NRL
Bulldogs 8
Eels 27
Brilliant one minute, bumbling the next. The Parramatta Eels were hotter and colder than a swine flu sufferer.
Dogs fans must have hated the first 20 minutes as the young five-eighths with the famous Bulldogs surname - Daniel Mortimer, son of Steve - sparked the Eels.
It was Mortimer's delicate grubber that saw winger Luke Burt make a clever pick-up and score and the Eels then went nuts. Jarryd Hayne, set free out of goal-line defence by a clever pass from Burt after a fifth-tackle kick by the Dogs, galloped into a gap.
His nose for space saw him twisting the Bulldogs' defence left and right and round about. The brilliant Hayne surged 70m and would have gone the length of the field had it not been for the blazing speed of Josh Morris who ran him down.
From the play-the-ball, quick hands by the excellent Jeff Robson gave big winger Eric Grothe the chance to straighten the attack and put the defence in two minds - and he made no mistake, ghosting through to score.
It was brilliant stuff - but then the Eels underwent a puzzling personality change. Ball was spilled, passes were dropped and the Bulldogs - keeping their composure even when the Eels were running hot - took advantage.
Big centre Jamal Idris regained ground after an Eels blue, using his strength on an outside break to clatter through Krisnan Inu when a try did not look likely. Another delightfully weighted kick by Ben Roberts saw winger Bryson Goodwin score unchallenged with the Eels defence gone home for lunch.
Then the brilliant Eels re-emerged. Man of the match Hayne cracked the defence again, the young halves, Robson and Mortimer combined and Grothe wrestled over. Kevin Kingston scuttled over from dummy half; a Burt field goal put them out of reach before Fuifui Moimoi sealed matters. The Eels have now won five in a row.
Bulldogs 8 (J. Idris, B. Goodwin tries), Eels 27 (L. Burt, E. Grothe 2, K. Kingston, F. Moimoi tries, Burt 3 goals, field goal). Halftime: 8-10.
NRL: Brilliant Hayne kennels Bulldogs
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