Gutho scores three as Eels fire to pummel poor Knights
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Parramatta captain Clint Gutherson crossed for his first career hat-trick as the big names combined to put a poor Knights side to the sword with a 43-12 win at CommBank Stadium on Friday night.
Both sides traded tries early before the Eels produced eight line breaks in the first half to set up a 30-6 lead against a Knights outfit that missed 65 tackles throughout the contest.
Marquee men Dylan Brown and Mitchell Moses crossed for tries before Gutherson fooled a clumsy Knights defensive line at dummy half twice to cross for a double.
He had a treble by the 46th minute as the Eels let slip a few more opportunities throughout the evening.
Knights coach Adam O'Brien opted to start Kalyn Ponga at five-eighth, a move that backfired with the representative star missing 10 tackles throughout the contest.
Brown jumps out of the gates
A fifth try before half-time via Sean Russell set up a 24-point lead and the Knights never looked threatening in the second half to entertain a comeback despite a try to Dominic Young in the 63rd minute.
Gutherson's third of the evening, finishing off another Moses linebreak, ensured the Eels secured a much-needed win leading into their Magic Round clash with the Titans.
A late offload from J'maine Hopgood helped the Eels to their seventh of the evening through Junior Paulo under the posts.
Match: Eels v Knights
Round 9 -
home Team
Eels
10th Position
away Team
Knights
14th Position
Venue: CommBank Stadium, Sydney
Match snapshot
- Parramatta lost Ryan Matterson to illness pre-game with Bryce Cartwright, playing in his 150th game, starting on the edge.
- Newcastle's night started how it turned out, with an error after the first tackle following a poor pass from Kurt Mann, who didn't play the second half due to an abdominal injury.
- Eels halves Dylan Brown and Mitchell Moses crossed for early tries, taking the line on in a positive for Brad Arthur after recent performances.
- The Eels racked up eight line breaks to one in the opening half with the home side racing to a 30-6 lead. They finished with 13 overall.
- Parramatta made 16 errors in the win, highlighting how much they could've scored more points with chances going begging.
- Eels skipper Clint Gutherson racked up the first hat-trick of his NRL career after 14 doubles previously.
- The Knights missed 65 tackles in the loss, including 35 in the opening 40 minutes.
- 12 of Parramatta's 17 all ran for over 100 metres including Makahesi Makatoa (194 metres) off the bench.
- The Eels have now won their past six games against the Knights.
Play of the game
Some of the Eels tries on Friday night were so soft that it wasn't until Clint Gutherson's third of the evening did we see expansive play that was finished off by the Eels captain.
Gutho gets a hat-trick
What they said
"I thought we played the power game the best we have this year. We were a bit frustrated that we left a bit out there but I challenged the forwards to run off the back fence. It's the best we looked in terms of what we wanted to look like with the footy. We want to get better. We completed at 50 percent at one stage in the second half but it's the closest we've been to where we want to get to." - Eels coach Brad Arthur.
"I didn't see it coming. It was a horrible performance, let's be honest, but they haven't been horrible [all year]. I'm not going to kick them to death, I think it's been a really big month, on field and off field. There's some stuff going on there... and losing Brails (Jayden Brailey)... it probably sounds like excuses but I don't care if they sound like excuses, the team has been working hard for a month." - Knights coach Adam O'Brien.
NRL Press Conference: Eels v Knights - Round 9, 2023
What's next
The Eels will enjoy a nine-day turnaround before they feature in the final game of Magic Round weekend next Sunday evening against the Titans. Bailey Simonsson (concussion) and Ryan Matterson (illness) could be available for the clash.
Newcastle, meanwhile, will miss out on playing at Suncorp Stadium with the bye scheduled for Adam O'Brien's men. Knights forward Adam Elliott is closing in on a return from a groin injury.
