The Warriors head into their first bye with a 7-2 record and likely sitting second on the NRL ladder after streaking away late to beat Parramatta 36-14 on Saturday night.
The Eels scored the first try of both halves and looked capable of pulling off an upset, but the competition’s worst defensive outfit offered up enough opportunities — and the Warriors were poised and polished enough to take them — to eventually get the job done relatively convincingly.
The Warriors lost Wayde Egan to a head knock half an hour in, but Sam Healey did a solid job deputising, while the other three-quarters of the spine each had shining highlights.
The physical mismatch was the big difference, however, with the Warriors running for 335 more metres, translating to twice as many line-breaks (eight to four) and six tries to three.
The Warriors gave away an uncharacteristically high seven set restarts — helping keep the Eels, who recovered from 16-6 down to trail just 18-14, in business — but their superior discipline with the ball and strike was ultimately telling.
