South Sydney have inflicted further heartbreak on Parramatta, with under-pressure playmaker Luke Keary sparking his side to a thrilling 22-20 win on Friday night at Pirtek Stadium.
Rabbitohs halfback Adam Reynolds booted a clutch sideline conversion to break the hearts of the 16,013 blue and gold faithful who had packed into the ground.
With the loss, Parramatta face having to win 12 of their final 14 games in the wake of the besieged club's punishment for the salary cap crisis.
The Eels looked to be heading to victory after a Semi Radradra hat-trick had the home side well placed at 20-6 early in the second half, however the Bunnies rallied to record their fourth win of the year.
Keary had been demoted to the bench to make way for Greg Inglis' eagerly anticipated move to five-eighth, but his injection into the game proved the impetus for the Rabbitohs' win.
He popped a superb ball to put Inglis through a hole which get the Rabbitohs on the attack before throwing the cut-out ball for Bryson Goodwin to cross which reduced the deficit to just four points in the 71st.
Then after Inglis put Goodwin through a hole, Keary finished off the movement to level the scores with just two minutes on the clock and Reynolds' conversion putting his side in front.
South Sydney face a nervous wait after Inglis had been penalised for an apparent forearm to the head of Kenny Edwards.
While Inglis was not put on report, Queensland coach Kevin Walters will also be sweating on the outcome, with the Maroons' side for the State of Origin series opener set to be announced after next round.
Eels and NSW forward Beau Scott will also come under the scrutiny by the match review committee for an alleged trip.
Parramatta coach Brad Arthur praised his side's effort and commitment, but with their top-eight aspirations hanging by a thread, he urged his troops to banish finals football from their minds.
"I give them a rap for their effort and their commitment, it was a tough week, but we move on from that straight away," Arthur said.
"We can talk about the technical aspects when we do video during the week. They were disappointed."
After four straight losses going into the clash, South Sydney mentor Michael Maguire credited the win to his players undergoing an attitude change during the representative round break.
He praised his charges' fight after Parramatta went into the game as sentimental favourites and with the league community cheering them on.
"We've been through a fair bit ourselves over the last month. There have been various games that we weren't pleased with and there were areas where we were," Maguire said.
"We had to work really hard for the things that work for us. There was a lot against us and everyone wants the fairytale, obviously with what Parramatta have been through I feel for them, that creates the swell of momentum against you and that's why I'm so proud of them."
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