Round 3, 2021: Parramatta 28 Cronulla 4

NRL.com

Eels v Sharks: Matterson to miss; Tracey in centre swap

Cronulla have had the wood on Parramatta in recent years but the Eels got the better of them in 2020 and are coming into this game unbeaten after a strong start to this season.

The Sharks had won six of their previous seven clashes with Parra before last year's 14-12 loss in round 13 in which the Eels scored one less try than their opponents but got home on the back of a Mitchell Moses penalty goal.

Brad Arthur's side kicked off 2021 with a comeback win over Brisbane but were more impressive last Thursday when they vanquished premiers Melbourne in a slugfest at Bankwest Stadium.

The rundown
Team news
Eels: In the only change to the 17, Ryan Matterson (concussion) will not play after his heavy head knock in the impressive win over Melbourne.

Matterson is replaced in the starting back row by impressive off-season recruit Isaiah Papali'i. That brings Ray Stone, who makes his NRL return from a knee injury, onto the bench.

The Eels will be without centre Waqa Blake for at least a month after he suffered a calf injury at training last week while Bryce Cartwright (broken jaw) and Michael Oldfield (knee) are scheduled to return between rounds four and six.

Parramatta have a 76 per cent winning record at Bankwest Stadium.

Sharks: Utility Connor Tracey will step up from the interchange to replace centre Mawene Hiroti, who was subbed out for Tracey just after half-time in the loss to Canberra.

Hiroti, who stepped in for the suspended Jesse Ramien in round two, has slipped all the way to the reserves with Teig Wilton promoted to take Tracey's place on the interchange.

It will be at least a month before we see Royce Hunt (knee) and Siosifa Talakai (shoulder) who have had their returns delayed after initially being expected back early in the season.

Ramien will return from suspension in round five while star half Shaun Johnson is due back in round seven or eight from an Achilles injury.

The Sharks have won six of their past eight games against the Eels.

Key match-up
Nathan Brown v Toby Rudolf: Two locks who hold the key to their team's fortunes. If you'll pardon the pun.

Neither player will take a backward step - Brown is built low to the ground but has a habit of getting under the skin of opponents while Rudolf is a towering forward who tends to run over the top of his rivals.

Stat attack
Maika Sivo has scored 39 tries in just 48 appearances for Parramatta in a little more than two seasons in the Telstra Premiership, including two pearlers in last week's win over the Storm.

Despite driving rain, Sivo showed superb skill to collect each kick in the wet conditions, particularly his second try late in the game which brought Melbourne to their knees and the Bankwest Stadium fans to their feet.

NRL.com

Parra power ahead as Sharks injuries take their toll

A round of extraordinary injury carnage continued as the Sharks played without interchanges in the second half to succumb to a dominant Eels 28-4 on Saturday night.

Cronulla winger Sione Katoa (knee) was helped off in the 23rd minute while second-rowers Wade Graham, Briton Nikora and fullback Will Kennedy all failed HIAs before the break.

Parramatta also lost halfback Mitch Moses to a head knock in the opening term, then powerful winger Maika Sivo went off for a HIA in the 53rd minute but later returned.

A Blake Ferguson double and tries to Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Ray Stone and Sivo, who took his Bankwest Stadium tally to 25 four-pointers in 27 games, secured the Eels a 3-0 start to the season for the second straight year.

Will Smith stepped up as Moses’ halves replacement and set up two tries in an impressive display.

Katoa, who claimed the game's first points from a sixth-minute short-side scrum move, appeared to twist awkwardly after his boot was stuck in the turf.

He was the third player in round three to suffer a significant knee injury after Roosters halves Luke Keary (ACL) and Lachlan Lam (MCL) went down against the Rabbitohs on Friday.

Dragons captain Ben Hunt (fractured fibula), Panthers fullback Dylan Edwards (broken hand), Bulldogs hooker Jeremy Marshall-King (suspected broken foot) and Raiders trio Joe Tapine (ankle), Curtis Scott (suspected rib fracture) and Jarrod Croker (dislocated finger) were also among the big-name casualties so far this weekend.

And that's not counting a host of concussions.

Canberra had one man on the bench for 60 minutes in their defeat to the Warriors earlier on Saturday. In their situation, the Sharks underwent a major reshuffle with Connor Tracey, who started the game as a makeshift centre, switching to fullback after Kennedy was ruled out.

Tracey was strong as he provided plenty of zip in racking up 140 metres and a line-break.

Josh Dugan pushed to the wing to cover Katoa's absence with Teig Wilton taking his centre spot.

The Sharks were gallant in defeat with three players making over 40 tackles - Aaron Woods, Blayke Brailey and Aiden Tolman.

The match started well for the visitors with Kennedy smoothly tipping on for Katoa to open his try-scoring account for 2021, but the Eels quickly struck back.

Second-rower Shaun Lane created an extra man on a narrow right-edge corridor and found centre Marata Niukore, who in turn delivered a delightful flick-pass to Ferguson on the wing.

Nathan Brown jolted Tracey with a huge shot, and later assisted Sivo in the 35th minute for the Eels' second try.

The Sharks defended courageously and repeatedly repelled Parramatta despite obvious fatigue until Ferguson cleaned up the dregs from a Smith bomb to collect his first double since round 15, 2019 – celebrating with a back flip.

A Clint Gutherson line-break laid the groundwork for a try with six minutes to go. On the play after the captain's bust, Parramatta produced an expansive shift to the right and back to the middle – featuring a long ball and offload from prop Junior Paulo – in the lead-up to front-rower Reagan Campbell-Gillard steamrolling his way onto the score-sheet.

Ray Stone capped off the performance when he hit a hole and ran 40 metres to collect his second NRL career try.

The Eels have joined the Panthers as the only remaining undefeated teams.