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The Parramatta Eels have come away with a convincing win over the Rabbitohs to keep their season on track.
It didn’t look good early on for the blue and gold with poor handling resulting in a try to Alex Johnston after the fullback found a gap in the line to open scoring.
The visitors struck soon after however to level the scores after a Corey Norman kick saw Clinton Gutherson find the chalk uncontested against a weak Souths defensive line.
Michael Gordon made the tough decision to have a shot at a penalty goal with the fullback kicking it perfectly to put the Eels in front by two points after twenty minutes.
The momentum was going the way of Parramatta with Bevan French scoring after Michael Gordon helped the rookie over the line.
Nathan Brown scored before the break against a fatigued Eels to put Souths behind by only two points at half-time.
Souths started strong early in the second half and looked a chance of scoring in the 44th minute with Dane Nielsen striking on the wing only to be dragged in-touch by Bevan French.
French scored his second try of the match in the 62nd minute after Semi Radradra helped him to grab a four-pointer.
The Eels took every chance at extra points with Michael Gordon kicking two more penalty goals to seal the win for the visitors.
Semi Radradra put the nail in the coffin in the 78th minute after he intercepted Luke Keary to go the length of the field and give the Eels an 18-point win.
Bevan French was outstanding for the Eels bagging a double while Danny Wicks, Kenny Edwards, Tepai Moeroa and Semi Radradra also stood out.
Alex Johnston and Nathan Brown led the way for Souths while Sam Burgess also played well.
The Eels move into third position and will receive a bye next week while Souths will need to improve ahead of their meeting with the Penrith Panthers.
Final score:
South Sydney Rabbitohs 12
Parramatta Eels 30
The South Sydney Rabbitohs and Parramatta Eels clash for the second time this year in what shapes as a bitter feud. Join The Roar from 7:50pm (AEST) for live coverage.
Souths are coming off a shocking 30-14 loss to the Wests Tigers, after Origin stars Greg Inglis and Adam Reynolds failed to inspire and had a night to forget in defence.
Pressure is now beginning to mount on Michael Maguire at Redfern, although Luke Keary and Cody Walker have a chance to relieve some of the pressure when they replace Inglis and Reynolds in the halves.
Keary and Walker must inspire their forward pack to win the battle in the middle, with their front row to play a major role in getting Souths’ season on track.
In other team news, Bryson Goodwin has been sidelined until Round 21, replaced by Jack Gosiewski, and joins John Sutton, Zane Musgrove, Hymel Hunt, Michael Oldfield and George Burgess in the casualty ward.
Parramatta have got their mojo back after their season was all but ended after the NRL penalised the club for breaching the salary cap.
Hoewver Brad Arthur’s side will be once again undermanned, with a host of stars absent through injury.
Co-captains Tim Mannah and Kieran Foran are both injured, as is Brad Takairangi, while Vai Toutai replaces Michael Jennings in the centres.
Kenny Edwards will once again wear the No.6 jersey and the lock turned five-eighth must lay the platform for his forward pack to dominate the Bunnies.
Edwards and halves partner Corey Norman need to open up the game for their damaging backline to run rampant, with Semi Radradra set to pose a serious threat to the inexperienced flank of Siosifa Talakai and Aaron Gray.
The clubs have met 26 times since 1998, the Eels winning 13 fixtures to Souths’ 12, with one match drawn.
Most recently they clashed in Round 10 of this year, in the wake of the Eels’ salary cap breaches. The Bunnies endured a late fightback to win 22-20 off the back of Sam Burgess and Greg Inglis.
Prediction
Souths will find it hard to get in the groove against a strong Parramatta side.
Eels by 12.
Join The Roar from 7:50pm (AEST) for score updates and debate in our live blog.
You can find Riley on Twitter @rileypettigrew
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