Mitchell Moses has rubbed salt into Wests Tigers' wounds by guiding Parramatta to a 28-22 win and consigning his recent suitors to their worst start in any season as a joint venture.
The Tigers fought back to cut a 16-point deficit to two in the second half, but amid the effort five-eighth Adam Doueihi appeared to re-injure the knee he has twice had reconstructed when he contested a high ball late in the game.
In his first meeting with the Tigers since declining their lucrative contract offer, Moses came up with an equal-career high four try assists to show his former club exactly what they missed.
Despite their best half of the season in which they scored three consecutive tries, the Tigers have now lost all of their first six matches and sit two games clear at the bottom of the ladder.
Doueihi's knee problem will cause even more movement at the selection table for a club that has struggled to settle on a spine combination through six rounds, while centre Brent Naden also suffered a shoulder injury scoring the Tigers' third try.
Things don't get easier for the Tigers, with Manly and Penrith awaiting after the bye.
Team stats
When Moses split their defence with grubber kicks for two tries in three minutes, the Tigers appeared little chance of recreating the upset win they produced in last year's Easter Monday fixture.
But despite coming up with another try from the same play before the half, Moses and the Eels never had the ball or the field position to kick on.
Much-maligned Luke Brooks was first to breathe life into the Tigers, sending a cut-out pass down the left for a try on the fifth-tackle that had his side up and about.
Play-by-play
Englishman John Bateman, one of the Tigers' best since joining this season, sent Naden over for a try that increased the pressure on Parramatta.
Within two points and possessing all the momentum, the Tigers were left to rue a Charlie Staines knock-on from Parramatta's dropout, all the more painful given Staines was in the midst of his best game as a fullback.
Fixtures
Parramatta marched down-field for the second of Maika Sivo's tries and then held on.
The Eels' reigning player of the year Shaun Lane had limited chances on his return from a jaw injury as traffic mostly went down Moses' edge on the other side of the field.
Ladder
AAP
