Down 10-6 at halftime, the Eels produced a 30-point second half to stay third on the NRL ladder with Mitch Moses and Isaiah Papali'i starring.

In the past, Parramatta may have panicked and gone chasing points after falling behind against a side they were meant to beat.

But this time they held firm as the Bulldogs quite literally threw their advantage away.

With all the momentum before the break, the game swung when Canterbury made a meal of a last-tackle play five minutes into the second half.

After halfback Brandon Wakeham passed straight into Dylan Napa, the Bulldogs prop inexplicably let the ball lay unclaimed on the ground before Moses pounced.

The Eels halfback kicked the loose ball forward and was taken out by Wakeham in pursuit, handing Parramatta a clear penalty try.

From there, it was all the Eels as they had 74 per cent of the ball in the second half.

Shaun Lane and Reagan Campbell-Gillard both scored from nice balls from fellow big men Nathan Brown and Junior Paulo in the middle, while Clint Gutherson sent debutant Sean Russell over for a double.

Papali'i meanwhile was also superb, running 194 metres on the left edge and busting 11 tackles.

"That's why I talk about professionalism and spending time at the other end of the field and not giving them cheap possession," Arthur said.

"I thought Mitchell (Moses) did a really good job.

"You wouldn't see his highlight reel out of this game but he did a really good job of kicking them to death.

"If you keep the ball in your hand and keep their tackle count up then you will eventually find the tryline."

The Bulldogs were also forced to spend 10 minutes without prop Luke Thompson, after play went back to sin-bin him for a late shot on Dylan Brown.

That infuriated coach Trent Barrett, who saw his side go 10-6 up when Dylan Napa ended a 44-game try-scoring drought before Wakeham put Tui Katoa over on halftime.

"It was a terrific first half, against a really good side. I thought we were a chance when we came in," Barrett said.

"But the second half we didn't get a chance to get into the game.

"We worked really hard against a physical team to win some tackles and there was no real reward for it."

Adding further insult to injury, Bulldogs back-rower Adam Elliott also suffered a fractured cheekbone.

Eels hooker Nathaniel Roache sustained a knee injury in his first NRL game in two years, while Nathan Brown finished the match on report for a high shot.

Australian Associated Press