Sivo scores, unbeaten Eels top

Sydney: It should have been a blockbuster between two top-eight sides, but instead the Eels beat Knights 10-4 in a sloppy game where both teams looked like they hardly wanted to score a try.

Both sides wasted attacking field position with bad last-play options and poor handling.

The Knights threw several forward passes which, if legal, could have led to points.

In the end it was the Eels who won 10-4 and reclaimed top spot on the ladder.

Newcastle was tackled 39 times inside their attacking 20 metres but made 13 errors and lacked some finishing touch as Mitchell Pearce and Kalyn Ponga largely failed.

“We had enough ball down there to win a couple of games and we just didn’t ice our moments,” coach Adam O’Brien said.

Newcastle had a glut of attacking ball in the early stages of the blockbuster clash with Parramatta but struggled to find the tryline.

Ponga and Mitchell Pearce both blew opportunities with bad passes. Eels made them pay by getting the first points when Ryan Matterson crossed the strip after 17 minutes. Gutherson scored a try in the 66th minute and it was only the third try of the night at Hunter Stadium. It came off a penalty and then quicktap from the Eels captain, who offloaded to Maika Sivo to take it over the line.

Results: Storm 20-14 Raiders, Broncos 26-8 Buldogs, Sharks 24-56 Panthers, Rabbitohs 18-10 Tigers, Titans 16-12 Warriors, Cowboys 16-42 Roosters, Knights 4-10 Eels, Dragons 34-4 Sea Eagles.