Eels hold on against Dragons

Parramatta has ridden its luck to see off an accident-prone St George Illawarra 19-18 at ANZ Stadium on Sunday.

Eels half-back Brett Finch kicked a field goal six minutes from full-time to finally put the game beyond the Dragons' reach, although a Matt Cooper try with 78 seconds left caused some palpitations in the Parramatta camp.

But the visitors held solid in the dying seconds to make it back-to-back wins.

The Dragons were arguably the better team for large slabs of the match but were again made to pay for their own ill-discipline and poor option taking.

They were also denied what appeared to be a fair try late in the first half.

Eric Grothe powered over the top of three defenders to score Parramatta's first try after just seven minutes.

Luke Burt nailed the sideline conversion and the Eels had skipped to an early 6-0 lead.

Grothe was fortunate not to concede a try at the other end in the 32nd minute.

Running the ball out from a St George Illawarra kick, the Eels winger was hit in a tremendous tackle by Kirk Reynoldson and Cooper.

The ball spilt loose for Jamie Soward to pick up and send Jason Nightingale over for what appeared a simple try.

But referee Sean Hampstead, after listening to Grothe's protest, sent the decision upstairs to video adjudicator Steve Clark.

Clark controversially ruled Cooper had played at the ball and instructed Hampstead to penalise the Dragons for a strip.

Saints' misery was compounded just a minute later when Parramatta scored through Burt after smart lead-up from Finch and Nathan Hindmarsh.

While Burt lined up the conversion attempt, Hampstead, referring to the Nightingale no-try, said to Clark via the referee's microphone: "That was a hard decision, Clarky."

At 12-0 the red and whites could have dropped their heads after such a setback, but Mark Gasnier brought then back to life with a magnificent solo effort just before the break.

The Kangaroos centre stood up Jarryd Hayne, shook off Joel Reddy's tackle and flicked a pass out for winger Chase Stanley to sneak over in the corner.

Soward's sideline conversion left it 12-6 at half-time.

The Dragons had no-one to blame but themselves for blowing a try that would have possibly drawn them level nine minutes into the second half.

Soward burst clear with plenty of speed and men in support on his inside, but took the low percentage play and found lock Stuart Webb on the outside.

He proved an easy target for Parramatta winger Joel Reddy, who came over in cover to drag Webb into touch just short of the line.

Once again the hosts were punished almost immediately, Finch and Feleti Mateo combining to put Hayne over.

Burt's kick from the touchline just dipped over the bar to put the Eels up 18-6.

But the Dragons refused to go away, clawing their way back into the contest on the hour when Soward's quick ball put Cooper away.

The speedy centre found Nightingale and the Kiwi flyer did the rest for his sixth try of the year.

Soward did wonderfully well to add the extras from an acute angle, leaving St George Illawarra trailing 18-12.

The hosts had their chances to draw level but Finch's one-pointer in the 74th minute stopped them dead in their tracks.

Parramatta 19
Tries: Grothe, Burt, Hayne
Goals: Burt 3
Field Goal: Finch

St George Illawarra 18
Tries: Stanley, Nightingale, Cooper
Goals: Soward 3

Sportal Player of the Year:
3 - Nathan Hindmarsh (Eels)
2 - Feleti Mateo (Eels)
1 - Mark Gasnier (Dragons)