South Sydney have staged a dramatic second-half comeback to run over the top of Parramatta 26-20 and keep their NRL minor premiership hopes alive.
The Eels looked home and hosed at 20-6 up midway through the second half but were run down thanks to three Rabbitohs tries in nine minutes in front of 15,542 at ANZ Stadium.
After having their nine-game winning streak snapped by the Wests Tigers and losing the competition lead last week, the Rabbitohs bounced back with an unconvincing yet valuable win.
A Mitchell Moses penalty gave the Eels a 20-6 lead and a three-try buffer with 25 minutes on the clock however the Rabbitohs came home with a wet sail.
After Cody Walker and Angus Crichton were denied by the video referee, they finally cracked the Parramatta defence when Campbell Graham caught them short on the right wing to make it 20-10.
And when Robert Jennings crossed in the left corner and Adam Reynolds booted it from the sideline, the margin was suddenly just four.
Corey Norman became the second player sin-binned for the match and Dane Gagai made them pay the following set as he charged over for the go-ahead try.
Graham’s second four-pointer in the 79th minute put the icing on the cake.
The result leaves the Eels stranded alone on 10 points at the bottom of the table after fellow cellar-dwellers North Queensland and Canterbury both scored upset wins on Friday night.
Parramatta copped an early blow when hooker Kaysa Pritchard was forced off with a shoulder injury in just the sixth minute, with rookie Reed Mahoney forced to take on primary dummy-half duties in his fourth first-grade game.
After Hymel Hunt was sin-binned, Parramatta crossed twice through Clint Gutherson and Jarryd Hayne, who turned back the clock with a powerful run after drifting in-field off his wing.
And when Michael Jennings shook off a meek attempted tackle by Hunt, Parramatta had three tries in 11 minutes and an 18-6 lead at halftime before they wilted in the second half.
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