Round 11: Parramatta Eels vs Cronulla Sharks

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Parramatta Eels vs Cronulla Sharks

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Cronulla fight back to upset the Eels 22-18 in NRL match at Parramatta Stadium

Cronulla continued their extraordinary run against the Eels at Parramatta Stadium, the struggling Sharks scoring a dramatic 22-18 upset win in their NRL match.

The Sharks scored four tries to three and survived some late scares to record just their third victory of the season - their second against Parramatta.

Cronulla haven't lost at Parramatta Stadium since 2003 and their team included five former Eels, including halfback Tim Smith.

It was Parramatta's first loss in five games and they created enough opportunities to win even with game-breaking backs Jarryd Hayne and Timana Tahu away on State of Origin duty.

Cronulla played with tremendous spirit and enjoyed early territorial domination and a 10-6 lead.

Two quick tries saw them trail 18-10 at half-time, but the Sharks outscored the Eels 12-0 after the break.

Smith started the comeback in the 58th minute when he crossed for a try on the last tackle after throwing a dummy.

The match then tilted well into the Sharks favour courtesy of two decisions inside as many minutes by video referee Phil Cooley.

He disallowed a 65th minute effort by halfback Daniel Mortimer, ruling Ben Smith was in front of the kicker.

Barely a minute later, Cooley gave his blessing to a try for Sharks forward Paul Aiton, who grounded the ball after a pack of players jumped for a bomb from Sharks skipper and five-eighth Trent Barrett.

Parramatta went agonisingly close to scoring on at least three occasions in the last 10 minutes - with bad bounces averting wingers Luke Burt and Eric Grothe in either corner.

The Eels opened the scoring for the match through young fullback Tom Humble, Hayne's replacement.

Cronulla hooker John Morris was held up and lock Paul Gallen stopped just short before the visitors finally got a deserved try in the 21st minute.

Following a penalty close to the Eels line, former Parramatta halfback Tim Smith set up second rower Anthony Tupou, who squeezed between centre Joel Reddy and five-eighth Kris Keating.

The Sharks were over again eight minutes later in the first half, when Collis crossed after good work from fullback Nathan Gardner.

Parramatta coach Daniel Anderson slammed his side's attitude.

"We were beaten by a team that had a better attitude, as simple as that,'' he said.

"We just played like we thought we should've got the two points without competing.

"We were beaten at almost every contest throughout the whole game."

Source: http://www.foxsports.com.au

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Great win by Cronulla, close game. Good for the Titans to see the other teams keep each other down. A much needed win for Cronulla.

[titansrawesome]

won some dough on this one and got the tip right