Parramatta has bounced back after Monday's shocking performance against the Bulldogs with a thrilling, 26-16 victory over the Roosters at Western Sydney stadium.
The five-try half from the Eels, jam-packed with scintillating offloads and bullocking runs up the middle was completely at odds to the individualistic display last time out.
"We were pretty disappointed with how we went last week, it was pretty embarrassing to be honest," Clinton Gutherson said.
Whatever was said during the week, it helped the Eels rediscover their best form as they scored five brilliant tries through Dylan Brown, Isaiah Papali'i, Gutherson, Maika Sivo and Reed Mahoney in the first half alone.
Joseph Suallii scored once in each half for the Roosters either side of a Sitili Tupouniua score, but were always second best in front of 21,757 supporters.
A bloodied James Tedesco said the Roosters were "flat" in the first half and gave themselves too much to do in the match.
"We fought back in the second half but … we've just got to be better than that."
At times it appeared there was nothing the Roosters could do to contain the Eels, particularly for Sivo's try — his first since returning from an ACL injury.
Starting on the right, the Eels offloaded and scampered free of Roosters tacklers before spinning the ball left for the massive Fijian to crash over.
The next try was almost as good, with seamless passing down the right sending Mahoney over.
The Roosters lost Egan and Nat Nutcher to head injuries on a torrid night for the tri colours.
The Roosters have dropped out of the eight after losing four of their last five matches.
Mitch Moses, who added three conversions and helped steer the Eels around the park, said the Eels wanted to "come out and prove a point".
"We showed a lot of mental toughness there, we turned up for each other and it was a good hit back from last week."
Penrith Panthers hammer Warriors in Redcliffe
Penrith were far from perfect, but the Premiers-elect were still too good for the New Zealand Warriors, running out 40-4 victors in Redcliffe.
Tries to Moses Leota, Dylan Edwards and Taylan May, all converted by Nathan Cleary, handed the Panthers a comfortable 18-0 lead at the break.
The Panthers continued where they left off after the restart with Brian To'o, Isaah Yeo and Liam Martin all crossing for further scores.
Josh Curran added a late consolation off the back of a booming 40:20 kick from Reece Walsh, who added the extras to ensure the Warriors were not zeroed.
However the Panthers had the final say, To'o scoring an acrobatic second in the corner after some lovely work from Jarome Luai to complete the scoring and a seven-try to one rout.
It was the Warriors' seventh consecutive loss, expertly ground into submission by Cleary, fullback Dylan Edwards, second-rower Liam Martin and lock Isaah Yeo.
Halfback Cleary was always a play ahead of the Warriors. He tormented them with an array of kicks on top of his slick running and passing game.
It was in stark contrast to Warriors halfback Shaun Johnson, who failed to trouble the Panthers' defence and is fighting for his place in the side.
The Panthers took some time to find the precision expected from the NRL's benchmark team.
Two handling errors inside the first five minutes provided an uncharacteristic start but when they eventually clicked they were near unstoppable.
It was the Warriors' final home game in Redcliffe before they return home permanently for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
ABC/AAP
Cronulla Sharks hang on to defeat Gold Coast Titans
Cronulla has hung on to defeat an ill-disciplined Gold Coast side 18-10 in a scrappy, error-strewn encounter in what were ideal conditions at the Coffs Harbour International Stadium.
The Sharks, who move into the top four at the expense of Brisbane, leaped into a 10-0 lead thanks to tries from Sione Katoa and Matt Moylan inside the opening quarter.
However, the Titans fought back to be all square at the break after Beau Fermor and Greg Marzhew crossed.
A converted try from Blayke Brailey five minutes after the restart, followed by a penalty goal from Nicho Hynes — on what was his birthday and his 50th NRL appearance — helped the nominal home side to an 18-10 lead that they held through to the conclusion.
""Very sloppy … we almost got our pants pulled down there at the end," Brailey told ABC Grandstand after the match.
"[Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon] wants us to be a defensive side … not happy at all."
"I think across the board [the errors] is something we're gunna need to address just to give ourselves a opportunity to compete against those big sides and play the type of footy that we want to," Moylan told Fox Sports after the match.
"There's still a bit of work to do."
Titans full-back AJ Brimson — returned to the side after missing last week with COVID — threatened to make things interesting in the closing minutes, but knocked on attempting to ground a Patrick Herbert kick.
Greg Marzhew went the length of the field in the closing seconds, after a wonderful flick pass from Jarryd Wallace inside his own ten metres, but it was cruelly chalked off after the bunker Moylan was judged to have knocked on earlier in the play.
The game was punctuated by a litany of errors from both sides, numbering 15 for the match for the Sharks and eight for the Titans.
"We ground it out and got the win in the end," Hynes told Fox Sports.
"If we're gunna compete with the best teams in the competition, we need to be way better.
"We're giving away silly penalties in our own end when we're getting pretty good kicks away … we're making some silly offloads, errors.
"We need to take a really good look at ourselves, review those areas and stop doing those silly things so we can compete with the best teams."
