Ray Stone had scored just two NRL tries from 30 games before Saturday night.
But the unheralded Eels forward has now grabbed two tries in 11 minutes to clinch an incredible golden-point win for his side – and the second came in a freakish turn of events.
In an early contender for game of the season, the Eels edged the Storm 28-24 in Melbourne.
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Stone crossed for the match-winner after swooping on a Mitchell Moses field goal attempt that had ricocheted off the woodwork, pouncing on the loose ball and stepping Jahrome Hughes to steal victory almost two minutes into golden point.
“I can’t believe it,” Michael Ennis said on Fox League.
But the scenes weren’t all rosy for Parramatta fans, with Stone left clutching at his right knee after crashing over for his game-winning try.
Stone’s first try, which had also come off a Moses kick in frantic scenes at the 70-minute mark, had pushed Parramatta into the lead, with a successful Moses conversion handing the visitors a 24-18 buffer.
Melbourne hit back with an electric try orchestrated by three of its superstars, as Brandon Smith sliced through for a linebreak and linked with Cameron Munster, who dished the footy off to Ryan Papenhuyzen.
The speedster completed the box-office try and potted over the conversion to square the scores at 24 all with three minutes left on the clock.
Stream the NRL premiership 2022 live and free on 9Now.
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While a flurry of lead changes was a key theme of the match, the third-round game was also ignited by a monstrous run from Eels winger Waqa Blake that floored Papenhuyzen, as well as a gorgeous cut-out pass from Dylan Brown in the same play.
Four minutes later, Munster produced a masterful kick to pave the way for a Papenhuyzen try.
“What a game, what a performance from both sides,” Braith Anasta said.
“That was so good,” Cooper Cronk added.
The defeat was Melbourne’s first of the season, while Parramatta has won two of its three games.
The Eels have beaten the Storm the last three times they’ve met.
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