Parramatta second-rower Ryan Matterson has admitted the Eels were “rattled” by the Titans’ onslaught before half-time of their season opener, but says the team’s ability to grind out a win is a sign of their growth.
The Eels looked set for a big win after slamming home five tries to two inside the opening 33 minutes, before Gold Coast hit back with three tries in six minutes.
The Eels eventually hung on for a 32-28 win, and Matterson said the game was a prime example of the team being a more legitimate premiership contender this season.
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“The game that we had on the weekend, if it was last year I don’t think we would’ve been able to come back from a game like that,” he told 2GB’s Wide World of Sports radio.
“Especially with the way the Titans came out, they put a few points on and kind of rattled us going into half-time.
“If that was the old Parramatta side, we would’ve buckled in maturity, but we kept a cool, calm and collected mindset, and we ended up coming away with the win.”
Parramatta’s 2021 season was brought to an end in a tightly contested semi-final against the eventual premiers, Penrith, and Matterson said the disappointment of the loss had driven the squad right throughout the summer.
“The work that we’ve done in the pre-season, especially with our maturity, we’ve grown from last year,” he said.
“With that tough loss against Penrith, going out the way we did, we’ve bounced back and we’ve had a harder pre-season and we’re learning from it.”
The win was soured by a hamstring injury for Matterson, who said he expected to be sidelined for one to two weeks.
“Early in the first half I had a bit of a hammy strain,” he said.
“I ended up having my second stint and re-did it again.”
The Matterson-less Eels will hope to continue their unbeaten start to the season when they face the Cronulla Sharks at PointsBet Stadium on Saturday.