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FWC: BRA vs NOR from 7am, SN ExtraMessy Manly made to pay as Eels engineer NRL upset
George Clarke, AAP • July 5th, 2026 6:45 pm
Parramatta have shocked Manly by nine points, with Jonah Pezet playing a starring role | Photo: Dan Himbrechts/AAP
Parramatta have thrown a major spanner into Manly's top-four hopes, condemning an uncharacteristically wasteful Sea Eagles side to a 23-14 NRL defeat.
Without Mitchell Moses and Junior Paulo, the Eels claimed the sixth - and most impressive - win of their 2026 campaign at CommBank Stadium on Sunday.
Five-eighth Ronald Volkman was a constant menace for the Eels while fill-in halfback Jonah Pezet marked his return to NRL action for the first time in three months with the decisive try and a field goal.
Ronald Volkman, seen tackling Tom Trbojevic, shone in attack and defence | Photo: Dan Himbrechts/AAP
On the flipside, this was one of the most underwhelming showings of Kieran Foran's tenure at Manly as the Sea Eagles lost ground in the battle for a top-four finish.
Rookie playmaker Joey Walsh, who is expected to be the club's five-eighth for the rest of the year with Luke Brooks sidelined with an ACL injury, grabbed a try.
But the moments of magic were few and far between for the Sea Eagles who made 17 errors and completed at just 68 per cent.
Manly were clunky both sides of the ball, despite getting on the board first through a Jamal Fogarty penalty.
Parramatta then grabbed the game's first try when a fleet-footed Volkman sidestepped Corey Waddell in the 26th minute.
Lehi Hopoate crossed on the left wing and Fogarty added another penalty to give the Sea Eagles an 8-6 halftime lead.
Dylan Walker recorded a strong contender for try assist of the year with a round-the-back pass to set up Eels back-rower Kelma Tuilagi.
Jonah Pezet iced the win with his 70th-minute try for the Eels | Photo: Dan Himbrechts/AAP
But while Walker was still busy waving to the crowd at the restart, Reuben Garrick noticed, kicked and regathered his own short kick-off.
Garrick's quick thinking paid dividends as Manly rolled downfield and finished with Walsh barging his way over with the help of the post padding.
Isaiah Iongi hit back for the Eels to re-take the lead and Jason Ryles' men pulled away in the final 10 minutes.
After Tuilagi dropped the ball with the line beckoning, Pezet took matters into his own hands, grubbering to himself and touching down.
Pezet then nudged an opportunistic field goal to seal victory as Parramatta leapfrogged Brisbane and Gold Coast into 14th spot on the NRL ladder.
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