NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS 6 PARRAMATTA EELS 28
TOM SMITH, McDonald Jones Stadium, Friday
DANE GAGAI couldn’t celebrate his 300th game with a victory, as Parramatta left Newcastle with the two competition points.
Zac Lomax bagged a double, Mitchell Moses continued his rich vein of form and Dylan Brown showed his new fans what they can look forward to in 2026 to help the Eels to victory.
Gagai became the 54th player to reach the 300-game milestone in the Australian competition, having debuted for Brisbane in 2011 before moving to Newcastle, South Sydney and back to the Hunter.
Minus Bradman Best (hamstring), the Knights’ best was England international Kai Pearce-Paul, although he was sin-binned for cynically pushing Moses in the play-the-ball.
Jack Williams’ line break gave Parra the momentum for their first via Moses, who soared for a Brown bomb on eleven minutes.
Then Lomax nabbed his first in the right corner to make it 10-0, where the scoreboard stayed until the break.
The star winger’s second stretched the Eels’ lead midway through the second half, capitalising on the chaos caused by Brown’s boot.
And with Pearce-Paul in the bin — gifting Lomax two more points — the visitors struck twice in three minutes.
First Josh Addo-Carr sent Brown racing away, then Jordan Samrani claimed his first NRL try.
Gagai’s only highlight was a superb flick pass to release James Schiller for Newcastle’s only four-pointer.
KNIGHTS: 1 Kalyn Ponga, 2 James Schiller, 3 Dane Gagai, 11 Dylan Lucas, 5 Fletcher Hunt, 6 Fletcher Sharpe, 19 Tyson Gamble, 8 Jacob Saifiti, 9 Phoenix Crossland, 10 Tyson Frizell, 12 Kai Pearce-Paul, 16 Thomas Cant, 13 Adam Elliott. Subs (all used): 14 Jayden Brailey, 15 Mat Croker, 17 Brodie Jones, 18 Jack Hetherington
Tries: Schiller (75); Goals: Ponga 1/1; Sin bin: Pearce-Paul (62) – professional foul
EELS: 1 Isaiah Iongi, 2 Zac Lomax, 3 Will Penisini, 4 Sean Russell, 5 Josh Addo-Carr, 6 Dylan Brown, 7 Mitch Moses, 8 Jack Williams, 9 Ryley Smith, 10 Junior Paulo, 12 Kitione Kautoga, 15 Luca Moretti, 13 J’maine Hopgood. Subs (all used): 14 Dylan Walker, 16 Jordan Samrani, 17 Toni Mataele, 19 Ryan Matterson
Tries: Moses (11), Lomax (15, 56), Brown (64), Samrani (67); Goals: Lomax 4/6
SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-6, 0-10; 0-16, 0-18, 0-24, 0-28, 6-28
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match: Knights: Kai Pearce-Paul; Eels: Zac Lomax
Penalty count: 5-3; Half-time: 0-10; Referee: Todd Smith; Attendance: 20,125