who is quickly shaping as one of the NRL buys of the year, caused all sorts of headaches on the Tigers’ right edge, especially in the first half.
“It’s a tough way to lose for Parramatta. I take my hat off to them because they had a lot of injuries, they moved a lot of their players around, and they fought their way back into the game we were in control of for a while,” Tigers coach Benji Masrshall said.
“It’s a tough way to lose. If we were on the other side of it, I would have been content because of the way the players fought their way back into the game.”
The Eels host Gold Coast next week and will do well to find 17 fit players, while the Tigers host high-flying Newcastle at Campbelltown.
