Parramatta will field a full-strength side this Saturday evening when they face reigning NRL Premiers Penrith in what’s set to be a mouth-watering Battle of the West clash at the foot of the Mountains.
The Eels will be desperate for a strong result in their final pre-season trial against the Panthers after narrowly going down to St George Illawarra 26-22 last Sunday evening.
Played at CommBank Stadium in Parramatta, the largely inexperienced Eels outfit got off to a flying 16-0 start before the visitors scored three tries in less than 10 minutes to level proceedings by half-time.
Brad Arthur’s men regained the lead shortly after the break, but once again the Dragons hit back with a double that would ultimately see them march towards a surprising four-point win.
Speaking after the match, Arthur said he was pleased with his side’s start to the game before all the momentum shifted towards the opposition.
“Our start was pretty important to us, we controlled the game well, completed high, played at the right end of the field and then in the last 60 minutes it felt like we defended a lot, which I’m quite OK with as well because we had to learn a few things down on our try-line and we had some young blokes there as well and some blokes that don’t have that experience of week to week NRL, [they] probably got taught a few things today,” he said.
Along with the narrow loss, another disappointing aspect out of the match was what appeared to be a serious knee injury to winger Haze Dunster after Dragon Tyrell Fuimaono’s hip drop tackle on the 22-year-old left him in terrible pain. Arthur confirmed the Wentworthville junior would be sidelined for “a little while”.
Meanwhile, Parramatta and Penrith will go head to head this Saturday evening at BlueBet Stadium for the first time since their spicy and controversial Semi Final clash last September.
Arthur confirmed all players, except injured wingers Dunster and Maika Sivo, will be available for the juicy clash, which kicks off at 5pm.
Troy Dodds is Parra News' Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia’s leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.