Friday should have been Tom Trbojevicโs night โ it should have been the Manly fullbackโs time to show Blues coach Laurie Daley heโd made a mistake not picking him in his NSW Origin I squad.
Instead, it was the Parramatta show, as Joash Papalii ran away with a try on debut to help the Eels to a 30-10 upset against the Sea Eagles without star players Mitchell Moses and Zac Lomax.
The Sea Eagles now tumble out of the top eight, as the Eels claimed back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
Trbojevic did have moments โ he had his hand in both Lehi Hopoateโs first-half tries โ but it was nowhere near the show-stopping performance youโd expect from a player of his calibre whoโd been overlooked for the biggest series of the year.
Parramatta, on the other hand, were gritty.
Even after the Eels lost Will Penisini in the second minute to concussion, the team rallied.
It meant Papalii made his debut via the bench much earlier than anticipated, but the 20-year-old came bounding onto the field, ready to play the next 78 minutes.
Itโs been a good night for Parramatta.Credit: Getty Images
It wasnโt perfect, with Manly targeting Papaliiโs side for both of Hopoateโs tries, but it was enough. The Eelsโ rising star also managed a flick pass out the back to Jordan Samrani for Parramattaโs first try of the night.
Manly in general were clunky, and the team struggled to come up with any sort of attacking edge without halfback Daly Cherry-Evans who was away on Origin duties.
Second-string halfback Jake Arthur struggled to have any kind of meaningful impact on the game, and the Sea Eagles attack suffered as a result.
Lehi Hopoate scored a double on the left wing.Credit: Getty Images
Second half tries for Isaiah Iongi and Jโmaine Hopgood all but sealed the win for Parramatta with 20 minutes to go, especially after Hopoate was denied a hat-trick and taken over the sideline.
There were only 13,500 fans at CommBank Stadium on Friday night, but when the full-time siren sounded, the crowd erupted.
Fridayโs win lifts the Eels off the bottom of the ladder, with the two teams directly above them โ Penrith and Newcastle โ facing off against each other on Saturday.
About The Author
