The Eels registered their best win of Jason Ryles’ rookie season after a last-minute Reece Walsh try was disallowed over a marginal offside call.
With the Parramatta underdogs clinging to a two-point lead, Gehamat Shibasaki grubbered ahead, Joash Papalii fumbled, Walsh toed the ball ahead to touch down and kick-start scenes of jubilation in every corner of Suncorp Stadium, including the home coach’s box where Michael Maguire cackled in delight, unable to contain his relief.
But the joy was short-lived as referee Todd Smith was tipped off by the Bunker that Walsh did not have two feet behind Shibasaki at the point of impact and the Eels hung on for a 22-20 boilover.
In the earlier game, the Cowboys and Dragons appeared to have a gentlemen’s agreement that neither side would tackle at a first-grade standard in North Queensland’s 38-32 win.
1. Broncos’ top-four hopes torpedoed
How can a team like the Broncos be flying under the radar?
But they have been.
They had racked up five wins on the trot and had the Warriors looking nervously over their shoulder.
But their dramatic loss to Parra means they will likely end Round 21 a distant three wins adrift of the top four and probably drop back to sixth unless the Warriors lose to the Titans and Penrith are upset by the Tigers.
The upstart Eels took the fight to their star-studded opponents and Brisbane were frequently rattled by their swarming defence and creative attack.
Joash Papalii is tackled. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
It was the type of grimy contest that Brisbane have developed a habit of losing over the past two seasons and it would have been a lucky win if Shibasaki’s last roll of the dice had come off.
But Walsh was indeed in front as he put boot to ball and this result will possibly be a necessary late-season wake-up call for Maguire’s team but also an extremely costly missed opportunity when the final standings are tallied before the finals.
2. Parra starting to matter
None of the finals-bound teams will want to face Parra in the closing rounds.
They are a dangerous commodity in that they have several new faces which makes it hard for opponents to know what to expect.
And they have camaraderie under Ryles.
They were a rabble last year after Brad Arthur was punted mid-season and Trent Barrett inherited a squad that mostly looked like they didn’t want to be there.
Ryles has jettisoned a few of those stale veterans and replaced them with a raft of young prospects, a rejuvenated Josh Addo-Carr and hungry journeymen like Dean Hawkins and Jack Williams.
They deserve full marks for the way they continued to attack the Brisbane line throughout the contest even when they held a slender lead in the closing stages. They didn’t go into their shell and it would have been a heartbreaking way to lose if Papalii’s last-minute spill cost them the game.
He was dynamic in his first NRL start at fullback, deputising at the back with Isaiah Iongi out with a broken hand.
3. Eels refuse to lie down
Parra notched the first try via a Sean Russell chip and chase and looked to be on their way to a second when Adam Reynolds plucked an intercept to run 70 metres to the try line.
The veteran Bronco was helped to the stripe by a combination of the dewy surface and the momentum of Will Penisini’s last-ditch tackle.
Kobe Hetherington put the Broncos up 14-8 when he trampled through the middle but Lomax latched onto a brilliantly executed kick lobbed onto the wing by Mitch Moses to draw within two at the break.
Lomax streaked to the corner post early in the second stanza for an 18-14 advantage and after he was denied once,
Reece Walsh combined with Kotoni Staggs to stop what looked like a certain Josh Addo-Carr try with desperation defence.
Walsh then conjured up a try to Billy Walters by accelerating through a tiny gap on the last tackle to get the Broncos’ noses in front.
Parra turned down a penalty shot at goal to go for a greater results and were rewarded when Addo-Carr finally got to his 150th career try for what turned out to be the match-winning try.
4. Cowboys win touch footy shoot-out
The Cowboys are technically still in the playoff hunt after their 36-30 triumph over St George Illawarra at QCB Stadium on Friday night.
But in reality they have a snowball’s chance in Townsville of surviving the sprint to the finish in the race for the top eight.
They have hopped past the Dragons into 11th spot but will finish the round at least five points off eighth spot.
Teams with below-average defensive stats sometimes sneak into the playoffs but the Cowboys are well below below-average.
Both teams produced a combination of touch, tag and tackle rugby league for the 80-minute try-fest.
Tom Dearden, Reece Robson and Scott Drinkwater had a field day slicing through St George Illawarra while Tyrell Sloan and Jacob Liddell added two tries each to their impressive attacking output for 2025.
North Queensland broke the game open with three tries late in the first half to lead 28-12 at the break.
The visitors reduced the gap to two with an unanswered treble before Dearden crossed for his second and Jaxon Purdue touched down from a Dragons short restart to seal an entirely unconvincing result.
5. Dragons rookie cops a bath
Every NRL player has a story about an early-career match-up against an elite opponent who delivered a reality check.
Dearden did just that to Dragons five-eighth Lyhkan King-Togia.
The Wally Lewis Medallist is in career-best form and he loves nothing more than stalking new prey with his signature show and go.
He ran rings around his rookie opponent down the right edge for the Cowboys.
LKT will be cringing when the Dragons sit down for their video review at how Dearden exposed him time and again with sleight of hand and speed off the mark to leave his younger legs flailing in his dust.
The Kick: Time to start penalising voluntary tackles
The referees need to dust off the page in the rule book about voluntary tackles and start penalising players in possession who deliberately dive to the turf to gain an advantage.
Reece Walsh flopped to the turf like he’d been punched in the head by one of his mates on the booze as he was returning a kick from his own goal line.
There was nothing the Parramatta defenders could do because you can’t drag a player on the ground backwards otherwise you will be penalised.
Rugby league is built on reward for effort, not worming your way out of a slippery situation by slumping to the ground.
