Farnworth fires Dolphins to NRL win over battling Eels
George Clarke |
Herbie Farnworth has continued his dazzling form to help the Dolphins seal a rare away win in a 20-16 triumph over bottom-placed Parramatta.
The centre proved the difference when he surged downfield for a 60m breakaway try at CommBank Stadium on Thursday night to hand Kristian Woolf’s side their fourth win of the NRL season.
The English international got through a mountain of work for the Dolphins, clocking up 162m from 12 carries, registering seven tackle busts and pulling off a late try-saving tackle on Will Penisini.
But his crowning moment came when the scores were locked at 12-12 in the 65th minute and the rangy centre burst through a Mitchell Moses tackle and rounded Eels fullback Isaiah Iongi to score.
Farnworth’s try – his fourth in four consecutive games – set his side on the course to a victory which snapped the Dolphins’ run of eight-straight losses outside of Queensland.
“He (Farnworth) really came to the fore when we needed him tonight and those were two massive plays,” Woolf said.
“He’s a very talented player and that’s what he’s capable of. He’s a real athlete, a real competitor – there aren’t many guys that can do what he can physically.
“He has been a bit banged up, he didn’t have a full week of training, so for him to come out and play the way he did with those two big plays is a great sign for him.”
The loss leaves Jason Ryles’ Eels rooted to the bottom of the ladder with a 2-7 record.
Moses struggled to put his stamp on the game and the halfback was involved in a tense debate with referee Wyatt Raymond when J’maine Hopgood was penalised for a second-half crusher tackle.
Ryles was left feeling this was a game that got away from his side after they burst out the gates early in the second half.
“I love the effort and how hard we fought, we created opportunities and they had to compete at 95 per cent,” Ryles said.
“An old bloke told me once that the scoreboard is the last thing to change… there’s a lot of things improving out there and that’s all I can ask.
“But we need to make sure we’re not giving teams a leg-up.”
Matt Doorey crashed in off a Dylan Walker short ball after Dolphins winger Jack Bostock and Eels counterpart Bailey Simonsson had traded tries in a first half that ended 6-6.
But some smart play from Kodi Nikorima allowed the Dolphins to hit back through Connelly Lemuelu.
Nikorima was once again the provider to set up Farnworth, who eased through a Moses tackle and then took on Iongi and won.
The Dolphins then added a penalty goal through Jamayne Isaako when Hopgood was penalised for a crusher tackle on Farnworth.
An unconverted try from five-eighth Brown cut the deficit with five minutes left to give the Eels hope, but the Dolphins hung on to claim a hard-fought win.
AAP
