Eels too slippery for Broncos

PARRAMATTA 20
BRONCOS 16

PARRAMATTA gave Brisbane an instant reminder of what life will be like without Darren Lockyer with a 20-16 win at Suncorp Stadium tonight.

Brisbane hooker Shaun Berrigan ensured a thrilling finish with two tries in eight minutes to give the Broncos a shot at victory.

The Eels jumped out to a 14-0 halftime lead on the back of a 10-point haul from young Kiwi international winger Krisnan Inu before withstanding a spirited second-half fight back from Brisbane.

With Test players Karmichael Hunt, Brent Tate, Justin Hodges and Lockyer missing, Brisbane at times looked rudderless in the opening 40 minutes.

Parramatta scored tries to winger Inu (12th minute) and forward Nathan Hindmarsh (26th) and managed to keep Brisbane scoreless until powerhouse young forward David Taylor set up a try for centre Darius Boyd in the 43rd minute.

Brisbane missed Lockyer's kicking and passing game and his ability to keep the opposition defence guessing.

Parramatta halfback Tim Smith, who had a hand in both first half tries with a deft kick and a super pass to centre Timana Tahu, popped up another great ball for Ian Hindmarsh to score for a 20-6 lead in the 60th minute.

Berrigan showed great strength and determination to beat three Parramatta defenders to score out of dummy half in the 69th minute to cut the margin to 20-12.

He then came up with a spectacular try in the 77th minute, managing to ground the ball while most of his body was over the sideline.

Brisbane, down 20-16, declined to take the kick with two minutes remaining but could not pull of what would have been an amazing win.

PARRAMATTA 20 (N Hindmarsh I Hindmarsh K Inu tries; K Inu 4 goals)
BRISBANE 16 (S Berrigan 2 D Boyd tries; C Parker 2 goals)
at Suncorp Stadium.

Referee: Ben Cummins.
Crowd: 25,762.