Parramatta have shrugged off the loss of Kieran Foran to score a gutsy 20-12 NRL win over Canterbury at ANZ Stadium on Friday night.
With star playmaker and skipper Foran having left the country for an overseas rehabilitation clinic just hours earlier, makeshift halves Corey Norman and Brad Takairangi starred in front of a 31,815-strong crowd.
The Eels had all the excuses in the world not to turn up with Foran's absence, the salary cap scandal hanging over their heads and playing the entire second half with just two men on the bench.
With skipper Tim Mannah succumbing to a recurrence of a left shoulder problem which has kept him out for the last month and after losing fullback Michael Gordon to a quad injury at halftime, the Eels gritted their teeth to hold on for a memorable and morale-boosting win.
Takairangi, after being shifted from the centres to five-eighth to cover Foran's loss, was the surprise star, running onto a Beau Scott offload to level the scores in the 17th.
He then produced a sharp bat-on - despite the hint of a forward pass - to set up Clint Gutherson, who ran around Will Hopoate to score in the shadows of the break.
All eyes were on Norman to run the show for the Eels and he produced the decisive play when he spun through the line to give his side the lead for the first time in the 49th minute, while his kicking game was superb all night.
The Eels looked like they might run out of legs with Mannah and Gordon off but when Takairangi's clever chip found Vai Toutai in the right corner, the Eels went eight points in front and held on.
Eels coach Brad Arthur said his charges wanted to play for Foran and he was glowing in his praise for their resilience.
"That just shows there's plenty of motivation there and hunger in their bellies," Arthur said.
"There's a little bit of motivation there with Kieran ... It's not ideal but the boys have been very good at playing when they need to switch on and put on a performance."
Bulldogs coach Des Hasler said the scoreline didn't do justice to his side's effort.
He lamented the 6-4 penalty count that went against his team, and criticised the referees for what he said were inconsistencies.
"I thought in the second half the officiating made it a little bit difficult, they got three leg-up penalties," Hasler said.
"We couldn't buy one early, they got three in a row for being offside when both sides were probably guilty of that. I think the officiating could have been a little more weighted, especially in the second half."
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