In an unsurprising evening at a soaking wet ANZ Stadium, the Parramatta Eels have disposed of a lacklustre Canterbury side 20-4 in front of 12,137 hardy souls.
The Eels dominated the contest from the opening minutes, but didn't get on the board til the 12th minute when Daniel Alvaro carried a couple of men over the line for the first four-pointer of the game, just three minutes after Cam King was denied after burrowing over but failing to ground the ball.
With rain tumbling down, ball handling became a struggle (particularly for Canterbury) and in the 25th minute the Eels took advantage. Josh Morris spilled the ball and from the next set Parramatta split the Bulldogs through a Mitch Moses break, putting Bevan French away beside the sticks.
By the 32nd minute things looked calamitous for the Dogs, with Semi Radradra exploiting some weak right side Canterbury defence and crossing for Parramatta's third.
Leading 16-0 at the change of ends, the Eels lost French to a leg injury which seemed to bring the game closer. At the 52nd minute, after a period of prolonged pressure on the Bulldogs' line, Parramatta picked up a penalty and opted for two points. Moses converted the points to ensure the lead pushed out to three converted tries.
A brief flash of flair from Canterbury saw Marcelo Montoya cross in the corner after a Brenko Lee line-break, but the try went unconverted and the 'Dogs continued to trail by 14 until a final minute penalty goal to Moses for the Eels gave us the final 20-4 scoreline.
Parramatta are at home to Newcastle next weekend at ANZÂ Stadium as they continue their charge to the finals, while Canterbury's unravelling season is back at the same venue again next week against an equally struggling South Sydney side.