The Eels beat the Cowboys 19-18 on the back of late Mitchell Moses field goal, while trainer-gate 2.0 and a Bunker reversal of a last minute try ensured an epic finish at CommBank Stadium.
The Parramatta Eels dodged a massive bullet on Sunday afternoon with Mitchell Moses’ late field-goal helping them to a narrow 19-18 win over the North Queensland Cowboys at CommBank Stadium.
Jason Ryles’ men looked to be cruising after a quick-fire double to Josh Addo-Carr helped them to an 18-8 lead after 45 minutes, but the Coen Hess-inspired Cowboys clawed their way back into the contest, levelling the scores at 18-all by the 56th minute.
Riding on the back of a 197-metre effort from Hess, the Cowboys had all the momentum during the second half, and looked on target to scrape a morale-boosting win before Moses booted a 35-metre field goal with five minutes on the clock.
The Eels fans still had one last roller coaster to ride, though, with bunker overturning an 80th-minute try to Jake Clifford, who touched down adjacent to the left-hand upright after capitalising on a blatant obstruction from Jeremiah Nanai.
It was a highly significant win for the Eels, who would have just been two competition points ahead of the last-placed Titans had they succumbed to the fast-finishing visitors. Instead, they now sit 13th on the ladder with 20 points, having overtaken both the Knights and the Cowboys.
After their subpar showing against the Sharks last weekend, the Cowboys showed plenty of intent early, scoring the opening try through centre Jaxon Purdue. However, Addo-Carr’s exploitation of their porous right-side defence gave the Eels a 12-8 advantage at half time, before Will Penisini’s try put them ahead by 10 early in the second stanza.
Two tries in two minutes to Braidon Burns to Purdue got North Queensland back on level terms with 25 minutes left on the clock, but the Eels showed great defensive resolve to hang on for the one-point win.
Dylan Brown is not a Centre
Ryles sprung the selection surprise of the week when he selected Dylan Brown at centre to replace the injured Sean Russell. While the Eels got to chocolates, the move was not successful with Brown registering just nine runs for 77. Perhaps Ryles should have selected the disgruntled Bailey Simonsson
Kennedy not a Popular man in Parra
It’s fair to say that referee Liam Kennedy won’t be receiving any Christmas cards from the Eels’ faithful. The home fans were incensed by a couple of controversial calls during the opening half. The most significant came in the 20th minute of play when Kennedy gifted Zac Laybutt with a simple penalty goal after he judged that J’maine Hopgood’s interference in the ruck had caused Hess to drop the pill. The replay suggested it may have been a loose carry. He also got a fair bit of razzing after opting not to penalise the Cowboys for a couple of suspect tackles while contesting kicks.
Purdue strikes for the Cowboys! 🔥
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🔢 MATCH CENTRE https://t.co/0NhS3FPjfa pic.twitter.com/hDJJJCbOOr— Fox League (@FOXNRL) August 10, 2025
Cowboys’ Right-Side woes Continue
The Cowboys’ well-documented right-side woes continued on Sunday. Addo-Carr’s double means that the Townsville-based club’s right-side defence has now conceded 53 tries in 2025.
Addo-Carr has a double!
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🔢 MATCH CENTRE https://t.co/0NhS3FPjfa pic.twitter.com/0qU9MoSo2d— Fox League (@FOXNRL) August 10, 2025
Trainer Gate: The Sequel
While it may not have been as significant as the incident on the Gold Coast last weekend, we did have another moment of trainer interference at CommBank Stadium. With 13 minutes on the clock, and the game locked at 18-all, an errant pass from Burns evaded Semi Valemi and made contact with a Cowboys trainer. It was ruled a mutual infringement, and the Cowboys regained possession of the ball.
Here come the Cowboys!
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🔢 MATCH CENTRE https://t.co/0NhS3FPjfa pic.twitter.com/ezjFdJ7HSt— Fox League (@FOXNRL) August 10, 2025
TEAMS
Eels team: 1. Joash Papalii 2. Zac Lomax 3. Viliami Penisini 22. Dylan Brown 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Dean Hawkins 7. Mitchell Moses 8. J’maine Hopgood 9. Ryley Smith 10. Junior Paulo 11. Charlie Guymer 12. Jack Williams 15. Luca Moretti 13. Dylan Walker 14. Tallyn Da Silva 16. Matt Doorey 17. Kelma Tuilagi. 18th man: 4. Jordan Samrani
Cowboys team: 1. Scott Drinkwater 19. Semi Valemei 3. Jaxon Purdue 4. Viliami Vailea 5. Braidon Burns 6. Jake Clifford 7. Tom Dearden 17. Coen Hess 9. Reece Robson 10. Jason Taumalolo 11. John Bateman 12. Jeremiah Nanai 13. Reuben Cotter 14. Marly Bitungane 16. Kai O’Donnell 20. Nicholas Lenaz 22. Kaiden Lahrs. 18th man: 18. Jaxson Paulo
