Reuben Garrick scores four tries and Tom Trbojevic claims a hat-trick in Manly’s heavy 56-24 defeat of Gold Coast, while Parramatta enjoys a 36-10 triumph over Canterbury.
Check out how the action unfolded in our ScoreCentre.
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Eels get past Bulldogs
Parramatta’s Isaiah Papali’i (right) attempts to fend off Canterbury’s Nick Meaney.(
AAP: Joel Carrett
)
Parramatta has proven why it is a more composed team than in recent seasons by surviving a scare to kill off last-placed Canterbury 36-10 at the Western Sydney Stadium.
Down 10-6 at half-time, the Eels produced a 30-point second half to stay third on the ladder with Mitch Moses and Isaiah Papali’i starring.
In the past, Parramatta may have panicked and gone chasing points after falling behind against a side it was tipped to beat.
But this time the Eels held firm as the Bulldogs quite literally threw their advantage away.
With all the momentum before the break, the match swung when Canterbury made a meal of a last-tackle play five minutes into the second half.
After halfback Brandon Wakeham passed straight into Dylan Napa, the Bulldogs prop inexplicably let the ball lay unclaimed on the ground before Moses pounced.
Moses kicked the loose ball forward and was taken out by Wakeham in pursuit, handing Parramatta a clear penalty try.
From there, it was the Eels who dominated as they enjoyed having 74 per cent of the ball in the second half.
Their lead was out to eight moments later when Nathan Brown went to the line and put Shaun Lane through a hole, before Junior Paulo later sent Reagan Campbell-Gillard across.
The last of those tries came while Bulldogs prop Luke Thompson was in the sin-bin after play was called back to penalise him for a late shot on Dylan Brown.
Debutant Sean Russell also bagged a double late, as a result of two nice balls from Clint Gutherson on the left edge.
Papali’i was also superb, running 194 metres on the left edge and busting 11 tackles.
The Eels’ big win at one stage looked in doubt.
After the Bulldogs withstood Parramatta’s early ball while only conceding a Ryan Matterson try to a kick, they looked the better side.
Napa ended a 44-match try scoring drought when he collected a fumbled Jake Averilo kick to dot down.
With Marata Niukore sin-binned for a high shot on Josh Jackson, Wakeham then took full advantage when he put Tui Katoa over with a lofted ball for his winger.
But that ultimately amounted to little, as the Bulldogs missed out on their first back-to-back wins since 2019.
Adding further insult to injury, back rower Adam Elliott also suffered a fractured cheekbone.
Eels hooker Nathaniel Roache also suffered a knee injury in his first NRL match in two years, while Nathan Brown finished the game on report for a high shot.
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AAP
Source:: ABC News
