Dragons get out of jail against Eels
LADDER leaders St George Illawarra have narrowly avoided the biggest upset of the NRL season, coming from behind to beat Parramatta 20-18 at WIN Stadium.
After they trailed 18-8 with seven minutes to play, Euan Aitken and Matt Dufty both chased down grubbers to give the Dragons the win and keep them on top for another week.
Aitken’s try also ensured under-fire Queensland halfback Ben Hunt’s night would at least end on a positive note, after he looked to lack confidence as the Saints fell behind earlier on.
With his place in the Maroons’ team for next month’s State of Origin dead rubber in question, Hunt three times kicked into Eels defenders and twice turned the ball over with errors – albeit one from a difficult Jeremy Latimore ball.
But all was forgiven when a grubber into the in-goal sparked the previously lacklustre Dragons, as Aitken latched on to it just before it went dead to score.
It was a cruel end for the Eels, who had been the better team for most of the night and looked set to become the first last-placed side to beat a team ranked first since April 2015.