Moses leads Eels to record rout
PARRAMATTA has thrown the NRL finals wide open with a record 58-0 thrashing of Brisbane, which is set to send shockwaves through the Queensland glamour club.
The Eels have set up a date with minor premier Melbourne in a sudden-death semi-final next Saturday.
However, they could be without playmaker Dylan Brown after he was put on report for a crusher tackle on Anthony Milford.
Despite Brown being in doubt, it was hard to dampen the Eels’ euphoria after they ran in 11 tries.
The margin was the biggest in NRL finals history, eclipsing Newtown’s 55-7 thrashing of St George in 1944.
It was also the Eels’ biggest win over Brisbane and the Broncos’ biggest loss during Anthony Seibold’s tenure, the club set to undergo a summer of soul searching having been flagged as a top-four side.
While Siebold’s side boast the best young pack, the lack of direction in the spine was telling and the title drought has stretched into a 13th season.
Mitchell Moses was instrumental in the rout, having a hand in all of his side’s opening 12 points, bombing for Michael Jennings before doing it all himself when he kicked, regathered and fended off Alex Glenn’s attempt to hold him up. The Eels overawed Brisbane and when they led 24-0 at halftime, the Broncos still had not had a tackle inside their opposition’s 20m zone.
Even when play broke down, like it did when Moses found himself with nowhere to go on the last tackle, they still found a way through after the Eels No.7 spiralled a 30m cut out pass and Maika Sivo crossed.
The crowd of 29,372 rose to their feet every time Sivo touched the ball and when the Fijian try-scoring sensation got his second of the day and 22nd of the season, his name rang out around Bankwest.