Eels stun 1st-place Dragons in opening of rugby playoffs

In other first-round playoff matches, the second-place Bulldogs beat Newcastle 26-12 and Melbourne defeated defending champions Manly 40-12 to both secure second-round byes. Newcastle and defending champions Manly were eliminated.

Bulldogs' veteran fullback Luke Patten scored two first-half tries to set up his team's win.

In the other match, Brisbane beat the Gold Coast 40-32. Gold Coast will host Parramatta on Friday in the second round while Brisbane will entertain St. George Illawarra, pitting Dragons coach Wayne Bennett against his old club.

Brisbane center Israel Folau scored three tries to lead the Broncos to victory. Brisbane led 30-10 early in the second half before Gold Coast scored three tries in 12 minutes to pull to within eight points. Broncos prop Dave Taylor scored Brisbane's clinching try with four minutes left.

On Friday, Melbourne fullback Billy Slater opened the playoffs with a four-try performance as the Storm beat the Sea Eagles.

The win helped take some of the sting out of Melbourne's 40-0 loss to Manly in last year's grand final.

“Going back on all the games this year you couldn't go past the one tonight, it's the best all year,” Melbourne captain Cameron Smith said.

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