Mitchell Moses leads Parramatta Eels to 17-16 NRL win over Penrith Panthers with golden-point area objective

Mitchell Moses – on the identical day he re-signed with Parramatta – has landed the match-winning area objective in opposition to Penrith, icing a 17-16 extra-time win that kickstarts the Eels’ season.

Up 16-14 with 20 seconds to play in a high-quality grand-final rematch, the Eels gave the Panthers one final likelihood to equalise when Junior Paulo struck Zac Hosking flush across the chin and located himself sin-binned.

Nathan Cleary kicked for contact and as soon as the ball was in play, drilled a two-point area objective to tie the match because the full-time siren sounded.

However Mitch Kenny’s excessive shot on Waqa Blake decreased the guests to 12 within the first minute of additional time and marched the Eels upfield the place Moses iced the match.

Thursday night time’s win on the Western Sydney Stadium will give the Eels untold confidence following a 0-3 begin that threatened to deliver their premiership tilt unstuck earlier than it had begun.

In 115 years {of professional} rugby league in Australia, solely as soon as has a aspect began a season 0-4 and gone on to hoist the trophy.

As an alternative of folding for a fourth straight week, the Eels turned of their most disciplined and affected person efficiency but to exhibit how they had been in a position to come inside hanging distance of final season’s title.

The Panthers, in the meantime, have begun their premiership defence with one win and two losses. With out Viliame Kikau and Api Koroisau, their assault has been under its grand final-winning finest, producing solely 44 factors throughout their first three matches in comparison with 86 in the identical interval final yr.

Hours after it was reported he had signed his extremely anticipated contract extension, Moses had some nice moments in regulation time, together with two compelled dropouts, a one-on-one deal with on Luke Garner near the road and a success on Jarome Luai that compelled an error within the first half.

The Eels managed the territory battle early, finishing at 94 per cent throughout the primary half. They seemed likeliest on their left, the place the Panthers discovered themselves weak within the absence of injured Liam Martin (hamstring).

Dylan Brown break up the defence with a grubber kick that discovered Bryce Cartwright within the 14th minute and two Penrith errors in fast succession invited the Eels to proceed their dominance.

It was the Panthers who had been subsequent to attain, although, and in opposition to the run of play.

Isaah Yeo managed to get his arms free in a deal with and offload to Scott Sorensen — contemporary off the interchange bench — and the omnipresent Dylan Edwards was there to complete issues off.

A Cleary penalty objective levelled the scores 8-8 on the half-time siren.

On his NRL debut, 23-year-old Penrith junior Brendan Palms broke the stalemate for Parramatta after his teammates unfold the ball down the suitable aspect halfway via the half.

Moses’s second penalty objective prolonged the result in eight factors however Penrith had ample time, first coming inside two factors because of a Zac Hosking strive, after which equalising within the last 20 seconds because of Cleary.

However Cleary was trumped in further time by his reverse quantity Moses.

AAP