The Sydney Roosters' indifferent 2022 NRL season has continued with Trent Robinson's men falling out of the top eight with a 26-16 loss to the Parramatta Eels.
Considered a frontrunner for the premiership this season, the Roosters were blown off the park in the opening 40 minutes as the Eels avenged Monday's shock loss to Canterbury.
The Roosters, usually famed for their stoic defence under Robinson, have now conceded 146 points across their past six games.
Granted they lost brothers Egan and Nat Butcher to concussion and were without Luke Keary, Victor Radley and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, but the Roosters have won just once in their past five outings.
On the eve of selections for State of Origin II in Perth, Parramatta duo Reagan Campbell-Gillard and Ryan Matterson gave good accounts of themselves in the battle to earn NSW recalls.
Campbell-Gillard and the Roosters' Queensland prop Lindsay Collins were placed on report.
Roosters winger Joseph Suallii grabbed a double to further press his claim for a NSW berth while back-rower Angus Crichton had a solid outing.
It was Suallii who kickstarted one of the most chaotic opening halves of the season, evading a Maika Sivo tackle to touch down in front of 21,757 fans at Commbank Stadium in the third minute.
The Eels immediately responded with a late offload from back-rower Shaun Lane which allowed five-eighth Dylan Brown to dive over.
Isaiah Papali'i went in next for the Eels with Lane setting up captain Clint Gutherson with another no-look pass.
Sitili Tupouniua hit back for the Roosters but just before half-time Parramatta went up a gear.
A try to Sivo, who had earlier sent Joey Manu flying into orbit with a one-handed fend, started on the Eels' left, went through 10 different sets of hands to the right and finished with the big Fijian crashing over on the left-hand edge.
With the break approaching, Eels hooker Reed Mahoney, started and finished a rapid short-side attack after some faultless interplay involving Mitchell Moses, Bailey Simonsson and Gutherson.
Given the speed at which they played and that they led 26-12 at the break, it was hard to believe this was the same Eels side which had been belted by Canterbury five days earlier.
Suaalii chipped to himself and regathered early in the second half and the Roosters looked to be finding their way back into the game.
But when Egan Butcher was knocked out cold after getting his head on the wrong side trying to tackle Matterson, the fizz went out of the game.
Butcher was taken off the field by a medicab in the 54th minute and neither side scored thereafter.
