Parramatta snapped their winless start to the NRL season and ended arch-rival Manly’s week from hell with a 44-10 smashing on Sunday.
Just five weeks after the Sea Eagles flogged the Eels 54-0, Parramatta’s 88-point turnaround was the fourth biggest of the NRL era as their halves finally clicked at ANZ Stadium.
It represented a significant change in fortunes for Manly, who have now lost three in a row and came after a week of off-field woes involving the Jackson Hastings and Daly Cherry-Evans fiasco.
Manly completed just 15 sets and had only 42 per cent of the ball in the loss, as they were completely dominated by an Eels side that suddenly looked much improved through the middle to claim their first win in round seven.
The only sour note for Parramatta came when Jarryd Hayne limped from the field midway through the first half with the same hip injury that ruled him out of the past three weeks.
Criticised during the week, Parramatta’s halves pairing of Corey Norman and Mitchell Moses showed signs of the form that got them to last year’s finals as they had a hand in six tries.
Moses had his first major involvement when he and Hayne combined to send Manu Ma’u over on the left edge, before he later lofted a ball for right-side winger George Jennings to score.
His kicking was also much improved, evidenced by his chip for Michael Jennings early in the second half, while he later skipped free to put Clinton Gutherson over.
After the Eels led 20-0 at the break, Norman crossed for a try of his own when he pushed and dummied his way through Manly’s fragile defensive line.
He also put second-rower Kenny Edwards over midway through the second half, while hooker Kaysa Pritchard also grabbed one as the Eels completed at 91 per cent.
Co-captain Tim Mannah was also sensational. Another to be bagged during the week, he led the Eels with 156 metres while Ma’u, David Gower and Daniel Alvaro also reached three figures from Parramatta’s forward pack.
Brad Parker and Akuila Uate each grabbed second-half tries for Manly, but their day went from bad to worse when the former limped off with a knee injury and didn’t return.
