The Knights loss was particularly disappointing and to my mind highlighted some mental fragility in the make-up of this team. Having thrashed the Tigers at home, the Eels should’ve been hell-bent on franking this form by dealing with the struggling Knights away from home. Instead, they presented themselves poorly from the opening whistle and succumbed to the enthusiasm and energy of their opponents. Dejected: But the Dragons were unlucky on Anzac Day. Credit:AAP It’s one thing to be beaten on talent, tactics or bounce of the ball. These things happen. It’s a completely different thing to be beaten on attitude and togetherness. That is unforgivable. The Eels were emotionally flat in the early stages against the Knights and they never really recovered. I’m quite sure their coach, Brad Arthur, had warned his troops of the dangers of not being mentally prepared for the clash. Unfortunately, it was quite obvious his advice fell on deaf ears and the Eels lost a valuable two competition points. The Eels players still had their heads in the euphoria of their big victory at home the previous week. The danger this week is they think the home ground advantage will do the work for them. It won’t. They will need to be at their best to match the Dragons. I’m wondering, too, that if constant media attention surrounding contract talks for key players and the coach will be distracting as well. The Eels need to work hard on their attitude control and their football. A key indicator of their focus and attention to detail is completion rate and unforced errors. In losing to the Raiders the Eels only competed 56 per cent of their sets of six. They completed only 69 per cent against the Knights. In their victory against the Tigers that figure was 81 per cent. Completion rates aren’t the sole reason for winning, but they are an indication of concentration and focus. The Parramatta forwards need to take ownership of their performance this week. Forwards win games; the backs just decide by how much. The Parramatta playmakers won’t get a look in unless their forwards take control of the rough and tumble. This will be no easy task. In fact, it’s where I believe the Dragons hold the balance of power. Big game forwards such as James Graham, Paul Vaughan, Tyson Frizell and Tariq Sims will not be intimidated by the atmosphere. I thought their Anzac Day performance against the might of the Sydney Roosters was full of merit and far better form than what the Eels delivered in Newcastle. Danger man: Cameron McInnes. Credit:NRL Photos The Eels showed some real brittleness around the play the ball area in all parts of the field last weekend. The forwards were also found wanting on their own goal line. This would not have been lost on the Dragons. Hooker Cameron McInnes is very adept at bringing his forwards onto the ball and over the advantage line. He is also brilliant at deflecting attention from himself, before striking out of dummy half when opponents least expect him to run. He is a very crafty player and the Eels are vulnerable to his playing style. Former Eel Corey Norman and teammate Ben Hunt are starting to forge quite the combination. The sizzling speed of fullback Matt Dufty completes a very dangerous line-up. I’m really warming to these outside backs at the Dragons. The two wingers, Jordan Pereira and Mikaele Ravalawa are a breath of fresh air. They have no reverse gear and are as brave as they are strong. They might make a few errors, but they make them at 100 miles an hour. I love their attitude. Centre Tim Lafai is in terrific form and I have a huge opinion of young Zac Lomax, who will feel far more comfortable lining up in the centre position today. If both teams put their best football on display, this will be a cracking game in front of a packed stadium. Right at the moment, though, the Dragons look a little more solid in the key areas of the game. I have to tip the Red V to prevail in a tight one. Dragons to win a high-scoring encounter.<doc-sep>Newcastle have momentarily eased pressure on coach Nathan Brown with a drought- breaking 28-14 victory over Parramatta. Entering Sunday's NRL clash on a five-game losing streak, the Knights appeared set for a cruisy victory when they raced out to a 20-0 lead inside 30 minutes. Impressive: Newcastle's Mitchell Pearce runs the ball on Sunday. Credit:Max Mason-Hubers However the Eels finally woke up with tries either side of halftime to get within six points early in the second half at McDonald Jones Stadium. A penalty goal from Kalyn Ponga, who was one of Newcastle's best, made it an eight-point advantage, before Mitchell Pearce sealed the victory with a clutch try.<doc-sep>Loading If you hadn't been to the footy in Newcastle for more than a decade, then why would you think anything has changed on Sunday's evidence? The captain wearing the No.7, jinking and darting close to the line. Left foot, right foot. Tired defenders with lungs bursting, trying to hold together a line creaking. The playmaker stretches out his ball-carrying arm, instinctively keeping it above the ground before planting the Steeden on the chalk. Touch of Joey: Mitchell Pearce channels his superstar predecessor Andrew Johns with a stunning individual try. Credit:AAP Mitchell Pearce is not Andrew Johns, not by any stretch. But when a town and a team in an hour of need needed their main man, Pearce stood up. His match-winning effort from close to the line was straight out of the Johns textbook, closing out a game the Knights just had to win. They did so, subduing a slow-starting Eels 28-14 at McDonald Jones Stadium.<doc-sep>Game in the balance, raucous home crowd and a spot a little closer to the top four on the line, Blake Ferguson was told a simple message from Parramatta's trainer: make sure you win this game for us. It only took a few minutes and he did. He celebrated with a backflip and told anyone who cared to listen he was back. Blake Ferguson flips out after scoring a spectacular try in the Eels win at Bankwest Stadium. Credit:NRL Photos Still sporting a bent-out-of-shape nose as well as tender ribs, Ferguson made another crucial early season difference to the Eels. This time it came in the form of a soaring leap after a Mitchell Moses bomb which mugged Dragons opposite Jordan Pereira and sent the Eels to a match-winning lead.<doc-sep>
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - MAY 05: Reed Mahoney of the Eels celebrates after scoring a try during the round eight NRL match between the Parramatta Eels and the St George Illawarra Dragons at Bankwest Stadium on May 05, 2019 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images) Parramatta have made it two from two at their new home after producing an entertaining 32-18 NRL comeback victory over St George Illawarra. Two weeks after celebrating their debut at Bankwest Stadium with a 50-point thumping of the Wests Tigers, the Eels hosted another party on Sunday. Down 14-0 after 30 minutes, Reed Mahoney started the fightback when he jumped over from close range just before halftime. MATCH CENTRE: Eels v Dragons Live stream the 2019 NRL Telstra Premiership on KAYO SPORTS. Every game of every round live & anytime on your TV or favourite device. Get your 14 day free trial > And the home side continued their push after the break, with Clint Gutherson and Maika Sivo scoring long-range tries within four minutes. Not even a Mikaele Ravalawa try could halt the Eels’ momentum. Mitchell Moses reclaimed the lead with a penalty goal, before having a hand in tries for Blake Ferguson and another for Sivo in the final quarter of the game. Compounding the defeat for the Dragons were injuries to Tyson Frizell (eye), who played just 10 minutes, and Corey Norman (cheekbone). Greeted by boos in his first game against his former club, Norman exited in the 53rd minute after an accidental head clash with Sivo setting up Ravalawa’s try. But it was another impressive outing from the off-contract Gutherson, whose long-term future had come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks. The Eels’ captain scored a try and played a role in two others before finishing the match with 202 metres. With his team down by eight points at halftime, Gutherson raced 75 metres from a simple dummy-half run to get his team back into the contest. He put Sivo away for his own 80-metre effort, and Moses did the rest thereafter as they cemented their top-eight position. A well-contested opening meant the loud 25,872 crowd waited almost half-an-hour for the first try, when a diving Ben Hunt planted a Cameron McInnes grubber. And a Dragons rout loomed when Matt Dufty put forward a contender for try of the season when he finished off a play that began near his own tryline. A week after lighting up the SCG with an individual effort, Dufty was on the end of an electric 90-metre movement that involved both Dragons wingers. However, all their momentum vanished just before halftime when Mahoney took advantage of some poor marker defence. PARRAMATTA 32 (M Sivo 2 B Ferguson C Gutherson R Mahoney tries M Moses 6 goals) bt ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA 18 (M Dufty B Hunt M Ravalawa tries Z Lomax 3 goals) at Bankwest Stadium. Referee: Chris Butler, Ashley Klein. Re-live all the action in our live blog below!