Round 2, 2021: Parramatta 16 Melbourne 12

NRL.com

Eels v Storm: Niukore back from ban; Storm unchanged

They achieved their week one wins in contrasting fashions, but the Eels and Storm head into this meeting seeking a two-from-two start to 2021.

Melbourne blitzed South Sydney early before winning 26-18 while the Eels turned a 16-0 deficit against Brisbane into a 24-16 win.

Melbourne's attack was superb in the early stages in round one, with Ryan Papenhuyzen and Cameron Munster both starring.

The fact the Eels were able to turn a poor first 40 minutes into a win will give Brad Arthur and his players some confidence.

In saying that, a slow start against Melbourne rarely ends in anything other than defeat.

The rundown
Team news
Eels: Just the one change for the Eels with back-rower Marata Niukore returning from a two-game suspension for a crusher tackle in last year's qualifying final against the Storm. Niukore's return pushes Keegan Hipgrave to the reserves.

Ray Stone and Joey Lussick were cut from the squad 24 hours before kick-off.

Storm: Craig Bellamy is going with the same 17 which proved too strong for Souths. Premiership centre Brenko Lee remains sidelined with a hamstring injury. Harry Grant (knee) and Dale Finucane (calf) are still a few weeks away.

Cooper Johns and Dean Ieremia were the first two players cut from the 21-man squad on Wednesday.

Key match-up
Mitchell Moses v Jahrome Hughes: Despite being a Test player, Hughes still doesn't earn the plaudits he deserves. His battle with Moses will be important as the Eels will rely heavily on both his individual skills and organisational qualities.

Stat attack
Parramatta made 15 errors in their win over Brisbane. If they can't get that down into single figures, the extra sets they'll give the Storm are likely to prove to big of a hurdle to overcome.

NRL.com

Super Sivo stars as Storm sunk in Bankwest rain

The brilliance of Maika Sivo was the difference in a stunning exhibition of wet-weather football won 16-12 by the Eels over Melbourne at Bankwest Stadium on Thursday night.

A day of torrential rain in Western Sydney couldn't dampen the quality of football from both sides.

Masterful long kicking and epic defence from both teams came before and a couple of superb attacking plays decided the match.

Sivo's two aerial masterpieces, out-leaping opposite George Jennings from high attacking kicks, proved the difference.

The Eels lost centre Waqa Blake on game day to a calf strain with forward Marata Niukore, in his first game of the year returning from suspension, filling in with great effect.

Far from being caught out by the faster men opposite, Niukore used his size to repeatedly rock the men opposite, causing indecision and at least one turnover.

Skipper Clint Gutherson was also tremendous; both he and opposite Ryan Papenhuyzen put on a clinic of positional fullback play but it was Gutherson was the superior performance and last laugh as he helped save no fewer than four Storm tries.

His first try save came in the 15th minute when he planted himself in front of Nelson Asofa-Solomona on the Eels' goal line and got his hands around the ball as the towering attempted to plant the ball.

He defused another three minutes later when one-on-one with Josh Addo-Carr, snatching a kick-ahead from almost point-blank range.

It allowed the Eels to score first points as they went down the other end and Maika Sivo out-jumped former Eel Jennings from a pinpoint Dylan Brown bomb.

Gutherson and Mahoney saved another near-certain Storm four-pointer as they dragged down Tui Kamikamica centimetres short just past the half hour mark.

But with half-time looming, yet another Storm raid paid dividends.

Gutherson yet again stopped a try, knocking the ball free from Kenny Bromwich, but the Storm regathered and spread it rapidly to the right for Reimis Smith to bag his first try in Storm colours to make it 6-6 at half time.

The game threatened to flare up when Felise Kaufusi's was placed on report in the 47th-minute after a tackle which forced Ryan Matterson from the field for a HIA. He would not return.

The torrential rain and monstrous collisions sapped players from both sides; Brandon Smith could barely stand when finally interchanged for rookie Tyson Smoothy in the 63rd minute.

Moses and Reed Mahoney's long kicks to the corners started to take their toll on the Storm back three and helped the home side to a better share of field position through much of a scoreless opening 20 minutes of the second half.

A leg-pull penalty and long touch-finder put the Eels in range and an offside six-again mounted the pressure, then some sharp dummy-half work from Mahoney helped Junior Paulo crash over for his second try in as many games to put the Eels up 12-6.

The Storm weren't done with as Justin Olam cashed in on a lucky ricochet from an attacking grubber with Papenhuyzen levelling the scores with five minutes to play.

With both side almost certainly thinking about a field goal, the Eels finished a set with a Moses bomb from more than 40 metres out but it floated high and long and a rampaging Sivo charged through to snatch it from Jennings for the second time in the match as the Eels stole the lead from nowhere.

But there was one more twist in the tail and a grandstand finish in wait.

Melbourne's short kick-off was touched by Eels centre Tom Opacic before it had the chance to travel 10 metres to give the Storm a penalty and a full attacking set with over a minute to play but an all-or-nothing play from Olam on the second play conceded possession and allowed the Eels to run down the clock for a well-earned upset win.