Eels continue climb

The Parramatta Eels have extended their winning streak to four after sealing a masterful 20-12 victory over the New Zealand Warriors before a crowd of 14499 at Auckland's Mt Smart Stadium.

With both sides showing solid form in their recent match-ups, the Saturday night fixture promised to be a tight affair.

However, the home side was dealt a cruel blow minutes before kick-off when ace playmaker Brent Webb pulled out of the match after suffering a groin injury in the pre-game warm-up.

Rookie Eels wing Jarryd Hayne looked ominous from the outset and quickly proved that last week's four-try haul was no fluke when he crossed in the third minute.

With the Warriors moving forward comfortably on attack, big wing Manu Vatuvei fumbled the ball into the waiting arms of Hayne who made light work of the scattered defence to score the opener from 25 metres out.

Five minutes later the speedster was in again for his second try of the night after another error from the home side.

Warriors centre Simon Mannering lost the ball forward in a strong tackle and Hayne was on hand to pick it up and charge 60 metres down the field to give the Eels an 8-0 lead.

The home side's best early opportunity came in the 13th minute but Vatuvei came up agonisingly short of the line after losing the ball just inside the corner-flag.

This prompted a quick resurgence from the visitors and three minutes later the Eels were in again when second-rower Nathan Hindmarsh slipped through a gap in the Warriors' defence to score.

Finally, in the 26th minute, the Warriors etched their way onto the scoreboard when skipper Steve Price broke through the line from five metres out to waltz under the posts.

The home side's jubilation, however, was short-lived and another defensive lapse in the closing stages of the opening half opened the door for Eels centre Luke O'Dwyer to plough through for an easy try to give the Eels an 18-6 half-time lead.

The Warriors came out with all guns blazing after the break but some steely Eels defence kept the hosts scoreless during the opening exchanges.

The stalemate was finally broken in the 53rd minute when Warriors halfback Grant Rovelli ran onto a pass from second-rower Wairangi Koopu to slip through for a crucial try.

Several minutes later the hosts looked to have levelled the score when Mannering burrowed over the line, only to be held up by some brilliant defence from Eels backs Eric Grothe and Wade McKinnon.

With 15 minutes left, Mark Riddell had a chance to seal the win for the Eels, but slammed his penalty from close range straight into the post.

But it proved to be of little consequence as some gritty defence from the visitors in the dying stages, along with a Riddell penalty in the 79th minute, saw the Eels come away with the much-needed competition points.

Eels 20
Tries: Hayne 2, Hindmarsh, ODwyer
Conversions: Hayne
Penalties: Riddell

Warriors 12
Tries: Price, Rovelli
Conversions: Martin 2