An Aidan Sezer field goal has helped the Wests Tigers secure a 17-16 win over the Eels in a thrilling Easter Monday clash.
After the visitors skipped out to a one-point lead with 30 seconds on the clock, an offside penalty set up a grandstand finish with Clint Gutherson handed a chance to steal the victory from almost 40 metres out.
But with the ball falling left of the uprights, Benji Marshall's side celebrated back-to-back wins for the first time since Round 10 last year.
The Round 4 victory came on the back of an impressive defensive performance from the Wests Tigers, with Parramatta having over 53 per cent of the football and rookie Lachie Galvin sent to the sin bin in the second half.
Aidan Sezer kicks the field goal!
Galvin made an early statement against his junior club, punting a perfectly weighted grubber through the line which bounced up perfectly for a powering Justin Olam to score on the left edge.
Parramatta centre Morgan harper went close to getting his side on the board in the 11th minute but was denied after putting his foot into touch in the left corner.
A string of errors from the Wests Tigers invited the Eels into their half and the visitors were made to pay when Maika Sivo went over on the left edge thanks to some nice lead up work from Harper and Gutherson on the inside.
Maika Sivo Try
With possession creeping into Parramatta's favour, the home side continued to throw everything at the Wests Tigers but Marshall's side showed great defensive resolve to hold onto their two-point lead.
With Parramatta struggling to find a way through on the line, Gutherson opted to take a two-point penalty goal on the back of an offside penalty to level the scores 6-6 at the break.
Clinton Gutherson Try
Parramatta came out firing in the second half and skipped out to the lead when J'maine Hopgood broke through the line and into space before finding his skipper Gutherson in support. Gutherson converted to make it 12-6.
Galvin was sin binned three minutes later for a hip drop and Gutherson knocked over another penalty goal to give Parramatta a 14-point lead.
Back to full-strength, the Wests Tigers wrestled back momentum and forced Parramatta to defend their own line for several sets before Justin Olam found an overlap and powered over the line for a double.
Come the 69th minute and Galvin came up with a superb play, fooling former schoolmate Blaize Talagi before finding Jahream Bula in support to put the Tigers back in front 16-14 with ten minutes to play.
After a captain's challenge for a Sezer escort penalty was denied, the Eels slotted their third penalty shot for the night to lock the scoreboard 16-16.
A frantic final moment then unfolded with Super League recruit Sezer slotting a field goal in the final minute before the Eels were handed a chance to steal the victory with a two-point field goal.
But with the ball going wide and not a second left on the clock, the Wests Tigers celebrated their first back-to-back win under their new coach.
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Match Snapshot
- Wests Tigers young gun Lachie Galvin was placed on report and sent to the sin bin for a hip drop tackle on Kelma Tuilagi in the 49th minute.
- Kelma Tuilagi left the field with a suspected ankle injury in the 50th minute, however returned to the field late in the match.
- The Eels made six errors in the first-half while the Wests Tigers had seven. The visitors however conceded six penalties, compared to the Eels' two.
- Wests Tigers hooker Api Koroisau had another big day out in the No. 9 jersey, laying a team-high 44 tackles and running 30m out of dummy-half.
Galvin sent to the bin
- Eels skipper Clint Gutherson stood tall in the absence of halfback Mitch Moses, with 165 run metres to go with his second-half try.
- Eels winger Maika Sivo has scored nine tries in nine games against Wests Tigers.
- Wests Tigers have now won only two of their past six games at CommBank Stadium.
- The Wests Tigers haven't won back-to-back since Round 10 last year.
Play of the Game
Just ten minutes after returning from the sin bin, 18-year-old Lachie Galvin made amends with his teammates with a superb show-and -go to send Jahream Bula over to put his side back in the match. In just his 3rd NRL game, Galvin proved he is a star of the future, setting up a try early in the first-half with an inch-perfect grubber and showing great confidence, taking on the line on several occasions.
Jahream Bula Try
What they Said
"We had plenty of ball, plenty of field position but it felt like we probably just chased a soft win. We fluffed our way to the try line instead of running our way to the try line. We didn't ice our plays and left too many opportunities out there. The last couple of weeks we've built our game on being tough and rolling the sleeves up but I don't know if we wanted to do that as much as they did today. We need to understand that every game matters, every point for and against matters." - Eels coach Brad Arthur
Eels: Round 4
"That's probably the most resilient performance we've had in a tigers jersey for a long time. To lose Lachie for ten minutes and be down 14-6, the fight they showed to stay in it and when the kid came back on and had that little moment of brilliance with Jahream...that's what we play the game for. At the end there, coming down to that last kick, I'm just glad we got on the end of it. Lachie's just a guy that wants to do his job and doesn't want to let the team down. To come back on after probably feeling a bit down and produced what he did shows his character." - Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall.
Wests Tigers: Round 4
What's Next
The Eels head to GIO Stadium to face the Raiders on Sunday in Round 5 while the Wests Tigers will travel to Brisbane to meet with the Dolphins at Suncorp Stadium.