Moses parts Sharks defence to guide Parra home
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Mitchell Moses has delivered a five-star performance to help Parramatta bid farewell to ANZ Stadium in style with a 24-12 victory over an injury-hit Cronulla Sharks on Saturday night.
The Eels were pushed all the way in a see-sawing contest in front of 11,185 at the Olympic Park venue to notch their third win of the season and regain the Johnny Mannah Cup for the first time since 2014.
It was the final home game for the Eels before they host Wests Tigers at their newly-built Bankwest Stadium in round six.
Moses had the ball on a string with three try assists and a strong kicking game as he continued an outstanding start to the season.
The Sharks were dealt a blow before kick-off with five-eighth Shaun Johnson a late scratching due to a quad strain. To make matters worse they lost prop Aaron Woods with a suspected broken foot in the second half.
Match: Eels v Sharks
Round 4 -
home Team
Eels
5th Position
away Team
Sharks
7th Position
Venue: Accor Stadium, Sydney
It capped a horror evening for the Shire side, who never shied away from the contest but lacked polish without experienced men Matt Moylan (hamstring) and Paul Gallen (rib).
Their injury woes continued during the clash in the seventh minute with Josh Dugan leaving the field for a HIA assessment after landing awkwardly on the ground.
It was a mixed night for the fill-in Sharks fullback, who was in the wars with several blows to the body before spilling a ball in-goal to give Parramatta the lead late in the clash.
Dugan's mandatory 15 minutes on the sidelines for a HIA forced Josh Morris to fullback and the Eels targeted the Sharks' left edge almost immediately to strike first through Marata Niukore, who finished off a Moses cross-field kick fumbled by Sosaia Feki.
Feki made amends in the 27th minute when he capitalised on a bad blunder by Blake Ferguson to score and the Sharks were back in it.
Fresh back on the field after successfully passing a concussion test, Dugan's night worsened with the Sharks No.1 struggling with a lower hip complaint before spilling a simple long kick to give the Eels a chance to strike back.
Another error from Feki in the following play left the Eels with a final chance before halftime and a slick backline movement created enough space for Brad Takairangi to cross wide out.
Cronulla burst out of the blocks in the second half with a set play from a penalty tap executed brilliantly with Chad Townsend and Kurt Capewell linking to send Feki over for a double.
The Sharks threatened to steal the lead with several half-chances but a strong run by Tim Mannah shifted momentum in the Eels' favour and they struck the front again when Dugan fumbled a Moses kick and Jennings cleaned up the scraps to score.
The game was sealed late in the clash with Moses finding Ferguson in space, who sent Jennings over for a double.
Feki grabs a double from set move
