Round 15, 2021: Parramatta 36 Canterbury 10

Eels v Bulldogs: Russell to debut; Meaney stays at fullback

Third-placed Parramatta have their eyes firmly on back-to-back rivalry wins but Canterbury could pose a tougher-than-expected challenge for the Eels.

The Eels kicked away to comfortably beat Wests Tigers in their round 14 derby with playmaking guns Mitchell Moses and Clint Gutherson leading the way for Parramatta in the six-tries-to-two romp.

There is plenty of incentive from both directions for the Eels to add to their two-game win streak with Parramatta just one win out of first place and the red-hot Rabbitohs only relegated to fourth on the ladder by points difference.

Canterbury might still be in last place but the effort and intent in their 22-point humbling of the Dragons will have them believing they can take down any Goliath.

The rundown
Team news
Eels: Blake Ferguson and Bryce Cartwright are unlikely to be late inclusions with the pair to play in the NSW Cup this week.

Young winger Sean Russell will make his NRL debut with Maika Sivo suspended.

The only other change comes on the interchange, with Keegan Hipgrave named in No.16 after serving a suspension in the NSW Cup.

The Eels have won nine of their past 11 games against the Bulldogs.

Bulldogs: Dallin Watene-Zelezniak (foot) could be a late inclusion after missing the win over the Dragons on Monday but Nick Meaney has been retained in the fullback role, with DWZ named as a reserve.

Kyle Flanagan performed strongly in NSW Cup last week for Mounties but is likely to remain in the second-tier competition.

The Bulldogs are aiming to win back-to-back games for the first time since 2019.

Key match-up
Mitchell Moses v Jake Averillo: This match-up between established and rising stars features two players in sizzling form. Eels playmaker Moses exploded after a quiet couple of weeks and put Wests Tigers to the sword in round 14 with a long-range try, two line breaks, a try assist, three tackle busts, six goals from six attempts and 152 run metres.

But the young Bulldog had arguably the best game of his career with a try-scoring double, two line breaks, five tackle busts, an offload, six from seven and 117 run metres to suggest Moses might not have it all his own way this week.

Stat attack
Canterbury hold the advantage 84 wins to 70 in this western Sydney rivalry but it's been largely one-way traffic since 2016 with the Bulldogs claiming victory on just two occasions in the past 11 derbies.

NRL

Penalty try propels Parra past ill-disciplined Dogs

A penalty try to Mitchell Moses sparked Parramatta to life as they consolidated third spot on the ladder with a 36-10 win over the Bulldogs on Sunday.

The Eels were their own worst enemies with a 65 per cent completion rate in the opening 40 minutes but came out firing after the break to secure their 12th win of the season.

Canterbury appeared on track to deliver an upset when they skipped to a 10-6 at half-time before a penalty try ruling against the visitors gave the Eels an upper hand.

The momentum swung when Jeremy Marshall-King's pass failed to find Jake Averillo and instead flew into an unaware Dylan Napa.

Moses did enough to get a foot on the ball before being dragged down by Brandon Wakeham in an illegal play. The Bunker didn't need long to settle on a penalty try.

From there, the Eels piled on a further two tries through forwards Shaun Lane and Reagan Campbell-Gillard to set up a comfortable lead.

Lane's effort was among the highlights of an otherwise scrappy afternoon. The bench forward was put into a hole by Nathan Brown before throwing a dummy to race a further 30 metre to the line.

The Eels forward pack was on a roll again shortly after with NSW representative Junior Paulo sending fellow front-row teammate Reagan Campbell-Gillard over from short range.

Canterbury's woes worsened to match a disastrous second half with Adam Elliott suffering a suspected cheekbone fracture and Luke Thompson sin-binned for a late shot on Dylan Brown.

Parramatta's afternoon was sealed when 19-year-old debutant Sean Russell slid over the line twice late on to cap a comfortable win leading into their first bye of the season.

Earlier, the Bulldogs put up a gritty fight in conditions that suited their style of play.

Both sides traded tries via kicks that weren't cleaned up at either end of the field in the opening 30 minutes.

Ryan Matterson pounced on an Aaron Schoupp error early to open the scoring for the Eels, before Dylan Napa ended a 44-game try drought to collect a Haze Dunster mistake for his own four-pointer.

Parramatta conceded their second try of the afternoon when Marata Niukore was spending 10 minutes off the field following a high tackle on Josh Jackson.

The visitors were able to take advantage on the left edge with Wakeham sending Tuipulotu Katoa over in the corner.

That was where the momentum ended for the visitors, however, with Trent Barrett’s side having no answers for the Eels’ second-half blitz.

Niukore wasn't the only Eel on report in the clash with Nathan Brown penalised and cited for high contact. Bulldogs prop Luke Thompson went on report for the incident that resulted in him being sin-binned.