Sunday 12 July 2020 12:23, UK
We recap Sunday's NRL action, as Parramatta Eels and St George Illawarra Dragons claimed victories in the final two matches of Round 9...
Parramatta regained their place at the top of the NRL table after a hard-fought win away to the fifth-placed Knights at McDonald Jones Stadium in Sunday's opening game.
The Eels were far from at their best in the match, committing 14 errors and giving away several penalties and numerous set restarts.
However, they had enough to hold off Newcastle and move back to first on the ladder after being temporarily replaced at the top by Penrith Panthers.
Brad Arthur's side took the lead in the 16th minute when Ryan Matterson took a pass from influential hooker Reed Mahoney for an unconverted try, although the Knights were level at 4-4 at half time as Andrew McCullough forced his way over four minutes before the break.
Parramatta hit the front again in the 64th minute when Clint Gutherson caught Newcastle off-guard with a quick tap and set Maika Sivo racing over for his ninth try of the season.
The Knights thought they had scored again late on when Tex Hoy collected a kick from Kalyn Ponga, only for the Bunker to chalk the try off due to offside.
St George gave the home fans something to cheer on their return to Netstrata Jubilee Stadium and handed Manly a third-straight defeat.
Zac Lomax led the way for the hosts with a try, four conversions and a penalty for a 14-point haul, with the Dragons running in five more tries from five different players.
The Sea Eagles, who were missing key players Tom Trbojevic, Addin Fonua-Blake and Dylan Walker, took the lead when Joel Thompson crashed over for an unconverted try in the eighth minute
But when Josh Kerr went over in the 27th minute, it was swiftly followed by Matt Dufty scoring four minutes later as the Dragons led 10-4 at the break.
Lomax slotted over a penalty 15 minutes into the second half and Mikaele Ravalawa crossed to keep the scoreboard ticking over just before the hour mark.
The seal was put on the Dragons' third win in five matches after kicking off the season with four straight defeats thanks to tries from Lomax, Corey Norman and Euan Aitken in the final eight minutes.
