Warriors smoke Eels after pockets of resistance

Parramatta showed some pluck early in each half, but the Warriors held their nerve to run out comfortable winners at CommBank Stadium.

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.