Fortress Parramatta: Eels douse Dragons with second-half blitz
Parramatta maintained a perfect Bankwest Stadium record after reeling in a 14-point deficit to run down St George Illawarra, in the process leaping to the cusp of the top four.
Captain Clint Gutherson, who during the week said he was "very sick" of his contract stand-off with the Eels, led from the front as Parramatta powered past the Dragons 32-18 at their new $360 million stadium on Sunday.
Trailing 14-0 minutes before the break, livewire hooker Reed Mahoney scrambled over from close range and the Eels ran riot after the break as the Dragons lost Tyson Frizell (eye) and Corey Norman (cheekbone) to injury.
It was an unhappy ending to what was shaping as a sweet homecoming for Norman, who had a hand in a scintillating near length-of-the-field try to Matt Dufty which set the Dragons on course for victory.
But Frizell copped a poke in the eye from teammate Blake Lawrie and Norman came out reeling from a sickening headclash with two-try hero Maika Sivo, the Eels piling on 26 points in the second half to be just one win shy of fourth-placed Melbourne.
The result will be a bitter pill to swallow for Dragons coach Paul McGregor, who must now quickly regather his side before Saturday's Magic Round clash against the Warriors.
More than 25,000 people packed the Eels' new home after the hosts dismantled the Tigers at its grand opening on Easter Monday - and again they didn't leave disappointed.
Norman's first touch was greeted with thunderous booing, but the longtime Eels No.6 had the last laugh at the end of 40 minutes.
He played more than a small part in a try-of-the-season contender as the Dragons streaked near on 90 metres on a kick return which started with Matt Dufty and finished with the little No.1.
In between wingers Mikaele Ravalawa and Jordan Pereira combined with Norman and Tim Lafai to power the Dragons to a 14-point lead, adding to a buffer set up by Ben Hunt pouncing on a deft Cameron McInnes kick.
McInnes' opposite Mahoney closed the gap for the hosts when he burrowed over from dummy-half with the Dragons defence napping.
It completely changed the complexion of the game.
Gutherson struck straight after the resumption from dummy-half, only this time he scored from near on 80 metres out rather than Mahoney's close-range effort.
Then the inspirational Eels skipper sent Sivo barrelling downfield from another long-range kick return to fire Brad Arthur's men to the lead for the first time.
Sivo's Fijian compatriot Ravalawa clawed the Dragons back level, crossing from a sweet backline play which left Norman needing a concussion test when colliding heads with Sivo throwing the final pass.
But after Moses' penalty goal restored the Eels' lead, Blake Ferguson mugged Pereira from a Moses bomb and Sivo put the finishing touches on a win which will only fuel the fans' impatience with negotiations with Arthur, Gutherson and Moses.
PARRAMATTA EELS 32 (Maika Sivo 2, Reed Mahoney, Clint Gutherson, Blake Ferguson tries; Mitchell Moses 6 goals) defeated ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS 18 (Ben Hunt, Matt Dufty, Mikaele Ravalawa tries; Zac Lomax 3 goals) at Bankwest Stadium. Referees: Ashley Klein, Chris Butler. Crowd: 25,872.