The ‘Plane’ scored the opening try, showing the strength of a linebacker and the smarts of a quarterback when catching the Cowboys napping off a quick penalty tap. And then he out-jumped Lachlan Coote to score his second to give the Eels just their third win of the season.

“He’s there to ice those moments and he scored two nice tries,” said Eels coach Brad Arthur.

“I’m sure he’d be disappointed with his effort at the end there (to let one in). He scored two nice tries and got us on the front foot early and gave us that little bit of confidence.

“We don’t need him to have 30 or 40 involvements, but when he does get involved we need him to be quality.”

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Parramatta couldn’t have chosen a better time to leave town. The spotlight on the club would have been hotter than the Darwin sun had they remained in Sydney and the Blues not taken the focus from the Blue and Golds. Coming off a loss described as “embarrassing” by their captain and prompting one of those unscheduled board meetings that are only convened during a crisis, a team at rock bottom finally found itself in the Top End.

Playing for pride and their jobs after Arthur conceded everyone was on notice, the Eels mixed it up. Players trained barefoot and conducted the video sessions. Their attitude was much improved after the shocker against Newcastle, but luck also played its part. Two potential Cowboys tries were disallowed for forward passes that didn’t look forward. Those calls, along with Hayne’s involvements, proved crucial.

“When you get into the rut that we’ve been in, sometimes you play not to lose,” Arthur said.

“Tonight we went out there with the mentality to play to win."

Based on what these sides showed last season, many would have pencilled this in as a potential grand final preview. The reality was much different, as avoiding the wooden spoon will serve as the chief motivator for both teams during the second half of the season.

If this season has taught us anything it’s that two halves don’t always make a whole. It has become apparent that Corey Norman can’t play with Mitchell Moses. Johnathan Thurston doesn’t gel with Michael Morgan. Each of them wants to make the calls, resulting in their coaches having to make a difficult one and splitting them.

Norman returned to the halves because an injured Moses wasn’t there. Morgan was named at fullback because Thurston was, but ended up being a late scratching. Both of them had mixed nights, perhaps from trying too hard to lift their teams.

The Eels got the win but made it hard for themselves as senior players made telling errors. Norman kicked out on the full. Twice. Michael Jennings butchered two tries against the Broncos and on Saturday night added to the tally. He blew another gimme at TIO Stadium, failing to grab a grubber that bounced up into his arms and asked to be put over the tryline. However, Jennings came up with the matchwinner, ensuring he and younger brother George made the scoresheet.

When the Eels were scouring the market for a replacement for Semi Radradra, they had a crack at the signature of Kyle Feldt. The Cowboys winger reminded them why on Saturday night. He scored a try, one of those trademark contortionist efforts in the corner. He was unlucky not to bag another couple in a wholehearted performance in which he also produced an 85-metre line dropout. However, it wasn’t enough. Their season, too, is now officially over.