by Paul Cook –

While both sides could only boast a victory apiece in 2016 before kick-off, their form trajectories over the previous eight rounds were somewhat different.

Parramatta came in off the back of a seismic ice-breaking victory over Premiers Eastwood seven days earlier, and had also lost four of their games by less than five points. Gordon meanwhile, had only an opening day triumph over bottom-placed Penrith to show for their efforts. But an improved performance away at Souths in round eight had offered up some hope of a turnaround following back-to-back donuts (32-0 and 45-0) in rounds six and seven. Both teams certainly eyed this clash as a huge opportunity for victory number two.

Keen to get the Chatswood Oval faithful on board from the off, it was Gordon who asked the early questions with ball in hand and had the Two Blues on the backfoot. But they couldn’t turn the screw at set-piece time, Parra’s potent scrum releasing the pressure valve and enabling them to set about their own attacking forays.

It was a scrum penalty in the 9th minute that got them in position for the opening try of the match. The subsequent lineout drive was initially thwarted by a raft of scrambling Highlanders, but a couple of darts from prop Dave Lolohea and halfback Kaleb Rech got them within range before skipper Andrew Cox scooped up to dive home and give Tom Woods some easy extras.

Gordon’s afternoon took a turn for the worse a couple of minutes later when flanker Jack Maguire was sin-binned for a deliberate infringement as the Two Blues marched their way into the Highlanders half again. However, Woods kicked to touch to set-up a lineout maul – duly smothered and turned over – when another 3pts and a 10-0 lead might have played on Gordon’s potentially fragile mindset, especially considering they averaged a mere 16pts per game prior to kick-off.

The Highlanders should have levelled matters on 14 minutes, Parramatta’s defensive system unravelling to allow Brandon Quinn to counter down the left flank. But he hesitated when he should have passed infield to any one of three support runners and the ball was knocked from his grasp by a desperate lunge from Josh Minhinnick.

Any lasting inquest was superseded three minutes later when Paul Balekana didn’t pass up the opportunity to make amends. The flying winger had looked the most likely to open the door for the home side to that point with his pace and direct running style, and when a Gordon lineout went coast-to-coast and centre Matt MacDougall fixed a couple of defenders by holding it in both hands, the space was opened up for Balekana to stride home – skipper Terry Preston bringing his side level with the conversion.

A scrappy 15 minutes ensued, neither side able to take a significant grip on proceedings with loose carries a disease afflicting both camps and cruelling any hopes of extensive ball retention. Gordon were looking the more dangerous when they went wide and stretched their opponent’s line, while Parramatta’s dominant scrum was failing to provide them with the sustained platform it should have, due to their propensity to fall foul of the referee’s whistle in open play.

Another offside penalty conceded by the Two Blues in the 35th minute earned a warning from referee Amy Perrett, and gave Preston the chance to edge the Highlanders in front with the break looming, but his attempt fell wide of the uprights. It was a miss that took on a greater significance two minutes later when Gordon infringed just inside their own half and Andrew Cox pointed to the posts. But Tom Woods couldn’t succeed where Preston had failed and the two teams had to be content with a half-time stalemate.

Perhaps buoyed by the introduction of former skipper Tobias Gukibau in the front row, it was the Highlanders again who looked the sharper out of the sheds. Another penalty, and another warning for Cox, gave the hosts the chance to mirror Parramatta’s opening score. Working a lineout infield, it was hooker James Wilkinson’s powerful surge that paved the way for Matt Hayter to give the onrushing Gukibau a mismatch against a couple of static backs, and the home side led for the first time in the match.

The score seemed to destabilise Parra. Having scaled the heights to beat the Premiers last weekend, this was all a bit ‘after the Lord Mayor’s Show’ as Gordon proved to be a harder task than they’d perhaps envisaged. They struggled to build any momentum in the third quarter, weren’t enjoying much possession and when they did, they either kicked it away or ran back into traffic and spilt the pill or were turned over.

Gordon weren’t exactly fluid across the park either, but they were digging in and refusing to yield to one of the biggest teams – height and kilos-wise – in the competition. Time and again, players had to be pulled apart as tensions ran high but it set the tone and showed that the Highlanders had plenty of ticker for the fight, all they needed was the guile and composure inside the red zone to complement that dogged resilience.

That should have been the case just after the hour when halfback Hayter took advantage of the platform set by his forwards to snipe from the back of a ruck and dive for the chalk. Unfortunately for him, and for the home crowd who were already celebrating, he lost it forward as he grounded, Two Blues’ lock Senio Toleafoa taking the plaudits for his disruptive presence.

And that proved to be just about that for Gordon as an attacking threat, as with just over 10 minutes to go, Parramatta finally came alive. A tap and go penalty from Kaleb Rech found the Highlander’s defence disjointed, and a few forward carries later, and some dazzling feet and vision from flyhalf John Poe, opened up a gap out wide for inside centre Moamua Maliepo to go over.

Tom Woods wasn’t left with the easiest of conversions but the fullback slotted with aplomb from the sideline to level the scoreboard at 14-all and ensure a grandstand finish. Suddenly running from everywhere, Parra sniffed blood in the water as Gordon tired, and with only three minutes remaining, they ramped up enough pressure to put themselves in the box seat for a late winner.

Two penalties in quick succession had the visitors within a few metres, and when the alert Rech tapped for himself again to go for glory, Highlander’s centre Tui Tuisavaii couldn’t help himself and saw yellow for thwarting Rech’s run inside the 10 metre exclusion zone.

Left with a five metre scrum to grab the win, Parramatta’s forwards tried to drive their opponents back over their own line, but Gordon’s pack had improved significantly in the second half and refused to buckle. Rech opted to get the ball away and when Poe shifted it to the opposite flank, they had numbers out wide. But Josh Minhinnick still had plenty to do, skirting around Preston before slicing through Balekana and James Lough to touch down one-handed and ensure Parra’s first back-to-back wins in quite some time.

The Two Blues wagons are rolling then, although they may need a bit of oiling before they take on Sydney University next time out. And while Gordon may have some reason to gripe about their two yellow cards considering they ended up on the right side of a 14-10 penalty count, in the end, it was their inability to profit from gilt-edged opportunities that cost them.

Parramatta 21 (Andrew Cox, Moamua Maliepo, Josh Minhinnick tries; Tom Woods 3 cons) defeated Gordon 14 (Paul Balekana, Tobias Gukibau tries; Terry Preston 2 cons)