Parramatta Eels take swift action over ‘cheeky’ sideline prank involving footy reporter

Parramatta forward Joe Ofahengaue has been forced to apologise to Fox League presenter Eloise Sohier following a childish act involving Eels teammate Zac Lomax during a live TV cross on Friday night.

Ofahengaue, 29, ‘dacked’ Lomax as he spoke to Fox Sports reporter Eloise Sohier on camera during the second half of a trial match against Newcastle.

Lomax was left red-faced, with his shorts literally around his ankles after Ofahengaue’s antics at McDonald Jones Stadium.

Sohier kept her composure, stating: ‘As he gets dacked live on television Zac….give it up for Zac Lomax.’

The ‘NRL Roast’ account on X described Ofahengaue’s act as ‘cheeky’, but Parramatta officials were not at all happy.

Sohier kept her composure, stating: ‘As he gets dacked live on television Zac….give it up for Zac Lomax.’

The ‘NRL Roast’ account on X described Ofahengaue’s act as ‘cheeky’, but Parramatta officials were not at all happy.

Ofahengaue is no stranger to controversy – in 2017, the forward appeared in court after he was caught on CCTV footage cheating in a game of poker at a Brisbane casino.

It is understood the Queensland Origin star placed a $100 chip under a $15 chip while the dealer was distracted, later receiving a $400 fine with no conviction.

And in 2020, Ofahengaue was charged by Queensland police for a traffic infringement after he was found asleep behind the wheel of his car.

He was then suspended for two matches by the Broncos, before moving to the Tigers then Eels.

Parramatta begin Jason Ryles era with a thumping win over Knights

After one of the biggest off-season upheavals in the club’s history, Parramatta has begun its Jason Ryles era in the best possible way – with a win.

Facing the Knights in Newcastle, the Eels were without several of their biggest stars, including Mitchell Moses and Zac Lomax, but still managed to dominate much of the contest.

Dylan Brown opened the scoring in just the second minute, before Jake Tago, Kelma Tuilagi and Joash Papalii all crossed to give the Eels a 22-4 lead into the break.

The Knights flew out of the gate in the second half – Logan Aoake and Kyle McCarthy scored within minutes before Jermaine McEwen crossed just shy of the hour mark to close the gap to four points.

But that was all she wrote for the hosts, as Parramatta scored four straight in the final 20 minutes, including a stunning aerial effort from Samuel Loizou, to run out 44-18 winners.

Speaking to Fox League post-match, stand-in skipper Dylan Brown said he was relieved to notch a win after a pre-season with so much change.

“Loved the energy – whenever something went wrong, the players all got around each other and we had some fun,” he said.

“There has been a lot of change this pre-season, so hopefully some good things come from it.”

Since his arrival at Parramatta, Ryles hasn’t been scared to make big calls, including showing incumbent captain Clint Gutherson the door.

He’s also hired an all-new coaching staff – Nathan Brown, Scott Wisemantel, Sam Moa and Nathan Cayless.

But despite the massive upheaval, Brown said the new Eels playing group has brought into the brains trust’s vision.