Round 12, 2020: Parramatta 18 Canterbury 16

NRL.com

Bulldogs v Eels: Lafai starts; Parra welcome back duo

Canterbury's valiant efforts were finally rewarded when they secured their second win of the season against top-four aspirants Newcastle last week.

With many in the squad playing for their futures as Trent Barrett's arrival in 2021 approaches, the Bulldogs have plenty of motivation to close out the season strongly under interim coach Steve Georgallis.

But they'll need to be at their giant-killing best to take down western Sydney rivals Parramatta, who rebounded from a loss by beating the Wests Tigers in round 11 to firmly remain in the top four.

The Eels have regained some key troops and will want to fine tune their combinations again leading into the finals.

The Rundown
Team news
Bulldogs: Mid-season recruit Tim Lafai replaces Kerrod Holland at centre. Jack Cogger and Sauaso Sue join the interchange in place of Brandon Wakeham and Renouf To'omaga. The Bulldogs have won three of their past four games at ANZ Stadium.

Eels: Kane Evans (calf) and Oregon Kaufusi (broken hand) return on the bench in place of Brad Takairangi and Stefano Utoikamanu. Ryan Matterson (head knock) is expected to play given the 10-day turnaround. The Eels have won seven of their past nine games against the Bulldogs.

Key match-up
Kieran Foran v Dylan Brown: When the Bulldogs play well, chances are a fit and firing Kieran Foran is a major reason. That was exactly the case last round. The five-eighth will be keen to keep that form going against his former club. Eels No.6 Brown has grown enormously in 2020, perfectly complementing Mitchell Moses and feeding the outside backs.

Stat Attack
Parramatta lead the league for tackle breaks with 404 - an average of 36.7 per match. That's concerning for Canterbury, who are ranked an unfortunate third for missed tackles with 365 (33.1 per match).

NRL.com

Underdogs fight back but Eels hang on in nail-biter

A fast start proved enough for a largely disappointing Parramatta side to score a 18-16 win over a valiant Canterbury at ANZ Stadium on Sunday.

Eels coach Brad Arthur will have plenty to talk to his team about this week, but in the end they did enough to remain one point behind competition leaders Penrith.

Trailing 18-0, Canterbury responded with three unanswered tries of their own, including a beauty to Jake Averillo, and had plenty of chances.

In the end, Mitchell Moses's perfect goal-kicking performance and Aiden Tolman's decision to forgo a certain two points that would have levelled the scores deep into the second half gave Parramatta the edge.

Arthur's provisionally second-placed team defended their line stoutly when it counted but lacked their usual punch in attack.

Still, the win provided them with a four-point buffer over the Roosters in fourth position, while Canterbury missed the chance to climb off the bottom of the ladder.

Positively for the Bulldogs, halves Kieran Foran and Lachlan Lewis combined nicely in patches and ex-Dragons centre Tim Lafai emerged unscathed in his first match for the club since 2015.

In somewhat of a role reversal, Eels halfback Moses stormed onto a deft two-handed offload from prop Junior Paulo to open the scoring in the sixth minute.

Canterbury looked to have quickly struck back as Foran fired the ball to winger Marcelo Montoya, but a penalty was given for an obstruction by second-rower Raymond Faitala-Mariner.

Foran remonstrated with referee Chris Sutton after the decision but the Bulldogs opted not to use their captain's challenge.

Dallin Watene-Zelezniak then provided social media meme fodder by comically facing the wrong way as he played the ball, conceding another penalty.

Parramatta capitalised on the blunder, shifting left off the ensuing tap restart and breaking clear via Michael Jennings, who laid on a try for supporting fullback Clint Gutherson.

The captain completed his double in the 28th minute, flying through the middle to ground a brilliant in-field Moses kick that caught out Nick Meaney after he overcommitted to his left.

The Bulldogs kept themselves in the contest as Foran played short to Faitala-Mariner and he powered over to claim his fourth try in five games.

Canterbury chanced their arm with some expansive play following the break. It paid dividends as Averillo ensured his place on highlight reels with a magical airborne finish.

The resurgence continued in the 52nd minute when Foran linked with Lewis and he threw a cut-out to 50th-gamer Montoya, who wasn't to be denied the second time around.

Tolman's decision to pass up an easy shot at goal was one the Bulldog would rue.