Parramatta has pulled off a stunning upset, snapping South Sydney's six-match winning streak with a 36-16 triumph over the Rabbitohs in Indigenous Round.
Earlier on Friday night, St George Illawarra – playing only three days after head coach Anthony Griffin was sacked – scored a converted try inside the final 20 seconds to defeat the Sydney Roosters 24-22.
Desperately needing a win to breathe life back into their NRL season, Dylan Brown and Mitch Moses starred for the Eels as they claimed their biggest triumph of the year.
The result means Penrith will enter the State of Origin period on top of the ladder for the third straight season, claiming first spot off the Rabbitohs.
Almost everything appeared set up for the Rabbitohs in their first home match at the redeveloped Sydney Football Stadium.
The Rabbitohs had not been beaten in Indigenous Round since 2015, while they have also had the wood over the Eels in recent years, winning all six matches since 2020.
And just after halftime, the Eels were reduced to a two-player bench, with Andrew Davey concussed early and Ryan Matterson suffering a calf injury.
But ultimately, the Eels needed it more to climb from 14th spot on the ladder to within four points of the top eight.
They led the match for all but five minutes in the second half and were able to claw back the momentum of Cody Walker, Latrell Mitchell and Alex Johnston.
The Eels dominated the middle, with Wiremu Greig totalling 200 metres and Junior Paulo 198 metres to lay the platform for their halves.
Brown in particular was impressive.
He laid on a try in the first term when he went to the line from within his own half and offloaded for Matterson before Bailey Simonsson crossed.
He was again influential in Simonsson's second try after halftime, putting in a shallow cross-field kick for Clint Gutherson to bat back and help Paulo put the centre over.
Moses also had big moments on return from concussion.
He sent Sean Russell in the for opening try of the match and later drew in the numbers to put Will Penisni and Bryce Cartwright over on the right edge as well.
The two halves also combined in the second half when Brown charged onto a Moses grubber kick to get the ball down within centimetres of the dead-ball line.
The Rabbitohs' halves, in comparison, could not get it done in the key moments.
Walker was electric as he and Mitchell combined for both Johnston's first-half tries, before also sending Campbell Graham through for a try after the break.
But Lachlan Ilias put two kicks out on the full in the second half under immense pressure from the Eels' forwards.
The Eels scored from each of the next two sets, allowing them to take the lead and then later extend their advantage during the second half.
Dragons pip Roosters
A last-gasp stroke of genius from fullback Tyrell Sloan helped St George Illawarra usher in the post-Anthony Griffin era at the club with an upset win over the Sydney Roosters.
The victory came in Ryan Carr's debut as interim Dragons coach, snapping a six-match losing streak that cost Griffin his job on Tuesday and eases the off-field pressure that has been building on the Dragons.
The Dragons gave up a 14-0 lead in the second half once James Tedesco and Luke Keary began to fire and the home side threatened to fall in a close encounter, just as they did in the first five losses of their 2023 slump.
But with numbers on the left side of the field in the final 20 seconds, Sloan put in a cross-field kick that sent Mathew Feagai over to level the scores.
It was a conversion from the maligned Zac Lomax, playing his first match back from a two-week spell in reserve grade, that stopped the rot for the Dragons and sealed a famous win at Kogarah.
The Roosters lifted their game in a tightly fought second half but have now lost their past three matches by a combined total of 92-32 and have failed to score first-half points during that time.
It has been an alarming fall from grace for the pre-season premiership fancies, who are set for more disruption with Tedesco and Lindsay Collins's impending State of Origin selections.
The Roosters will also likely lose Brandon Smith to a thumb injury and Victor Radley to suspension after he was placed on report for head-butting Dragons prop Blake Lawrie during a fracas in the first half.
Tedesco was the best in a beaten team, putting paid to recent speculation as to his State of Origin credentials by hoisting the Roosters back into the fight after an error-prone and wasteful first half.
The fullback leapt high to catch a wayward Smith pass and flop over for a try in the 50th minute.
Three minutes later he took Nathan Brown's short pass and tore through the middle, eventually offloading to a flying Keary.
The Dragons' own talisman Ben Hunt put his side on top again with a short ball out of dummy half that sent Jaydn Su'A over but Tedesco returned serve to his rival captain.
Moses Suli leapt to field Keary's kick inside his own 10 metres but found himself pick-pocketed by Tedesco, who crashed over.
The Roosters looked to be closing in on victory, but that was until the Dragons caught the defence out of place as Sloan sealed victory.
AAP
