Brisbane 6-34 Parramatta: Electric Eels demolish Broncos
Last Updated: 29/05/20 8:29am
Parramatta Eels ran in six tries to beat the Brisbane Broncos 34-6 as the NRL restarted after the lockdown at a crowd-free Suncorp Stadium.
It's been almost 10 weeks since round two of the NRL, with the coronavirus pandemic putting all professional sport on hold worldwide.
However, the NRL has been one of the first sports to resume with the Eels making in three wins out of three.
It was a bad night for the Broncos who also lost skipper Alex Glenn who was rushed to hospital with a nasty looking cut on his leg.
The new "six again" rule for players holding down in the tackle had an immediate impact, with the Eels awarded repeat sets in the opening minutes - with Marata Niukore opening up the scoring.
The rule was introduced to discourage wrestling in the tackle area, with the one referee who remains on the pitch after the second was cut in a cost-saving measure can indicate "six more tackles" if he spots an infringement in the ruck.
The Broncos levelled the scores through a Brodie Croft solo effort before Maika Sivo showed off his gymnast skills with a diving effort into the corner to give Parramatta a 12-6 lead at the break.
Croft was lucky to be playing at all having twice registered a temperature in excess of 37.2 degrees celsius before the game.
Croft, who blamed a cup of coffee, a sweater worn on a warm Queensland evening and excitement for his high temperature, passed the mandatory test at the third attempt.
The Eels proved too powerful for the young home side in the second half with skipper Clint Gutherson, centres Michael Jennings and Waqa Blake as well as forward Shaun Lane scoring tries to give them three wins out of three for the season.
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