A spirited Parramatta spearheaded by Jarryd Hayne and Chris Sandow scored a morale-boosting 19-18 NRL win over Brisbane on Saturday night.

Just two weeks after captain Hayne declared the Eels had reached their lowest ebb since the 2009 grand final after a heavy loss to Penrith, Parramatta recorded their most important victory of coach Ricky Stuart’s short time with the club.

Ultimately it was a chance field goal taken by Hayne after the halftime siren that was the difference between the two sides at Parramatta Stadium.

The Eels led 10-0 after just seven minutes after Hayne and Luke Kelly both crossed on the Broncos’ right-hand flank and Sandow managed one conversion.

After losing halfback Scott Prince early to a hamstring injury the Broncos then hit back through Jordan Kahu.

The rookie winger scored twice in eight minutes to peg the home side’s lead back to 10-8 on the 20th minute after a glut of possession for the hosts.

Hayne then kicked a 30m field goal from a penalty tap after the halftime siren to stretch Parramatta’s lead to three points.

The home side scored first after the break through Joseph Paulo after great lead-up work from Sandow to lead 17-8 after 46 minutes.

Brisbane struck back in the 59th minute after Justin Hodges snuck over from dummy-half, before Sandow kicked a penalty goal to take the Eels’ lead to 19-12.

Ben Hunt scored a converted try for the Broncos in the 68th minute to set up a thrilling finish.

But the Eels held on for their third win of the year after losing 14-10 to North Queensland last start.

Josh McGuire was put on report by referee Ashley Klein in the 29th minute for a high shot on Hayne, while the visitors also lost prop Ben Hannant late in the game with an ankle injury.