Wests Tigers have seen their two-game winning streak snapped in dominant fashion by the Parramatta Eels — going down 58-20 on Monday's match at ANZ Stadium.
Eels' centre Nathan Davis was the star of the show on the day, chalking up three tries and a slew of conversions to match, while winger Halauafu Lavaka also added two tries as the hosts stormed their way to an impressive 38-point win.
Wests Tigers started with a set on the hosts’ line after Parramatta botched the kick-off, but they were unable to come up with points.
A penalty in the ensuing set allowed the Eels to break from their own end and cross for the first points of the match through hooker Kaysa Pritchard close to the posts.
The hooker sold the dummy to burrow over and give the hosts a 6-0 lead after Nathan Davis made no mistake from next to the uprights.
The Wests Tigers looked destined to hit back shortly after when they shifted the ball to the right close to the Eels’ line, but a knock-on allowed Fabian Goodall the chance to scoop up the ball and streak away down the left wing.
The winger beat Mason Farrell coming across in cover to extend Parramatta’s lead to 10-0 after just eight minutes of play.
The scoreline soon went from bad to worse for the visitors when a sharp break from Tepai Moeroa saw Parramatta once again on the attack.
Pritchard was backing up on the inside before linking up with Zach Dockar-Clay, who raced away to plant the ball down under the black dot.
Davis converted once again and the scoreline read 16-0 after 11 minutes.
A sharp left to right move soon after saw the visitors hit back on the scoreboard through winger Tom Satterthwaite. Moses was unable to add the extras from the sideline — hitting the post — to leave the score at 16-4.
Both sides had chances to cross for the next try of the match but could not come up with the final pass until Ryan Matterson crossed in the 31st minute.
The five-eighth sold the dummy after drifting across field, and scooted through to score under the posts to extend the hosts’ lead.
Davis’ conversion saw the score read 22-4.
Another big attacking chance for the Wests Tigers presented in points for Parramatta in the 35th minute when Goodall picked up a cross-field kick and raced away down the sideline. Moses came across in cover defence, but the winger was able to link back up with Davis, who raced away to score under the posts and give himself a simple conversion to blow the score out to 28-4.
Wests Tigers were able to snare back one of those tries just before half-time with an important four-pointed to centre Watson Heleta.
Heleta — playing for the injured Marion Seve — was backing up well on the inside after a half-break from Liolevave, and planted the ball down to reduce the score to three converted tries after Moses added the extras.
That saw the score read 28-10 at the main break.
The visitors started with a great chance for points after a 40/20 attempt from Moses drew about a knock-on, but they could not make it count.
Instead, Parramatta extended their lead in the 46th minute when fullback Corey Makelim broke free down the short side to plant the ball down.
Davis’ sideline conversion was good and the lead was back out to 24 points.
The hosts crossed again in the 49th minute through Halauafu Lavaka, who soared highest to plant the ball down following a cross-field kick. Davis’ strong afternoon with the boot continued as he extended the lead to 40-10.
Wests Tigers crossed in the 59th minute through Salesi Funaki after a sharp run on the right edge, but that did little to stop the visitors.
They crossed again in the 62nd minute when Davis got on the outside of his man to race away and score next to the posts — leaving the scoreline at 46-14.
Lavaka crossed for his second of the day in the 69th minute following a sharp cross-field kick, and Davis added his third soon after following an intercept and an offload — blowing the score out to 58-14 with six minutes remaining.
Wests Tigers posted the final score of the day when Tyler Cassel went through a gap close to full time, but it was simply for show.
Parramatta had dominated from start to finish, and emerged with a 58-20 win as a result.
Final — Parramatta Eels 58 def. Wests Tigers 20
