Led by two tries to young gun Bevan French, the Parramatta Eels stormed home late against the South Sydney Rabbitohs to notch a convincing win and 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 the scoring.
The visitors struck back soon after 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.
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The momentum was going the way of Parramatta with French scoring after 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 into touch by French.
The winger then 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 before Semi Radradra put the nail in the coffin in the 78th minute after he intercepted a Luke Keary pass to go the length of the field and give the Eels an 18-point win.
While French was the star of the show for Parramatta, Danny Wicks, Kenny Edwards, Tepai Moeroa and 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
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