
Parramatta Eels recorded only their fourth win of the season with a scrappy 14-8 win over a poor Canterbury Bulldogs side. The win draws the two sides level on the ladder but the Eels remain bottom.
The Bulldogs started positively, however. They took the lead when Kerrod Holland went straight through the middle off a Josh Jackson offload.
But when Brett Morris was binned for a professional foul, the Eels hit back. Tepai Moeroa steamed through the line and fed Kaysa Pritchard on his inside. Lachlan Lewis caught him but Pritchard had the momentum to crawl into the in-goal.
With the scores level at half-time, Parramatta came out in the second half with more intent. After Brad Takairangi was denied a try, Mitchell Moses scored one a minute later. Lewis’ kick was caught by Moses who ran the length of the field.
The Bulldogs looked all at see and weren’t coming close to levelling the game. In fact, Moses stretched the Eels’ lead to eight with the boot with twelve minutes left to play. But Martin brought the lead back down to six a few minutes later.
Eels: Gutherson, French, M Jennings, Hayne, G Jennings, Norman, Moses, Alvaro, Pritchard, Vave, Niukore, Moeroa, Brown; Interchanges: Takairangi, Mannah, Terepo, Mahoney
Tries: Pritchard, Moses; Goals: Moses 2, Gutherson
Bulldogs: Hopoate, B Morris, J Morris, Holland, Smith, Lewis, Marshall-King, Tolman, Lichaa, Klemmer, Jackson, Martin, Elliott; Interchanges: Brown, Priest, Fualalo, Eastwood
Tries: Holland; Goals: Martin 2
Sin bin: B Morris (31) – professional foul
Full match reports of all this weekend’s NRL games will feature in Monday’s League Express.