New Zealand Warriors star Dallin Watene-Zelezniak suffered a rather embarrassing moment during his side’s win over the Parramatta Eels.
The Wahs sealed a 36-14 victory in New South Wales on Saturday night to extend their winning run to four games.
But there was a nightmare passage of play for Watene-Zelezniak when the match was still in the balance at 18-10.
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A major fumble from the Eels gifted the winger the perfect chance to extend the Warriors’ advantage 12 minutes into the second half.
As he attempted to pick up the bouncing ball, he seemed to gather it before spilling it out of his grasp with a try at his mercy.
As the cameras cut to him, Watene-Zelezniak looked utterly stunned he had passed up the opportunity.
The commentators could not believe it, one saying: “Oh, it was a gift! How could he not score?”
Yet it ultimately did not matter as the Wahs stormed to yet another victory as they close in on Penrith at the top of the table.
Despite fielding a well understrength line-up, Parramatta would be the first side to find success in the game, former Warriors’ half Ronald Volkman shrugging off both Leka Halasima and Tanah Boyd to crash over for an early lead.
While the Eels’ left-edge was humming in attack, their defence told a very different story.
Back-to-back penalties handed the Warriors some strong field position, peppering Parramatta’s right-edge before shifting the other way, Boyd digging into the line before sending a rampaging Halasima through the line to level the scoreboard.
One four-pointer quickly became two for the away side, courtesy of some brilliant lead-up from two of their middles no less.
A short-ball from Clark saw James Fisher-Harris hit, spin, and find a sweeping Chanel Harris-Tavita out the back, firing a bullet-pass for Alofiana Khan-Pereira to bag his 58th NRL try in his 58th game.
It’s been a fresh start for the discarded Khan-Pereira, notching his fifth try in three games after starting the season in NSW Cup.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck looked to have crossed for the Warriors’ third try in nine minutes after breaking a Brian Kelly tackle, only for the Bunker to find a bobble in the put-down – but it wouldn’t keep the Kiwi side down for long.
A routine sweep right landing in the hands of Taine Tuaupiki, allowing for the fullback to slice through the gap between Volman and Russell, drawing Joash Papalii to the corner before flicking a ball under him, this time for Watene-Zelezniak to dot down.
While the speed men were the ones crossing the stripe, the Warriors’ sudden dominance was a byproduct of their work through the middle, the likes of Erin Clark and Jackson Ford putting their stamp on the contest.
Josh Addo-Carr looked to have gotten the Eels back into the contest after rolling over in the corner, only for some scramble defence from Tuaupiki and DWZ to deny the Foxx a crucial try.
A penalty goal on the stroke of half-time would extend New Zealand’s lead to ten points heading into the break.
The half-time breather couldn’t have been worse the away side, losing Wayde Egan to a failed HIA just minutes into the second stanza before allowing Parramatta back into the contest.
A standard Mitch Moses bomb landed straight into the breadbasket of Brian Kelly metres out from the opposition line, popping out a miracle one-armed offload before hitting the turf for Will Penisini to dive through the air and cut the deficit to six.
A simple offside penalty minutes later handed Boyd the chance to drag the scoreline back to 18-10, however it wouldn’t deter the blue-and-gold comeback firmly on the cards.
The pendulum would swing the other way once more, a messy contest for a Moses bomb saw the footy slide through Adam Pompey’s hands and straight into a bullocking Volkman, grabbing the ball at pace to bag a double.
It was a tough night for Moses with the boot, slotting just one from three attempts, and keeping the score at a four-point differential.
However the cream always rises to the top, and it was on full display after Clark linked up with Ford to send the New South Wales’ bolter under the sticks, and put a nail in Parramatta’s coffin.
If there was any hope left in Parramatta fans, it was dashed not long afterwards following a harbour bridge pass from Moses just 20-metres out from his own line, straight into the lap of Khan-Pereira to bag his fifth double in five games against the Eels.
A late try from Roger Tuivasa-Sheck sealed the result, the centre storming over untouched after a long DWZ break, and securing a vital win leading into their first bye.
Originally published as Disaster as NRL star fumbles on try line in embarrassing moment
