Picture: Gene Ramirez
Picture: Tim Clayton
DID anyone see who the player was in the No.11 jersey for the Parramatta Eels on Saturday night?
It looked liked Nathan Hindmarsh. He tackled like Nathan Hindmarsh. He saved tries like Nathan Hindmarsh.
But this player had an attacking spark. A rampaging leg drive. A deft offload.
Yep, it's Hindy all right. The old Hindy. He's back!
After a five-year hiatus the Eels skipper was back to his attacking best in the Eels' 19-18 golden point victory against Penrith.
Complete with his first line break in 18 months, Hindmarsh single-handedly led the Eels' second half revival after the home team skipped to a 18-6 lead. Chris Sandow put the icing on the cake with a field goal in the dying stages of golden point.
It prompted Eels coach Stephen Kearney to declare: "That's the most commanding performance I've seen from a back-rower in a long time."
So what was the secret to his five-star performance that yielded 23 carries for 199 metres, nine tackle breaks, six offloads, two try assists, one line break and a trademark 43 tackles?
"I had a few days off. That might have helped," Hindmarsh quipped.
"You have good games and bad game and it was just one of those games where I felt good and everything stuck."