Parramatta centre Brad Graham scored a 79th minute try to give his side a dramatic 28-26 win over the Vodafone Junior Warriors in tonight’s NYC season opener at Mount Smart Stadium.
The home side raced to a 16-0 lead inside 15 minutes and led throughout the match – until Graham’s devastating strike.
That levelled the score at 26-26 with halfback Daniel Mortimer sliding through the close-range conversion for a victory the Parramatta players deservedly celebrated.
Earlier Vodafone Junior Warriors standoff Shaun Johnson had shown numerous touches of class, scoring two tries himself and producing a stunning chip kick which he collected expertly and then stepped and swerved past defenders before sending interchange forward Elijah Niko in for magnificent try.
That gave the Vodafone Junior Warriors a 20-10 lead and they were ahead 26-16 early in the second half but couldn’t withstand the Eels’ magnificent comeback.
Match details:
At Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland
Vodafone Junior Warriors 26 (Shaun Johnson 2, Siuatonga Likiliki, Thomas Ah Van, Elijah Niko tries; Kevin Locke 3 conversions).
Parramatta Eels 28 (Domenic Nasso 2, Albert Kelly, Mitchell Johnson, Brad Graham tries; Daniel Mortimer 4 conversions).
Halftime: 20-10 Vodafone Junior Warriors.
Referees: Ashley Klein and Alan Shortall.
Crowd: 20,000.
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