An injury-ravaged Melbourne Storm were unable to score a point as Parramatta Eels moved up to second with a 14-0 win at Bankwest.
The Eels dominated the first half, particularly after the first 20 minutes, opening up a 12-point lead. Mitchell Moses kicked them ahead with a penalty before Waqa Blake stepped through Melbourne’s defence on the right after an offload from Ryan Matterson.
Then on a scrum play with five left in the half, Clint Gutherson’s quick hands led to Maika Sivo crossing.
The second half was much more even and the Storm threatened to get back in the game but weren’t able to do so. They got close when Kenny Bromwich grounded the ball but the offload from Josh Addo-Carr to Bromwich was forward. Then with three minutes to go, Ryan Papenhuyzen took in a kick from Cooper Johns but he was stripped of the ball in the in-goal.
Moses kicked the only points in the second half when Nelson Asofa-Solomona was in the bin for a high tackle. The Eels also came close to a try for Michael Jennings but a great intervention from Brandon Smith prevented the centre from scoring.
Eels: Gutherson, Sivo, Jennings, Blake, Ferguson, D Brown, Moses, Campbell-Gillard, Mahoney, Paulo, Lane, Matterson, N Brown; Interchanges: Stone, Niukore, Evans, Kaufusi
Tries: Blake, Sivo; Goals: Moses 3
Storm: Papenhuyzen, Earl, Lee, Olam, Addo-Carr, Jacks, Johns, Welch, B Smith, Asofa-Solomona, Kaufusi, K Bromwich, Faasuamaleaui; Interchanges: Hynes, Eisenhuth, Vete, Schonig
Sin bin: Asofa-Solomona (54) – high tackle
On report: Johns (31) – dangerous contact, Vete (32) – dangerous contact, Asofa-Solomona (54) – high tackle
Full match reports of all this weekend’s NRL games will feature in Monday’s League Express.
