Cowboys call for ‘common sense’ after controversial penalty

Cowboys skipper Reuben Cotter has called for common sense to prevail after Parramatta clinched a 32-30 win courtesy of a controversial penalty call late in the clash.

With six minutes left and the scores locked at 30-all, Mitchell Moses was ankle-tapped and lost the ball on the ground, but a split second later copped a stray slap to the face from Cowboys centre Tom Chester.

Referee Todd Smith initially awarded the knock-on, before Moses challenged the call because of the hit.

In real time, it looked as if Chester was playing for a late offload when his hand hit Moses in the face as he slid along the turf. The Bunker overruled Smith’s call and awarded the penalty. Moses slotted the goal from 20 out and 20 in to put the Eels in front.

It was to be the winning goal.

“I was disappointed with that one – I feel like common sense has to prevail with calls like that,” Cotter told media post-game.

“It’s not the reason we lost the game, but he was making a play at the ball and Moses knocked it on before that. It is what it is I guess.”

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It was a sentiment shared by coach Todd Payten.

“I’d hate a big game to be decided by that call,” he said.

“The fact he’d actually dropped the ball, the play was essentially dead or over, and for the bunker to intervene like that, it’s hard to cop.

“Mitch is on the ground. But, we had several chances to ice the game. So you get what you deserve.”

Moses had earlier started the night getting rocked by Jason Taumalolo. In a chaotic opening half against the Cowboys, the halfback took the line on with a threatening carry as he tried to inspire his teammates at CommBank Stadium.

What he wasn’t expecting was to run directly into Taumalolo, who stood his ground and completely levelled the No.7 with an earth-shattering shot.

“Moses is folded, creased, goodnight from Jason Taumalolo. Send him a get well card now … that was almost unfair,” Andrew Voss screamed on Fox League.

NRL great Michael Ennis was equally stunned, but applauded Moses’ toughness.

“Look at this, whack - he nearly knocked his head off his shoulders, it’s the whiplash of all whiplashes,” the former Origin star said.

“Tip your cap to Moses, straight back to his feet.”

The tackle swung the momentum early in the clash, as North Queensland headed up the other end of the field and scored through former Eel Reed Mahoney.

That was where the Cowboys’ first-half joy ended however, with young fullback Apa Twidle and five-eighth Ronald Volkman putting the Eels ahead.

Things went from bad to worse for the visitors when in-form star Heilum Luki was sin binned for a high shot on Eels prop Luca Moretti.

Parramatta took advantage of their rivals being a man down when Tallyn Da Silva crossed for their third try in front of some diehard fans in western Sydney.

“This has been an awful start,” Ennis said of the Cowboys.

Braidon Burns narrowed the margin courtesy of a Jaxon Purdue cut-out pass, but the Eels just wouldn’t let their opponents settle as Josh Addo-Carr kicked them clear again after the break as a see-sawing battle continued.

Purdue continued a stellar attacking outing when he scored a freakish solo try that only few players in the competition could replicate, stepping past a handful of Eels defenders and levelling the scores for North Queensland.

“He’s an absolute superstar, he’s a beauty this young bloke ... boy, that is a special moment from a special talent in our game,” Ennis said.

Reuben Cotter made it two tries in as many minutes, when his dummy-half and former Eels star Mahoney came up with a crafty pass close to the line.

His four-pointer was eradicated moments later when Cotter tackled Da Silva before getting back onside, resulting in a rare penalty try.

“I agree, absolutely - all it is, is an opinion of the Bunker official,” Ennis said.

The call didn’t derail the Cowboys though – if anything, it spurred them on to score one of the best team tries of the 2026 season.

Purdue kick-started the seven-pass, two-kick try from the ever-exciting Cowboys, which ended with a cross-field kick from English forward John Bateman and flick pass from Braidon Burns, who found Tom Chester to score in the corner.

“Rugby league, you beautiful thing,” Ennis said on commentary.

Not to be outdone, the Eels hit straight back after veteran front-rower Junior Paulo threw a ridiculous cut-out pass to set up a try for Jordan Samrani.

“What a game, this has been absolute chaos,” Ennis said.

Chester nearly had a double, but the Bunker denied him after a Burns knock-on.

The winning moment came when Moses was ankle tapped and lost the ball with six minutes to go, before making the crucial captain’s challenge.

He nailed the penalty goal to give the Eels an unlikely victory under strange circumstances.