The Dragons and Eels played out a 14-all draw after an absorbing 90-minute contest at Parramatta Stadium in Round 13 last year.
The Eels drew first blood in the ninth minute when prop Fuifui Moimoi crossed for a rare four-pointer in unusual circumstances, catching a Jarryd Hayne bat-back of a Casey McGuire cross-field kick to plough over from close range.
A Luke Burt penalty goal five minutes later extended the lead to 8-nil before Adam Cuthbertson got the visitors on the scoreboard in the 25th minute, receiving a dream bounce from a Jamie Soward cross-field kick.
The Dragons fans’ joy was short-lived however, with Jason Nightingale dropping a bomb and Taniela Lasalo scoring to send the Eels to the halftime break with a 14-6 lead.
The scoreboard sat stagnant for the opening half of the second 40 before Peni Ratu Tagive chased a Darius Boyd grubber down the left edge and skilfully picked up the ball on the half-volley to score. A Jamie Soward penalty goal tied the scores with 10 minutes remaining.
Neither side could break the deadlock in the 10 extra minutes of play, with Luke Burt missing two field-goal attempts and Jarryd Hayne, Ben Hornby and Jamie Soward missing one apiece.
It was a dour game, with just one line-break made, while the Eels were kept in the clash with a 6-1 penalty count in their favour.
Nathan Hindmarsh made a staggering 71 tackles, with Jason Nightingale the Dragons’ best with 187 metres.
