Eels pile on Cowboys' misery

The Parramatta Eels have kept their finals hopes alive with a dour 16-4 triumph over the North Queensland Cowboys at Parramatta Stadium on Friday night.

Having shot to a 14-0 lead midway through the opening stanza the Eels could only muster a solitary penalty goal for the remainder of the contest, but it was enough keep the hapless Cowboys at bay.

The victory ended the Eels' losing run at three matches while the Cowboys slumped to their 12th-succesive NRL defeat to move a step closer to claiming the dreaded wooden spoon.

With their season on the line the Eels made a dream start when Luke Burt crossed in the third minute.

A Brett Finch grubber kick proved too much for Cowboys fullback Mark Henry and Burt was on hand to claim the loose ball and touch down for the opening points.

Burt was able to convert his try and extend his side's lead to 6-0 in the early going.

The Eels custodian added to his tally minutes later with a regulation penalty goal to extend the host's advantage to eight points.

Parramatta's dominance continued but Michael Hagan's men had to wait until the 25th minute to add to their tally when giant winger Tony Williams out-muscled four defenders to plant the ball over the stripe for a converted try and a 14-0 lead.

To their credit, the Cowboys kept coming and broke their duck on the half-hour when John Williams scampered over to close to 14-4.

Sione Faumuina came agonisingly close for the visitors minutes later but desperate Eels defence prevented the makeshift pivot from grounding the ball to maintain their 10-point advantage at the break.

The match developed into a slugfest early in the second stanza but it was the Cowboys who appeared more likely to trouble the scorers.

Ray Cashmere and Carl Webb managed to get across the tryline in separate instances although neither player was able to plant the ball and get the Cowboys back into the contest.

What the disjointed Eels lacked in attack they more than made up for in defence as they were forced to repel several promising raids from the visitors.

A late Luke Burt penalty goal iced a scrappy victory for the hosts who, despite claiming the vital two points, have a lot of improving to do as the race for a top-eight berth heats up.

Eels 16
Tries: Burt, Williams,
Goals: Burt 4

Cowboys 4
Tries: Williams,

Sportal Player of the Year Votes

3 - Brett Finch (Parramatta Eels)
2 - Nathan Cayless (Parramatta Eels)
1 - Travis Burns (North Queensland Cowboys)