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South Sydney upset stuttering Manly 40-32

The Bunnies have not only notched up an upset win against the high flying Manly Sea Eagles today, but have put a staggering 40 points past the usual rock solid Eagles defence in a confidence boosting win for the Jason Taylor coached side.

While Souths played like they didn’t have a care in the world, the Manly Sea Eagles side chasing a possible NRL minor premiership looked disinterested and obviously took the lowly ranked Rabbitohs too lightly. Apart from flashes of brilliance from Steve Matai, Steve Bell and fullback Brett Stewart - the Eagles didn’t muscle up anywhere near enough and in the end a late try flattered them on the scoreboard.

Bunnies custodian Nathan Merritt got himself a 3 try haul to really stick it to Manly, but the speedy Souths back had plenty of help - with captain Roy Asotasi running like a centre at various stages and giving Souths plenty of thrust. Rookie halfback Chris Sandow continues to amaze punters with his skills and fleet of foot in and around the ruck; the improving half also had a majestic day with the boot - his long kicking game superb and his chips and grubbers were pinpoint.

The Sea Eagles have now gifted Melbourne a head start in the race for the minor premiership and shot at giving their club a $100,000 kicker for coming in first after the regular season, Des Hasler not doubt frustrated after his side allowed 7 tries through.

Up 22-10 at the break and playing against a Sea Eagles side down to 12 men after Steve Matai had been sin-binned just before halftime for a professional foul, it looked like Souths would have the perfect opportunity to open up a match-winning lead.

Instead it was the undermanned Sea Eagles who found their rhythm, Steve Menzies scoring twice in the 13-minute spree which also saw Brett Stewart score his second of the afternoon for a 26-22 lead to the visitors.

But again the Bunnies came back, two Chris Sandow kicks - the first a clever chip back towards the post and the other a towering bomb - putting South Sydney back into a lead they would never relinquish.

Worse was to come for Manly with star backrower Anthony Watmough put on report for a high tackle on Beau Champion before Roy Asotasi completed the Sea Eagles’ worst defensive display of the year with a try three minutes from time.

With little to play for except pride, the Rabbitohs played like a team under little pressure as they tested their arm and Manly’s premiership fortitude.

Despite giving up an early try to Steve Bell, it was the Bunnies who controlled much of the first half with Fetuli Talanoa and Jamie Simpson - who brilliantly dodged the corner post before putting the ball down - giving the Bunnies an 8-4 lead.

Brett Stewart raced through some flimsy defence and 90 metres to again put Manly up.

But a Merritt double inside two minutes, when he backed up busts through the middle of the ruck by John Sutton and Sandow respectively, ensured it was the home side who went to the break the happier side.

Matai was binned just before halftime for holding down Sandow close to his own line and was then the target of a bolt thrown from the crowd as he made his way to the sheds, the missile narrowly missing a Manly official.

SOUTH SYDNEY 40 (N Merritt 3 R Asotasi I Luke J Simpson F Talanoa tries I Luke 4 C Sandow 2 goals)

bt MANLY 32 (S Menzies 2 B Stewart 2 S Bell J Perry tries S Matai 2 M Orford 2 goals)

Crowd: 11,000.

Raiders show more proof, beat Knights

The Canberra Raiders showed again they are no fluke or walk over, beating the defensively renowned Newcastle Knights today. The Green Machine further locking in their position in the top eight after another runaway 38-18 win at Canberra Stadium today.

Still showing no signs of missing Todd Carney or being overawed by their growing stature, the Raiders are growing weekly under the guidance of top clipboard man Neil Henry.

Canberra scored an impressive six tries to the Knights’ three to increase their record of 201-46 in the last four matches played at home.

Raiders’ play-maker Terry Campese set up the opening try of the match, and scored himself minutes later, creating all sorts of problems for the Newcastle defence.

But it was two tries from full-back David Milne that were the standout, helping the Raiders move into sixth position on the NRL ladder.

After dominating possession for the majority of the second half, it was Milne who asserted the Raiders’ ascendancy with try judged to be a simultaneous grounding.

The blight on Canberra’s half was a dangerous tackle by youngster Tom Learoyd-Lars which will come under the scrutiny of the match review panel.

Newcastle’s poor discipline also let them down at crucial moments, with many of the penalties conceded opening up scoring opportunities for the home side.

The Knights’ last two tries of the match were to replacement winger Cooper Vuna who broke through a wall of Canberra defenders to score and prop Jesse Royal during the 72nd minute, but it was Raiders’ Neville Costigan who had the final say, scoring in the last minute of the match.

Newcastle will face the North Queensland Cowboys next week, who may have their tails up to avoid the wooden spoon.

Raiders: 38 (C Best, T Campese, J Picker, D Milne 2, T Thurling, N Costigan tries; T Campese 5 conversions)

Knights: 18 (C Paterson, C Vuna, J Royal tries; K Gidley 3 conversions)

Titans get a desperate away win over Cowboys

The NRL finals hopes of the Gold Coast Titans were given a massive revival last night, the new boys finally getting back into the winners circle and giving themselves a genuine shot at the Top 8 for the first time in their short history.

But things didn’t come easy, the Titans had to endure an ever improving Cowboys outfit who put on some impressive attacking movements and went close to getting the home win.

Queensland Origin playmaker Scott Prince returned from a broken arm for the Gold Coast and was magnificent after a seven-week absence, laying on two tries for NSW forward Anthony Laffranchi.

Titans coach John Cartwright praised Prince’s brave performance but said his side still had a big job ahead to make the top eight.

“We’re not getting carried away but it is a big pressure release,” Cartwright said.

“[Prince] was presented with the medical advice and knew the risks. I just can’t talk highly enough of his courage.”

Prince said his arm came through the game well, particularly after he was targeted in defence.

“It’s not too bad, I was just happy to get through the whole 80 minutes. I didn’t really sleep that much last night,” he said.

The Cowboys also received a timely boost in the form of Australian halfback Johnathan Thurston, who returned from a four-week absence after knee surgery.

The Cowboys entered the game as favourites after they snapped a 13-game losing streak with a rousing win against the Bulldogs last weekend.

And they were gifted a chance to take this game into golden point when Luke O’Dwyer was sin-binned for repeated offside infringements.

But winger Ty Williams put a foot into touch on the left sideline as he made a dash for the corner with less than two minutes left on the clock.

The Titans appeared to have the Cowboys’ measure in the second half when they streaked away from a 14-all half-time deadlock to 26-14 in the blink of an eye through tries to Preston Campbell and Esikeli Tonga.

The cellar-dwellers hit back with a 57th-minute try to Dayne Weston, but that was the final score.

GOLD COAST 26 (A Laffranchi 2 P Campbell M Rogers E Tonga tries S Prince 3 goals) bt NORTH QUEENSLAND 20 (L O’Donnell D Weston T Williams J Williams tries J Williams 2 goals) at Dairy Farmers Stadium. Referee: B Sutton. Crowd: 17,605.

Warriors give Sharks a wake-up call

It may just be the loss that the Cronulla Sharks had to have. A gritty NZ Warriors outfit gave the Sharks a real indication of things to come, as the New Zealanders continue their late charge for the NRL Top 8 Finals Series.

Prior to the match, the Cronulla Sharks, were coming with the equal NRL lead on 32 points, were the worst perpetrators on a wet Auckland evening with 16 errors and an abysmal 26 per cent completion rate.

The Warriors were not much better with 12 errors and 29 per cent completion of their own but it was Stuart, not opposing coach Ivan Cleary, who was left to bemoan a losing performance.

“[There were] too many mistakes tonight - fundamental mistakes,” Stuart said.

“Passing out of dummy half, dropped balls on collision, bad passing - just a really very poor game skill-wise.

“It was an A-grade game tonight, not a first-grade game.”

With a third home victory in a row under his belt, Cleary sung the praises of his side’s continued defensive resurgence, which has resulted in six wins from seven outings.

Holders of the NRL’s worst defensive record for most of the first half of the season, the Warriors have turned it around over the past two months and as a result may finish the round back in the top eight.

“Defensively, we’re miles ahead of where we were at the start of the year,” Cleary said.

“That’s come through hard work and a great attitude.”

Warriors captain Steve Price, who missed the first 10 rounds of the season with a hamstring injury, echoed the sentiment.

“Defence won the night and it was great from our boys,” Price said.

“We dropped a little bit of ball and so did they, but particularly earlier in the year if we had’ve done that we had tries scored against us and tonight we didn’t.”

There was one sour note on the night for the Warriors, with fullback Wade McKinnon being placed on report for a shoulder charge to the head of Sharks hooker Isaac de Gois early in the game.

Only two weeks into his return from major knee surgery, the loss of McKinnon to suspension would be a crushing blow in the race to the play-offs but Cleary felt he had nothing to answer for.

“I’m surprised. I’m not sure what the problem was,” Cleary said.

“It wasn’t late, I don’t think. That’s my opinion.”

Cronulla has a fullback concern of its own, with Brett Kearney facing a spell on the sideline after a blow to his hip.

Stuart said Kearney was “not real good” after the match and may be facing two weeks on the sideline, which comes as a further blow as he has just returned from a six-week lay-off with an ankle injury.

NZ WARRIORS 18 (L Hohaia J Ropati M Vatuvei tries M Witt 3 goals) bt CRONULLA 4 (L Covell try) at Mt Smart Stadium. Referee: T Archer. Crowd: 10,417.

Penrith use Bulldogs to bounce back

The signs are ominous for the Bulldogs. The Blue and Whites are looking like certainties for the NRL wooden spoon and it seems virtually all involved have clocked off and are waiting for 2009 to roll around.In the end the Panthers cruised to 52-16 win in front of a small crowd at CUA Stadium.

The Panthers gladly took the victory at CUA Stadium last night, the Bulldogs providing the ultimate confidence finder after Penrith were walloped last week in Canberra. For the Bulldogs, the prospect of the wooden spoon for being the worst team is crippling.

They received the spoon in 2002 after being stripped of all their competition points for rorting the salary cap just a few rounds before the end of the regular season.

But the last time they were genuinely the worst team in the premiership was way back in the swinging 1960s. The only sliver of good news last night after a nine-try thumping was that bottom-placed North Queensland lost to the Gold Coast to remain two points clear in the race for the dreaded utensil.

The third official, Russell Smith, ruled no try against El Masri.

And awarded a penalty to the Panthers.

From the next set, Panthers zip-zip man Michael Jennings sent Luke Rooney over for the first of his four tries and the Dogs were trailing 12-0 too soon and are unable to take a trick.

“I guess you can cut and paste the last four weeks,” was coach Steve Folkes’s appraisal, with the Bulldogs conceding 174 points since Sonny Bill Williams left them high and dry.

“We got a couple of dud decisions tonight, as well. That tends to happen to you when things aren’t going your way. It was another one of those nights, unfortunately.

“We’re trying. Confidence is obviously pretty low. There’s no easy way out of it. We’ve just got to keep trying.

“There’s nothing much to play for, only a bit of pride and avoiding the wooden spoon, but that’s not really a motivator in a lot of ways, is it?”

The Panthers had 74 points put on them by Canberra last week. They only scored 12. That’s a losing margin of 62. Net turnaround - 98 points.

The Bulldogs had deceit placed in their lap about a month ago. It was shaping up to be such a bloody awful game that it was filled with a morbid fascination.

“I’m over the moon for the players - it’s been a very difficult week for them,” Panthers coach Matthew Elliott said. “We got over last week pretty quickly. That sort of stuff [the Raiders loss] is easier if you see it coming. That really mugged us all.

“We’re getting the bolognese sauce tested because there was no pre-indicator to it at all. I think we did a fair job of moving on, but you can’t say we haven’t been conscious of it most minutes of most days.”

Asked about the Bulldogs’ on-field mood, Panthers captain Petero Civoniceva said: “It’s obviously very tough for them, but there are no signs of fighting or any arguing out on the field. It’s a really tough one. They’ve just got to keep punching on.”

The poor old Dogs. Their heads kept sinking.

Jennings is some player.

From a standing start, he sidestepped Ben Barba then swerved around half-a-dozen Dogs to score a brilliant individual try.

Bulldogs centre Daryl Millard got over the line and Smith was again called upon. This time he had mercy up on the Bulldogs’ soul. Try.

You know the Dogs are battling when El Masri misses a conversion attempt, albeit from the sideline.

The crowd, a suitably non-existent 7841, were rewarded with a half-century and some scintillating four-pointers but there was something a bit tragic about it all given the plight of the opposition.

The clock slowly wound down, the Panthers found a few more points to creep past 50 and mercifully, soon enough, the horror movie was over.

PENRITH 52 (L Rooney 4 M Bell M Blair M Jennings T Puletua B Tighe tries M Gordon 8 goals) bt BULLDOGS 16 (D Holdsworth 2 D Millard tries H El Masri 2 goals) at CUA Stadium. Referee: G Badger. Crowd: 7,841.

Dragons upset fancied Broncos 24-20

A fast finishing St George Illawarra Dragons side led by Ben Hornby came home strong to over power the highly fancied Brisbane Broncos 24-20 at Suncorp Stadium.

The home side had the lead 12-0 before the starring Ben Hornby turned on an impressive display to outshine his opposite - Darren Lockyer.

“We’re not ruthless enough,” fumed Broncos coach Wayne Bennett after the match.

“At this time of the year, at 12-0, where we’re trying to get to, what we want to achieve later on in the season …. It just can’t happen,” he said.

A downheartened Darren Lockyer tended to agree with his coach and was concerned about the lack of intensity from the Broncos.

“Two weeks ago we played Canberra here and I thought the performance was good.” said Lockyer

“The last two weeks we’ve gone backwards.

“On a positive note it’s probably good it’s happened tonight because we can address it leading into the next few games.”

Ironically for the Broncos, it was former favourite son - Wendell Sailor who gave the traveling Dragons the edge, nabbing an aerial try over Brisbane outside back Reece Robinson shortly before the half time break.

“We weren’t going too flash before that,” said Dragons coach Nathan Brown.

Sailor, was ecstatic to get one over his old team - hurling the football into ground in celebration.

“Everyone knows I’m a passionate guy,” said Sailor who originally set to line up for the Queensland Cup side Burleigh Bears until getting a late call up from Nathan Brown.

“It was a big night for Locky (Lockyer) but I was happy to spoil his party.

“I’m a likeable guy, regardless of what you read.”

Such was the class of Ben Hornby’s performance that he won man of the match honours and ultimately swung the game to the Draongs, with a slick passing display to set up tries for game breaking centres Matt Cooper and Mark Gasnier.

Brown acknowledge their contribution but said the win came from his forwards muscling up after a tame first half.

“You can have all the wheels you like but it doesn’t matter unless the guys in the middle get it done,” said Brown.

Bennett was critical of a decision to penalise forward David Taylor after he charged out of the line and caught Dragons five-eighth Ben Rogers with the ball on the last tackle 30 metres out from his own line in the 44th minute.

“I don’t know where that came from to be honest with you,” said Bennett.

“The penalty had been completed and everything else and they blow a penalty for being offside.

“If you’re offside, you’re offside, it should have been called long before he made the tackle.

“He puts the guys on the ground and all of a sudden he’s offside.”

Brisbane hooker Michael Ennis may have an anxious weekend after a tackle in the 51st minute which could attract the attention of the match review committee.

Brisbane fullback Denan Kemp had a mixed night, scoring his 16th try and then making a mess of two passes in the second half that could have changed the result.

Melbourne Storm give Roosters a lesson 30-6

The Storm have again flexed their NRL Premiership muscle and sent a clear message to other NRL teams by outclassing the traveling Sydney Roosters 30-6.

The reigning NRL premiers setup the dominant win with wave after wave of first half attack resulting in several tries, then stepping it up a gear before poor conditions engulfed Olympic Park.

Newly resigned winger Anthony Quinn, touched down twice in the first half for the Storm as his side cleared out to a 20-0 lead at the break.

Storm captain Cameron Smith, no.7 Cooper Cronk and custodian Billy Slater also nabbed 4 pointers - with Cronk and Slater getting their tries in the final minutes of the match after Roosters outside back Mitchell Aubusson got his team on the board with 5 minutes remaining.

The victory for the improving Storm sends them 2 points clear at the top of the NRL ladder - possibly only for a short time as Cronulla could sneak above, if they win their away match against the NZ Warriors in Auckland.

Regardless, the win shows Melbourne’s desire and premiership credentials are in check and everything points to a back-to-back NRL premiership.

The only downside for the Storm was a potential injury to Ryan Hoffman.

Hoffman’s leg was bent painfully out of shape as he tackled a Roosters player.

Unable to walk under his own steam, Hoffman was assisted from the field and didn’t take any further part in the game.

In a physical first period, Roosters rake James Aubusson was another victim. Being assisted from the field after several head knocks in short succession.

First he was accidentally kneed in the head by Storm fullback Billy Slater as he attempted a tackle, then was turned into a doormat by man mountain Israel Folau to leave him completely dazed and confused.

Knights too good for sliding Titans

The Newcastle Knights continue their good form at the business end of the NRL season, tonight dealing with the Titans successfully 32-12 at Skilled Park, forcing their way back into the NRL top 8 and consigning the young Gold Coast team to their 7th defeat in 8 weeks.

With no.7 Jarrod Mullen in nice touch and guiding the Newcastle side around well, the Knights pulled off some smooth attacking movements and were always in control with a 3-try run midway through the first half, and the Titans had no answer - despite an impressive debut by youngster Jordan Rankin at the ripe age of 16.

Trailing by 20 points early in the second stanza, the 16-year-old schoolboy prodigy was handed his baptism of fire by coach John Cartwright.

After a week in the limelight, Rankin was handed his debut try on a platter - only to spill it over the line.

“My defence wasn’t on par,” Rankin told Fox Sports after the match.

“There were a few big boys out there tonight and that’s something I’ll work on.

“I got roughed up before but that was something you’d expect.

“I wish I could have scored that try.

“I’m back to school tomorrow, I’ve got to start studying for my end of term tests.”

But even the magical Scott Prince - who missed the match with a broken arm - couldn’t have turned the tide for the Coast who continue to struggle without key strike-weapons - Luke Bailey and Mat Rogers.

The home team weren’t without their chances early in the piece when Newcastle centre Adam MacDougall was placed on report - not once, but twice - in the space of two tackles.

But the villain turned hero when he set up the Knights’ opening points in the 17th minute.

He might soon spend some time in the stands, but the barnstorming centre was making his most of his time on the paddock - creating an overlap within his own half before sending a flying James McManus down the touchline.

Support play specialist Kurt Gidley was, predictably, lurking on the inside and slammed the pill down for the opening points.

Moments later, it was again MacDougall - this time fielding a pin-point bullet pass from Jarrod Mullen before dissecting the Titans’ shaky line in his usual bulldozing style to put the Knights clear by 10.

Back to back tries had the Titans looking rattled, and Mullen sniffed an opportunity.

A deft chip found the chest of Cooper Vuna who tore down the left touchline before unloading a remarkable back-handed flick to Junior Sau.

Sau sold Campbell a textbook dummy, fist-pumping the air as he slid over for the Knights’ third in just seven minutes.

The Titans, desperate to break their duck before the break, turned to Campbell for inspiration. The little master didn’t let them down.

Sweeping deep around behind the ruck, Campbell drew in the Knights’ left edge defenders before rocketing a pass wide to a flying Jordan Ropani who dotted down untouched.

Campbell slotted the extras to make it a ten point ball game at the break.

The Titans needed to continue their charge after halftime, but their momentum was sapped when Danny Buderus found them napping in the first set of the second stanza.

The Knights skipper linked up with Cory Paterson who slipped a pass inside for Junior Sau to rack up his double.

Down by 14, the home team needed the bounce of the ball to go their way - and the football gods smiled upon them when Chris Houston was denied a try under the posts following an error from Campbell.

But the Knights weren’t denied five minutes later when Paterson charged down the left flank to stretch the gap to 20.

The tally was extended when Vuna fielded a sublime cut-out pass from Gidley late in the match to make the scoreboard look embarrassing for the home team.

A last minute consolation try to prop Brad Meyers did little but flatter the Titans, who’ll begin their uphill battle to regain their place in the eight against the Cowboys next Saturday.

The Knights will travel down to Canberra and face the red hot Raiders, but could be without MacDougall and backrower Steve Simpson who was also placed on report for a lifting tackle.

NEWCASTLE 32 (J Sau 2 K Gidley A MacDougall C Paterson C Vuna tries K Gidley 2 C Paterson 2 goals)

bt GOLD COAST 12 (B Meyers J Rapana tries P Campbell 2 goals)

Crowd: 15,136.

Canberra crush stunned Panthers by 60+

Canberra unleashed the ultimate demolish job on a stunned Penrith Panthers with a record-breaking 74-12 win at Canberra Stadium on Sunday afternoon, all but cementing their claims for a finals appearance. After such a performance by his old team, Panthers coach Matt Elliott would surely be on suicide watch - after his former charges turned on the ultimate NRL Rugby League showing.

The Raiders asserted themselves with a dominant 38-12 first half before the floodgates opened as Canberra ran in 13 tries to two in what was the perfect response to the mid-week sacking of half-back Todd Carney.

Raiders five-eighth Terry Campese was instrumental in his sides’ victory, scoring 36 points including four tries and ten conversions, in a superb individual effort to secure a new club record. Pivot Campese has grown immensely in confidence and stature throughout the 2008 season and has really thrown himself into the fray as one of the NRL’s leading five-eighths.

Canberra’s second rower Trevor Thurling managed to score a rare hat-trick to add to the total which saw the Raiders leapfrog from tenth to sixth spot on the NRL ladder.

Second rower Trevor Thurling also grabbed brace with prop Dane Tilse, Joel Monaghan, winger Justin Carney and Tom Leearoyd-Lahrs all crossing the line for the Raiders.

The Raider have now won their last three home games by a combined total of 163-28 catapulting them second in the League for points scored. The big wins have seen them rebound nicely in the points differential stakes, currently slotting into 6th spot on the NRL ladder with only a handful of Rounds to go.

The shell-shocked Panthers scored their last try of the match in the 20th minute after a length of field try to full-back Rhys Wesser.

Wesser also set up Penrith’s first to Michael Gordon in the third minute.

But it was all down hill from there, the lacklustre Panthers capitulating early in the second half, with mistakes, missed tackles and ill-discipline ruling out any chances of a contest.

Penrith now have an up hill battle of making the eight facing which includes matches against the Warriors, Manly and Melbourne.

The Raiders face a much easier task with the Knights, Rabbitohs and Cowboys all ahead.

Raiders: 74 (T Campese 4, T Thurling 3, D Tilse, J Monaghan, J Carney, D Milne, A Tongue, T Learoyd-Lahrs tries; T Campese 9, M Herbert conversions)

Penrith: 12 (M Gordon, R Wesser tries; M Gordon 2 conversions)

Eels find heart to pip Roosters 28-24

The Eels found some ticker today and gutsed out a win over competition heavy weights the Sydney Roosters 28-24. Fighting for slim finals survival, the Eels started enthusiastically but had to withstand some impressive Roosters attacking waves in a tit-for-tat affair.

In a tightly-fought contest, scores were equal at 24-all with 9 minutes remaining before Krisnan Inu scored a try in the corner to take the lead.

Roosters second rower Willie Mason looked certain to scored an equaliser with three minutes on the clock but the Eels showed great determination to keep Mason out and their season alive.

The Eels finally had some drive from their forwards, Nathan Hindmarsh and Daniel Wagon having strong hands in the go-forwards - both veterans finding the ground quickly in tackles and generating good ruck speed for Parramatta. The Eels had the lions share of possession and needed the advantage to build their confidence and try to find some attacking spark.

The Roosters made the most of their few chances, on most occasions the Sydney side visited the Eels 20m zone - they came away with points, many of their tries coming from impressive passing movements as opposed to their customary kicks. Mitchell Pearce and Braith Anasta keeping busy and looking dangerous with most touches of the football.

But for the Eels they just needed to win no matter what form it came in.

Helped by poor Roosters discipline, Parramatta built pressure through penalties gained and slowly found their feet as Brett Finch and new half Kris Keating generated a good combination. Finch and Keating made a point of running to the line and creating doubt in the Roosters defence, allowing the likes of Feleti Mateo to weave his magic from the forwards and generate some quality offloads.

The win sees the Eels come into 12th position on the NRL Ladder poised just 2 points outside the top eight, with four rounds left. Parramatta would more than likely need to win all remaining games to achieve a finals birth, todays win might just give the Eels the kick along they needed.

Assistant coach David Fairleigh did most of the talking today as coach Michael Hagan recovered from a bout of vertigo that hospitalised him on Friday.

Inu finished with 16 points as the visitors took full advantage of a 7-2 penalty count.

Nathan Hindmarsh, Joel Reddy and Joe Galuvao also scored tries.

Roosters winger Shaun Kenny-Dowall scored a double for the Roosters but was forced from the field midway through the second half with what could be season-ending medial ligament damage.

Amos Roberts and Sam Perrett also scored for the Roosters, who missed a chance to join Manly, Melbourne and Cronulla atop the NRL ladder and now sit fourth.

The Eels took the lead in the seventh minute after Hindmarsh scored from a Brett Finch bomb.

Inu put them out to an 8-0 lead with a 17th-minute penalty but the Roosters hit back three minutes later when Roberts latched onto a pin-point Braith Anasta grubber.

They then grabbed the lead in the 26th minute when Kenny-Dowall crossed out wide for his 14th try of the season.

Another Inu penalty got the Eels back within two before Reddy stole back the lead for Parramatta when he plucked another Finch bomb five minutes before the break.

Kenny-Dowall went in for his second shortly after the break and Craig Fitzgibbon converted from out wide to square it up at 18-all.

The game continued to sway as interchange forward Galuvao gave the Eels the lead again in the 53rd minute from a play that was kick-started by a brilliant run and flick pass from Feleti Mateo.

But, on the back of being awarded their first penalty in the 57th minute, the Roosters again hit back with Perrett stepping his way over the line and Fitzgibbon making it 24-all.

Both sides failed to capitalise on their chances until Finch spun a lovely ball to set up Inu in the 71st minute and the Eels repelled two late Roosters raids to keep their season alive.

The Eels face the in-form Wests Tigers on Monday Night as both teams try to keep their Top 8 campaigns in tact. For the Roosters they travel to meet the chart topping Melbourne Storm as they try to keep their Top 4 hopes alive for 2008.

PARRAMATTA 28 (J Galuvao N Hindmarsh K Inu J Reddy tries K Inu 6 goals)

bt

SYDNEY ROOSTERS 24 (S Kenny-Dowall 2 S Perrett A Roberts tries C Fitzgibbon 4 goals)

Crowd: 12,468

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