Eels finally in points swim

Neither Parramatta nor Wests Tigers had ever won in golden-point extra-time, and after the first two rounds of this year's competition they didn't have a win between them either.

So something had to give when last night's game went into overtime - unless it still ended up a draw, which it very nearly did until Eels fullback Luke Burt kicked an 88th-minute penalty goal.

Burt's goal, from just over 40 metres out and to the left of the uprights, broke a 20-20 deadlock and came after Tigers replacement forward Dene Halatau had been penalised for making a tackle on Parramatta replacement hooker P.J. Marsh after not being square at marker.

"It was pretty bloody nerve-racking," Burt said of the shot, which completed a terrific night for him. "My legs were pretty wobbly, mainly from how hard the game was, but the nerves were there too."

Burt kicked five goals from five attempts and - despite being one of the smallest fullbacks in the competition - came up with the biggest hit of the game on Tigers halfback John Morris in the 50th minute.

The Eels were still clinging to the 14-12 lead they took to half-time, and the Tigers were deep in attack with the rest of the defence struggling to get back after Morris had made a break.

There was a huge amount at stake with both teams on zero competition points entering the game, and while it wasn't one of the classics, it was fought out with plenty of desperation. As soon as Burt's winner had sailed over the crossbar, the Eels celebrated like they had shaken a huge weight from their backs, which was indicative of how tough it is to get a win in this even premiership.

The Tigers had locked up the game in the 79th minute when halfback Benji Marshall kicked a penalty goal after Clark ruled Parramatta had taken out a chaser, hooker Robbie Farah, off a kick from fullback Brett Hodgson.

It was fourth time the Tigers had gone into the golden-point period and the fourth time they had lost. The Eels had lost two from two in golden point before last night.

"We're going to have to address it because they're the sort of games [decided in extra time] that let us down last year," said Hodgson.

There were four attempts to win the game by field goal before Burt's two-pointer. Marshall missed from 47m out in the last minute of normal time, and then Farah (82nd minute), Burt (84th) and Marshall again (85th) were all unsuccessful.

Parramatta dominated possession for the first few minutes of the game, but once the Tigers got going they made the Eels pay the price when Parramatta prop and captain Nathan Cayless knocked on 15m out from the Eels' line.

Shortly after, Tigers prop Keith Galloway charged ahead and - with three defenders clinging to him - slammed the ball down one-handed on the line.

Marshall converted the try for a 6-0 lead and the heat was right on the Eels at home, but they answered by scoring the next 14 points before conceding a second try just before half-time.
The task confronting the Tigers got a lot harder when Halatau was sin-binned for delaying the play-the-ball in the 48th minute, but Parramatta had not done anything with their one-man advantage before Marsh was sin-binned for tackling Marshall without the ball six minutes later.

Eventually, Parramatta kicked away to lead 20-12 before the Tigers came back again. Eels coach Michael Hagan welcomed the win, saying: "You don't want to get left behind in this competition. The defensive effort, the scrambling and the desperation from our team was exceptionally good."

Tiger coach Sheens said he believed the better team had lost and that his men would keep applying themselves until the breakthrough win came.

"I'm pleased with how they're coming along," Sheens said. "No wins puts us under pressure, but if we continue to improve and play some good footy then I'm happy that we're going forward."

PARRAMATTA EELS 22 (J Reddy T Smith F Mateo tries L Burt 5 goals) bt

WESTS TIGERS 20 (K Galloway B Harrison B Marshall tries B Marshall 4 goals) at Parramatta Stadium in golden-point extra-time.

Referee: S Clark.

Crowd: 18,142.