NRL: Eels well smoked

Ben Smith of the Eels is well held by a tight Roosters defence. Photo / Getty Images

Todd Carney's all-round play and goal-kicking were key factors as the Roosters continued their roll with a crushing win over the Eels at Parramatta Stadium last night.

Carney converted all eight of the Roosters' tries and took his season's points tally to 155 as they spoilt the Eels' late-season charge in front of a crowd of almost 20,000.

The Roosters had too much firepower as they surged to an unexpectedly easy victory, scoring four tries in each half.

They have 28 points while the Eels, who remain on 22, now have a difficult task to make it into the top eight after this morale-sapping loss.

The match had been eagerly awaited. The third-placed Roosters and the 10th-placed Eels had been two of the form teams, the Roosters having won four in a row and the Eels three.

The Eels had been starting to look more like the team of last year which surged into the grand final from near the bottom of the table. Conversely, the Roosters had erased memories of last year's campaign when they finished with the wooden spoon.

The sell-out crowd had little to cheer about in the early stages. Anthony Minichiello led the Roosters out in his 200th match (in which he had scored 96 tries) and they led 12-0 in as many minutes.

Mitchell Aubusson scored the first try when he ran into a gaping hole and beat a tackle; and Shaun Kenny-Dowall scored his 10th of the season after a pin-point kick to the right wing by Carney.

Nine minutes later, it became 18-0 when Minichiello marked his milestone with a try after a clever sidestep and off-load from Mitchell Pearce.

But the Eels had too much attacking talent to be denied for long and, 10 minutes before halftime, Jarryd Hayne, at first receiver, took the ball and broke two tackles to score his ninth try of the season.

Phil Graham finished off a length-of-the-field try for the Roosters, initiated by a break out from his own line by Kane Linnett, but the Eels struck back right on halftime when Nathan Hindmarsh ran 30 metres to reduce the deficit to 12 points.

The Roosters had made six line-breaks to two, and missed 12 tackles compared to 20 by the Eels, and their attacking threats had given them a more than useful lead.

The Eels needed to mount a major comeback in the second spell but the early signs were not encouraging.

It was the three Roosters playmakers - Pearce, Carney and Braith Anasta - who combined to put Linnett over in the corner after just two minutes and Carney's conversion made it 30-12.

If they had not done so already, the Roosters sealed the deal 18 minutes from the end when Minichiello scored his second after a weaving run by Kenny-Dowall opened up the Eels' defence.

Tries to the Roosters in the final stages by Paul Nuuausala and Graham completed a demoralising night for the Eels.

Eels 12 (J. Hayne, N. Hindmarsh tries, L. Burt 2 goals);

Roosters 48 (M. Aubusson, S. Kenny-Dowall, A. Minichiello 2, P. Graham 2, K. Linnett, P. Nuuausala tries, T. Carney 8 gls). HT: 12-24.