The St George Illawarra Dragons suffered a 24-10 loss to the Parramatta Eels at ANZ Stadium, Olympic Park on Sunday afternoon.
The Eels only had to wait two minutes for their first try when fullback Clint Gutherson was able to capitalise on a ricocheted ball off Jack de Belin's head.
Gutherson was in the thick of it again in the 25th minute when he ran 80 metres after collecting a Kalifa Faifai Loa grubber with his leg.
The Dragons earned a reprieve just before half-time when a desperate flick pass from fullback Jason Nightingale allowed winger Nene Macdonald to score in the corner.
The Eels headed into the second half up 12-4 and extended that in the 47th minute when Michael Jennings scooped up a Joel Thompson error and raced 60 metres to score under the uprights.
Bevan French scored the Eels next midway through the second half when he spun out of a tackle from Nightingale.
Dragons front-rower Paul Vaughan powered his way over in the 63rd minute but an error-riddled final quarter prevented the Red V from scoring again.
Parramatta Eels 24 (Clint Gutherson 2, Michael Jennings, Bevan French tries; Clint Gutherson 3, Mitch Moses goals) defeated St George Illawarra Dragons 10 (Nene Macdonald, Paul Vaughan tries; Gareth Widdop goal) at ANZ Stadium, Olympic Park. Half-time: Eels 12-4. Crowd: 13,559.
