PARRAMATTA EELS 23 ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS 22
IAN HOWE, Commbank Stadium, Saturday
THE great talking point in the week leading up to this game was the return of former Parramatta fullback Clint Gutherson to the Commbank Stadium, with fans waiting to compare his performance with that of former Dragons threequarter Zac Lomax, who joined Parramatta at the start of the year.
And both players delivered on the pre-match hype.
Gutherson scored two of the Dragons’ three tries, including the opening try of the game, when he collected the ball 15 metres out and beat several defenders.
But it was Lomax who was the decisive factor in the game. He opened the scoring with an early penalty but more crucially he landed a late 43-metre penalty goal that sent the game into golden-point time, before landing the winning field-goal three minutes in.
It was the Eels’ first victory of the season after four straight losses, while the Dragons suffered a disappointing defeat after having beaten the competition favourites Melbourne a week earlier.
The try of the game was the final one, when Kitione Kautoga touched down a crossfield kick by Eels halfback Dean Hawkins.
That levelled the scores after Josh Addo-Carr and Isaiah Iongi replied to Gutherson’s double and a Christian Tuipulotu effort.
“I just had to get the job done,” said Lomax, who was mobbed by his team-mates after securing the victory.
“The worst thing is, you go for a field-goal and miss and it’s a 20-metre restart. I had to get it done and thank God we did, we were due for a win.”
It was Jason Ryles’ first win as a first-grade coach and he wasn’t reluctant to admit his feelings afterwards.
“Honestly, it’s relief,” he said. “I see how hard the players have worked. To see them finally get what they deserved was relieving more than exciting.”
EELS: 1 Isaiah Iongi, 2 Sean Russell, 3 Will Penisini, 4 Zac Lomax, 5 Josh Addo-Carr, 6 Dylan Brown, 7 Dean Hawkins, 8 Joe Ofahengaue, 19 Charlie Guymer, 10 Junior Paulo, 11 Shaun Lane, 12 Kitione Kautoga, 13 J’maine Hopgood. Subs (all used): 9 Ryley Smith, 14 Dylan Walker, 15 Luca Moretti, 16 Sam Tuivaiti
Tries: Addo-Carr (25), Iongi (57), Kautoga (63); Goals: Lomax 5/5; Field-goals: Lomax (84)
DRAGONS: 1 Clint Gutherson, 2 Tyrell Sloan, 3 Moses Suli, 4 Valentine Holmes, 5 Christian Tuipulotu, 6 Kyle Flanagan, 7 Lachlan Ilias, 8 Toby Couchman, 9 Damien Cook, 10 David Klemmer, 11 Luciano Leilua, 12 Jaydn Su’a, 13 Jack De Belin. Subs (all used): 14 Jacob Liddle, 15 Blake Lawrie, 16 Hamish Stewart, 17 Dylan Egan
Tries: Gutherson (17, 46), Tuipulotu (35); Goals: Holmes 5/5
SCORING SEQUENCE: 2-0, 2-6, 2-8, 8-8, 8-14; 8-20, 14-20, 20-20, 20-22, 22-22; 23-22
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Eels: Zac Lomax; Dragons: Clint Gutherson
Penalty count: 6-6; Half-time: 8-14; Referee: Gerard Sutton; Attendance: 19,302