Sivo stars in Eels rout of Cowboys, home comforts for Raiders

Maika Sivo scored four tries as NRL leaders Parramatta Eels hammered North Queensland Cowboys 42-4 and there was a happy homecoming for Canberra Raiders on Friday.

The Eels showed they can cope without the injured Mitchell Moses at Bankwest Stadium, where Sivo starred and Clinton Gutherson also tormented the sorry Cowboys.

Tries from Michael Jennings, Sivo and Waqa Blake put Brad Arthur's side in command before Tom Opacic crossed to put the Cowboys on the board late in the first half.

North Queensland were unable to contain the leaders after the break, Jai Field touching down and Gutherson providing a third assist for Sivo with a pinpoint cutout pass before the wing completed his treble in the corner.

Sivo was handed a fourth try on a plate with eight minutes to play and full-back Gutherson took his tally with the boot to 14 points with a late penalty as the Eels moved two points clear at the summit.

Sivo's got FOUR #NRLEelsCowboys#TelstraPremiership pic.twitter.com/QsVtQvHlZ2

— NRL (@NRL) July 3, 2020

Canberra responded to back-to-back defeats with a 22-16 defeat of St George-Illawarra Dragon in their first match at GIO Stadium since the resumption.

The Raiders, who this week confirmed John Bateman will leave at the end of the season, scored 22 points - 10 coming from Jarrod Croker - without reply but had to withstand a Dragons fightback to move up to fifth.

George Williams was among the four Raiders try-scorers, but their victory came at a cost as Iosia Soliola, Elliott Whitehead and Emre Guler joined the injury list.