Round 13, 2021: Parramatta 40 Newcastle 4

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Knights v Eels: Klemmer's two-week ban; Ferguson dropped

Newcastle enjoyed a much-needed morale boost with their upset win over in-form Manly but will need to break a cycle that hasn't seen them win back-to-back since the first two rounds of 2021.

The 18-10 upset victory was just their third win at home this season so the Knights also can't take too much comfort from hosting the third-placed Eels at McDonald Jones Stadium.

But the way Newcastle ground their way to victory, and subdued the brilliance of Tom Trbojevic, provided the blueprint for getting the better of a Parramatta attack that has lost some of its spark in recent weeks.

Origin, injury and judiciary concerns have taken a large bite out of the Knights pack so coach Adam O'Brien will be looking to captain Jayden Brailey and back-rower Mitch Barnett to step up.

The Eels are much less affected by State of Origin than the other top teams which could be a blessing in disguise. Captain Clint Gutherson and halfback Mitch Moses will be keen to atone for a disappointing past few weeks.

The rundown
Team news
Knights: Veteran prop David Klemmer has entered an early plea to his careless high tackle charge and will spend two weeks on the sideline.

Sauaso Sue replaces Klemmer in the front row while Jacob Saifiti takes over from twin brother Daniel as the other prop and Brodie Jones has received the nod to take Tyson Frizell's place in the second row.

The promotions for Sue, Jacob Saifiti and Jones see Kurt Mann added to the interchange alongside second-gamer Nathanael Sasagi and Jack Johns, who is making his first Knights appearance.

The Knights have won four from six at McDonald Jones Stadium this season.

Eels: Reed Mahoney, named in the No.19 jersey for Queensland, has been selected at dummy-half and is eligible to play if released by the Maroons.

Five-eighth Dylan Brown and prop Reagan Campbell-Gillard return from suspension, with Oregon Kaufusi going to the bench and Jakob Arthur sliding back to the reserves, while Marata Niukore replaces Blues bench forward Junior Paulo in the front row.

Haze Dunster has earned a recall for his first start of the season, and third appearance, in place of veteran winger Blake Ferguson who has been dropped.

Utility Will Smith (thumb) reclaims the No.14 jersey in his comeback from injury.

Eels halfback Mitchell Moses requires six points for 800 points in the NRL.

Key match-up
Phoenix Crossland v Mitch Moses: The young Knight has done a good job stepping in to help Newcastle with their playmaking woes this season, producing a try, two try assists and three line-break assists in five outings. He kept driving Manly back with his kicking game on Sunday and will need to produce a repeat performance if Parramatta's many dangerous attacking weapons are to be kept in check.

The more experienced Moses has gone a little off the boil in recent weeks and will be looking to return to the form that has produced 10 try assists, three line-break assists and six dropouts this season. He will also be keen to break his 2021 try-scoring drought.

Stat attack
Perhaps even worse than the 56 points they conceded over the past two weeks is the fact that the Eels have allowed 20 line breaks. When opponents are averaging one line break every eight minutes, limiting the damage on the scoreboard is always going to prove difficult.

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Parra dice and slice Knights but Mahoney injury a concern

Parramatta arrested a two-game losing skid with a 40-4 rout of an under-strength, outclassed Newcastle at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday but a shoulder injury to Reed Mahoney took some of the gloss off their victory.

After losses to South Sydney (38-20) and Manly-Warringah (28-6) in their previous two games, the Eels had the two points all but secured when they led 22-0 at half-time and went on with the job in the second half to remain in third spot behind Penrith and Melbourne.

Reaching out to tackle Knights debutant Jake Clifford in front of Newcastle’s posts in the 68th minute, Mahoney clutched at his left shoulder and had to be helped from the field.

Only a minute earlier, Mahoney was on the receiving end of a late tackle by Sauaso Sue which earned the Knights prop a trip to the sin bin.

Mahoney, who left Queensland’s Origin camp on Saturday to rejoin the Eels for their final training run, threw the last pass for two of Parramatta’s eight tries to be one of the architects of their win.

Parramatta ran in five first-half tries, including three in eight minutes, and should have led by more than 22-0 but halfback Mitchell Moses was on target with just one conversion.

Without seven regulars and with three debutants in their squad, Newcastle looked for inspiration from former players on their annual "Once A Knight" Old Boys’ Day.

But the Knights were out-muscled in the middle, lacked cohesion, made too many handling mistakes, forced too many passes, and fell off tackles as the first half wore on.

The Knights were not much better in the second half, allowing Moses, Dylan Brown, Mahoney and Clint Gutherson to shift the ball as they pleased.

Capitalising on a Brayden Musgrove handling error, the Eels drew first blood in the fourth minute when Ryan Matterson crashed through fullback Tex Hoy to score the opening try.

Mahoney dummied left and sucked in markers Kurt Mann and Lachlan Fitzgibbon then hit Matterson with a short pass on his right.

The Eels extended their lead to 8-0 in the 18th minute when the Knights could not defuse a Moses bomb, Brown batted it backwards and Matterson flicked a pass for Haze Dunster to score in the corner.

Newcastle dodged several bullets midway through the first half, scrambling to defend their errors, but it was only a matter of time before the floodgates opened.

Maika Sivo was a powerhouse on Parramatta’s left wing, crashing over to score tries in the 30th and 36th minutes, then threw the final pass for Gutherson to touch down in the same corner 90 seconds before the half-time siren.

Shaun Lane offloaded to Bryce Cartwright for a try in the 44th minute, extending Parramatta’s lead to 28-0 after Moses added the extras.

Tom Opacic scored from a Mahoney pass in the 56th minute and Gutherson, taking over the kicking duties while Moses received attention for a leg injury, converted for 34-0.

Waqa Blake collected a Cartwright grubber to score in the 70th minute and a 40-0 lead, then Knights centre Enari Tuala dived over in the corner six minutes later to prevent a shut-out.

The Knights were without seven regular starters – Mitchell Pearce, Kalyn Ponga, Tyson Frizell, Daniel Saifiti, David Klemmer, Hymel Hunt and Edrick Lee – but were buoyed by a surprise 18-10 victory over Manly seven days earlier.

Members of Newcastle’s premiership-winning 2001 team walked a pre-game lap around the ground then joined other former players, coaches and staff in a guard of honour, hoping to inspire the current Knights squad to a repeat of that famous upset of the Eels, but it never looked likely.

Clifford was one of three players to make their Knights debut but, apart from launching several towering bombs, never had a chance to shine.

The other Newcastle debutants were Jack Johns, son of premiership-winning former Knights five-eighth Matthew Johns, and Taree junior Mat Croker.

The Knights face another difficult assignment against South Sydney at Stadium Australia next Saturday and the Eels will host the in-form Wests Tigers at Bankwest Stadium next Sunday.