Moses the Eels' newest saviour, Montoya takes one for the team, Eels' horror injury toll worsens and Josh Jackson the modern 'Mr Perpetual Motion'.

Moses earns hero status with match-winner

It was his vision that broke the stalemate of the first 26 minutes for Bevan French to score a spectacular four-pointer in the corner but it was Mitchell Moses's golden point field goal that will have Eels fans in raptures.

The former Wests Tiger delivered a superb pass to put French in space, after copping plenty of criticism for his defence he physically stood up and even forced an error out of Will Hopoate and then slotted the field goal in golden point from 25 metres out.

In their third game together and with a team decimated by injuries the combination of Moses and Corey Norman showed that there is a solid grounding for a productive partnership in the Eels halves in the future and having two players capable of delivering clutch plays is a bonus for any team.

Eels' horror injury toll worsens

The list of Parramatta players with season-ending injuries appears to be growing by the week and there was plenty of concern being shown for back-rower Manu Ma'u when he was assisted from the field with a leg injury 12 minutes into the contest.

Twisted awkwardly in a tackle a few minutes earlier, Ma'u tried to play on but eventually headed up the tunnel and played no further part in the game.

The aggressive tone he helps to set was missed terribly by Parramatta as the Bulldogs roared back into the contest and coach Brad Arthur will have his fingers crossed that it's not another long-term injury for his team.

 


Montoya takes one for the team

Will Hopoate brought back nightmares that have plagued Phil Sigsworth for more than 30 years with a horrendous pass on his own try-line that not only cost his team two points but Marcelo Montoya 10 minutes in the sin-bin in the third minute of the game.

With the Eels providing excellent kick-chase pressure Hopoate sent a pass straight across the face of Montoya who was ruled to have illegally pushed Moses out of the contest before grounding the ball in his own in-goal.

Match officials considered the possibility of a penalty try but couldn't be certain Moses would have won the race to the ball and with his team able to defend the next 10 minutes one man down in the defensive line Montoya's split second decision proved to be a prudent one.

Edwards still Parra's biggest pest

When you play the game with as much bravado as Kenny Edwards does you've got to be near perfect and the perennial Parramatta pest was far from that on Friday night.

The Eels were in complete control when they went to the half-time break leading 12-2 but three Edwards errors early in the second half gave Canterbury the platform from which to launch their comeback.

He gave away a penalty on his own try-line for getting involved in the ruck when not square at marker and then at the end of the ensuing set went for an intercept on the last tackle that gave the Bulldogs a third straight set on the Eels' line.

They finally scored their first try of the game through Josh Morris and then continued to hammer away in Eels territory, Edwards gifting them another shot with a simple knock on 12 metres out in front of his own posts.

The Bulldogs players who were first on the scene showed incredible restraint not to rub Edwards's nose fair in it but there's no question his errors allowed for a swing in momentum that lasted basically the entire second half.

Josh Jackson the new 'Mr Perpetual Motion'

It's a nickname belonging to Eels great Ray Price but even he would have a hard time arguing that Bulldogs back-rower Josh Jackson is not the modern equivalent of Mr Perpetual Motion.

Playing his third game in the space of eight days – including a trip to New Zealand to play the Warriors – Jackson gave everything of himself for 85 minutes and didn't deserve to walk off the field anything but a winner.

In 204 minutes of football he has made 102 tackles and is often the man making desperate last-ditch efforts for his side.

When Semi Radradra crashed over it was Jackson who was coming across in cover and when the Eels earned a crucial penalty in golden point it was Jackson who raced out of the line from the tap kick to try and win momentum back for his team.

A marvel who any coach would love to have in their team.