Parramatta have not been able to send retiring co-skipper Nathan Cayless out a winner, succumbing to a determined and finals-bound Warriors outfit 26-12 at Parramatta Stadium on Saturday night.
Cayless, who will leave the game as the longest-serving captain in NRL history, completed his 259th and final NRL match for Parramatta in disappointing circumstances with the Eels unable to lift in a match that meant nothing in terms of their season, but plenty in terms of emotion.
Fittingly though, the Word Cup-winning Kiwi skipper bagged the 28th and final try of his career in the 75th minute when he successfully chased down a Daniel Mortimer grubber, delighting the 11,383 pro-Eels crowd.
The Warriors geared up perfectly for the finals, weathering the pressure of a tight first half before asserting their authority midway through the second stanza with three tries in a 14 minute period to runaway with a result that keeps them in fifth position.
Feleti Mateo and Krisnan Inu also said farewell to Parramatta fans in the match with both, ironically, moving to the Warriors for next season and beyond.
Cayless made his way through an Old Boys guard of honour and a specially-made banner to take the field in his final game and it didn’t take long for his teammates to respond to the emotion of moment, producing a scintillating right-edge raid during the opening set of the match.
After looking strong with the ball during the opening exchanges, the Eels were then forced into a long period of defence on their own line and they finally cracked in the 16th minute when a clever little grubber kick from Warriors half-back Brett Seymour resulted in a right-edge try to centre Jerome Ropati.
Five-eighth James Maloney missed with the sideline conversion to leave the Warriors in front 4-0.
A thumping Jarryd Hayne touch-finder from a penalty put the Eels in ideal field position for their first points through centre Timana Tahu, who caught the Warriors’ defence by surprise with a quick tap and step before planting the ball over the line.
Winger Luke Burt landed the sideline conversion to put his side in front 6-0 on the half-hour.
But the Warriors’ response was swift when some Hayne enterprise backfired badly in the 32nd minute.
The brilliant full-back took the odds of chip and chase in his own half, but a superb counter-attack by Warriors winger Kevin Locke, who charged onto the bouncing ball, resulted in North Queensland-bound centre Brent Tate powering down the right wing for a fine New Zealand try against the run of play.
The Warriors took their 8-6 lead into the break, but they would spend the opening 10 minutes of the second stanza minus Maloney, who was sin-binned by referee Matt Cecchin for a professional foul when he tackled Eels winger Luke Burt without the ball after a kick that could have resulted in a Parramatta try.
The visitors emerged unaffected on the scoreboard without Maloney then opened up a eight-point buffer in the 56th minute when interchange forward Jesse Royal snuck over for his first try of the season off a clever inside Seymour pass.
When Locke loomed up in support of hooker Aaron Heremaia to score under the black dot in the 65th minute, this match as contest was as good as over at 20-6 in favour of the Warriors.
Winger Manu Vatuvei equaled Stacey Jones’ club record of 77 tries for the Warriors when he crossed in the 69th minute before Cayless grabbed a fitting four-pointer in the dying minutes to cap off his fine career.
New Zealand Warriors 26
Tries: Ropati, Tate, Royal, Locke, Vatuvei
Goals: Maloney 3
Parramatta Eels 12
Tries: Tahu, Cayless
Goals: Burt 2