Key posts
Who gets the first win tonight?
Parramatta on the attack
Some promising signs from Parramatta, who have had back-to-back sets inside the Eels 10 metres.
Not the best end-of-set execution though, with Dylan Brown sending a grubber the way of Will Kennedy for the Cronulla fullback to scoop up easily.
Sharks 6, Eels 0 after 16 minutes
Iro scores first for Sharks
Eels error, set restart, and Kayal Iro finally slips through the Parramatta right-edge defence to score.
It was a quick play-the-ball from Will Kennedy that allowed Cronulla to get numbers on the outside, before Nicho Hynes delivered a beautiful cut-out pass to Iro, who slips through the gap between Bailey Simonsson and Will Penisini on the outside.
Hynes adds the extras with the conversion, and the Sharks officially have the first try of magic round.
Sharks 6, Eels 0 after 11 minutes
Sharks get first penalty in early arm wrestle
We’re going set-for-set early on in this match, with the Eels probably just winning the field possession at the moment.
That’s thanks to the kicking game of Mitch Moses, which is forcing Cronulla to start their sets deep in their half.
The Sharks are let off the hook here though because the Eels give away the first penalty for Sean Russell being offside from the kick chase.
Sharks 0, Eels 0 after five minutes
Magic round under way
Magic round is officially under way, with Sean Russell taking the kick-off for the Eels.
A bit of a shaky start from the Sharks, who let the ball bounce and almost tumble over the dead ball line, luckily Will Kennedy manages to salvage the ball and Cronulla march 40 metres in their first set.
Sharks 0, Eels 0 with 80 minutes to go
Expert tips from Nicolussi at Suncorp
Maroons players cleared of ‘eye gouge’ after Davis drops complaint
In case you missed it, there was a bit of drama in last night’s women’s Origin match, after Blues hooker Keeley Davis claimed she was the victim of an eye-gouge.
Davis has since decided not to pursue the complaint, after initially raising the issue with referee Belinda Sharpe alongside captain Isabelle Kelly in the 15th minute of the match
But Davis has since decided to drop the accusation after footage of the incident was inconclusive.
The match review committee did not charge a Maroons player for the offence when the Origin charge sheet was released on Friday morning, but Davis had the option to pursue the complaint further if she wanted to, which she decided against.
Read the full story here.
Sharks team list
One change for Craig Fitzgibbon tonight, with Daniel Atkinson dropping out of the team and Jesse Colquhoun added to the interchange bench.
1. Will Kennedy, 2. Sam Stonestreet, 3. Jesse Ramien, 4. Kayal Iro, 5. Ronaldo Mulitalo, 6. Braydon Trindall, 7. Nicho Hynes, 8. Addin Fonua-Blake, 9. Blayke Brailey, 17. Thomas Hazelton, 11. Briton Nikora, 12. Billy Burns, 13. Cameron McInnes (c), 10. Oregon Kaufusi, 15. Siosifa Talakai, 16. Braden Hamlin-Uele, 20. Jesse Colquhoun
Cameron McInnes in action.Credit: Getty Images
Eels team list
Just the one change for Jason Ryles team, with Matt Doorey dropping out of the 17, with Jordan Samrani to start at the bench.
1. Isaiah Iongi, 2. Bailey Simonsson, 3. Will Penisini, 4. Sean Russel, 5. Josh Add-Carr, 6. Dylan Brown, 7. Mitch Moses (c), 8. Jack Williams, 9. Ryley Smith, 10. Junior Paulo, 11. Charlie Guymer, 12. Kitione Kautoga, 13. J’maine Hopgood, 14. Dylan Walker, 15. Luca Moretti, 17. Sam Tuivaiti, 22. Jordan Samrani
Mitchell Moses is on the pitch again for Parramatta tonight.Credit: Getty Images
Nicho Hynes has now missed 10 field goals. But it’s not all his fault
Speaking of my Magic Round offsider Christian Nicolussi, check out this story from him yesterday.
The forgotten story from Wests Tigers’ golden-point thriller last Sunday was the three missed field goal attempts from Cronulla’s $1 million man Nicho Hynes.
Hynes was just inches away from being the hero when his first shot travelled nearly 50m and slammed into the left upright.
A second attempt in the 80th minutes was charged down by Tigers prop Terrell May, then a third attempt, in the second minute of extra time, was again blocked, this time by fullback Jahream Bula.
Hynes has had 16 drop goal attempts during his time at the Sharks, and he has missed 10 of them.
Rather than blame Hynes, however, his Cronulla teammates could have done more to help him seal the win on Sunday.
Read the full story here.
