The Parramatta Eels - rechristened the ‘Territory Eels’ for the night - have run out 60-14 winners against the Wests Tigers at Alice Springs’ ANZAC Oval.
It was a warm welcome for the adopted Eels, with temperatures hovering above 30 degrees for most of the match, and a crowd of 3,284 throwing its weight behind the Blue and Gold.
Head coach Brad Arthur’s 23-man side put first points on the board through starting fullback Ken Sio, finding a gap on the right hand edge in the fifth minute to ground the ball and convert his own four-pointer.
Luke Kelly’s aggressive kicking game including a cross-field bomb for a try to winger Semi Radradra, while centre Ryan Morgan burrowed over early for his own four-pointer, and added a second when he snatched an Eels bomb from the Tigers’ defensive line just after halftime.
Chris Sandow also found form with the boot, giving his teammates a piggyback with a 40-20 late in the night, and offloading the ball through Kenny Edwards to send Vai Toutai over for a try.
Read the full match report at parraeels.com.au
Dyldam Parramatta Eels 60 (Ryan Morgan 2, Peni Terepo 2, Ken Sio, Manu Ma’u, Semi Radradra, Vai Toutai, Liam Foran, Toby Evans tries; Sandow 7, Sio 3 goals) defeated Wests Tigers 14 (Corey Brown 2, Jy Hitchcox tries; Levido goal).
