A virtuoso performance from Mitchell Moses was the difference as the Eels scraped past a much-improved Wests Tigers side 28-22 in a thriller on Easter Monday.
Moses had the ball on a string as he set up four of his side's five tries – three from kicks and another with a looping cut-out pass – with the star half now boasting 10 wins in 12 games against the club he played 67 games for between 2014-17.
After the Eels got out to a 22-6 lead early in the second half, the Wests Tigers stormed back to close the gap to two points with 10 minutes to go, before Maika Sivo's second try of the game, and Moses' fourth conversion, confirmed Parramatta's second win of 2023.
Moses acts as Easter Bunny
While Moses was the best on ground, powerhouse Wests Tigers winger Junior Tupou wasn't far behind, with the 20-year-old enjoying his best game at NRL level so far, with a try, seven tackle busts and three line breaks.
Despite putting in their best showing of the year, the loss marks the first time in Wests Tigers history that they have started a season 0-6 and extends their winless streak to 11 games, dating back to the end of July last year.
Doueihi injures his knee
There is also huge concern for five-eighth Adam Doueihi who suffered what appeared to be a serious leg or knee injury in the loss, while centre Brent Naden has a suspected broken collarbone.
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Match Snapshot
- Mitchell Moses had four try assists, ran for over 100 metres and kicked for over 500 metres in the win.
- Wests Tigers centre Brent Naden suffered a suspected broken collarbone in the act of scoring his side's third try and failed to finish the match, while five-eighth Adam Doueihi suffered a leg or knee injury minutes later and was also ruled out.
Naden try comes at a price
- Junior Tupou had a breakthrough game at first-grade level, powering to 221 metres in addition to scoring a try, making three line breaks and breaking seven tackles.
Super finish by Tupou gives us a superb finish
- After soaking up some early pressure the Eels scored first after a brilliant Mitchell Moses grubber was claimed by Dylan Brown who offloaded for Clint Gutherson to cross.
- Moses played the key role in the next one too, first making a break to put his side in good field position, before kicking for Will Penisini to score a few tackles later.
- Starford To'a got one back for the home side 16 minutes from the breaking, scooping up a wayward Paramatta pass to run 70 metres untouched.
Starford is the Star man
- But for the third time in the half a Moses kicked ended in a Parramatta try, this time for back-rower Bryce Cartwright.
- With his side up 18-6 at the break, Moses laid on another, this time with a looping pass to Maika Sivo, before the Wests Tigers hit back through Asu Kepaoa.
- A third try from Naden, and a Doueihi conversion from out wide, reduced the gap to six with 15 minutes to go.
- Tupou then scored to make it a two-point game, but with Doueihi off the field the sideline conversion was left to Api Koroisau who missed to the right.
- Luke Brooks kicked a penalty with two minutes left to make it a one-score game again, but his side couldn't close the gap in the end.
- The game marked David Klemmer's 200th NRL appearance.
- The Wests Tigers have now lost their last seven games at Accor Stadium, while the Eels have won eight of their past nine games against their western Sydney rivals.
Play of the Game
It was a sign of things to come as Mitchell Moses laid on a brilliant assist to open the scoring at Accor Stadium. The clever in-field grubber showed great skill from Moses, but equally good vision from his halves partner Dylan Brown who popped up at the perfect time and then offloaded to a waiting Clinton Gutherson.
Moses kick for Gutho try
What They Said
"I am very, very proud of the effort they put in. [Moses] was crucial, general kicking, the three tries from kicks, and his goalkicking... when it's your day it's your day isn't it? Three tries from kicks, after last week and the kicking efforts of Brisbane, that disappoints us because we put a lot of time into it." – Wests Tigers coach Tim Sheens
Wests Tigers: Round 6
"He [Moses] kicked them to death and started the second half with another try assist, he was very good today. I haven't looked at the numbers yet, but I know how much defence we had to do, they had a fair bit of ball on our try line. It's a hard one to get a read on and the boys were pretty flat in the sheds after the game. Positives out of it are we got the two points, we got no injuries and we didn't get anyone suspended." – Eels coach Brad Arthur
Eels: Round 6
What's Next
A bye next week offers the Wests Tigers a chance to reflect on what's gone wrong and what they can change ahead of returning to action against the Sea Eagles in Round 8. Parramatta meanwhile are back at home on Sunday, taking on the Bulldogs at CommBank Stadium.