Parramatta made a mockery of their four consecutive losses to open the 2012 season when blindsiding the premiers 29-20 at Parramatta Stadium in Round 4.
The visitors drew first blood when Jarryd Hayne plucked a cross-field bomb from the grasp of the Sea Eagles’ line defenders for a 6-nil lead with five minutes gone, before Brett Stewart returned fire shortly after. Centre Steve Matai broke away near halfway and kicked ahead for his fullback, who received a dream bounce to dive over under the posts.
However, back-to-back tries to Matt Keating (from dummy-half) and winger Ken Sio (off a Hayne cut-out pass) saw the Eels take a handy 18-6 lead midway through the half – although they surrendered that advantage on the stroke of halftime when Anthony Watmough crossed off a Daly Cherry-Evans grubber to make it 18-10 at oranges.
Two left-edge tries shortly after the resumption of play saw the visitors grab the lead for the first time in the evening, before Hayne struck again, taking an inside pass from Ben Roberts to cross on the hour. That made it 24-20, with the final scoreline rounded out by a couple of Chris Sandow penalty goals, plus a field-goal.
There was no question which was the superior team, with the Eels making eight line-breaks to Manly’s four. They also carved out a 228-metre territorial dominance.
