A fast start proved enough for a largely disappointing Parramatta side to score a 18-16 win over a valiant Canterbury side at ANZ Stadium on Sunday. [Source: NRL]
A fast start proved enough for a largely disappointing Parramatta side to score a 18-16 win over a valiant Canterbury side at ANZ Stadium on Sunday.
Eels coach Brad Arthur will have plenty to talk to his team about this week, but in the end they did enough to remain one point behind league leaders Penrith.
The first 30 minutes of the match were nothing to write home about for the Dogs.
They conceded three tries (two for Clint Gutherson and one for Mitchell Moses) and winger Dallin Watene-Zalezniak supplied a candidate for Blooper of the Year by facing the wrong way to play the ball.
The Bulldogs were going to have to surpass their points per game average of 12.2 to make it two wins in a row following their shock victory over Newcastle last week.
After Kieran Foran and Raymond Faitala-Mariner combined to reduce the margin to 12 points at the break, the team in blue and white looked a far more formidable proposition in the second half.
Jake Averillo and Marcelo Montoya scored to reduce the margin to two points with 28 minutes remaining.
Aiden Tolman’s decision to take a quick tap rather than allow Averillo to level the scores with a penalty goal in the late stages would prove Canterbury’s last chance to get back on level terms.
