Parra power home as Dogs stumble
THE race to avoid the NRL wooden spoon is well and truly alive after Parramatta ground out a dour 14-8 win over Canterbury last night.
The Bulldogs burst out of the blocks in the opening 15 minutes but fell in a heap in the second-half as the Eels ran over the top of them to break a three-game losing streak.
Parramatta remain in last spot, however the win moved them to 10 points, equal with the Dogs and North Queensland, who take on St George Illawarra tomorrow.
In front of a crowd of 8437 at ANZ Stadium, there were few highlights in a game marked by errors and penalties.
The Dogs’ fifth tackle options in particular were woeful in the second half as halves Lachlan Lewis and Jeremy Marshall-King failed to impose themselves on the game.
The Eels took the lead for the first time in the 53rd minute when a Lewis grubber ricocheted off Nathan Brown and Mitchell Moses ran 90m untouched.
A Moses penalty goal in the 69th minute gave the Eels an eight-point buffer before two points from Rhyse Martin with seven minutes to play set up a tense finish.
The Eels held on to secure just their second win in their past 10 starts and fourth victory of the season.
Earlier, the Dogs opened up a 6-0 lead when Kerrod Holland shot through a gaping hole close to the line in just the seventh minute.
But the Eels were back on level pegging by half-time after Bulldogs veteran Brett Morris was sin-binned for holding back Bevan French.