The Serve

Awesome Parramatta humiliate Broncos

>

Storm rout Titans in perfect finals lead up

Brisbane will play in its sixteenth straight finals series, however based on today’s form, that appearance will be quite brief, with the Broncos slaughtered 68-22 by a rampant Parramatta.

The Broncos led 16-6 midway through the first half, with Nick Emmett dropping possession when he seemed destined to score and extend the lead. That good fortune sparked the Eels into action, with Parramatta ruthlessly laying on five tries in the remaining nineteen minutes before the break to lead 34-16, blowing the game wide open.

The Eels were in no mood to relax as they smashed their three game losing streak, posting three more tries in the opening sixteen minutes of the second period.

Brisbane were given a ten minute reprieve, before the carnage continued, with four more tries from the 66th minute to demoralize the defending premiers.

Krisnan Inu scored three tries, while four other Eels grabbed a double.

Parramatta’s reward for winning today is a trip to Auckland on a short turnaround. The Eels meet the Warriors in a rematch of the opening round, where the Warriors side piled on thirty points before half time.

While the Eels were at their devastating best, the talking point after the game was the Emmett error.

“If they would have scored it might have broken our backs,” said Eels second rower Nathan Hindmarsh.

Not helping Brisbane was another spate of injuries, this time claiming Justin Hodges, Tonie Carroll and Dave Taylor. Taylor’s season appears over after he sustained a broken thumb, while Carroll and Hodges may be available for next weeks sudden death final in Melbourne.

“We’re a footy team that needs a few things to go for us right now because the major players aren’t playing for us. I think when we lost the ball over the tryline our whole psyche just changed,” said Wayne Bennett.