As it happened: Hawkins steps up as Eels stun Sea Eagles

Doing it for Junior: Eels coach Jason Ryles paid tribute to milestone man Junior Paulo after the match, saying the veteran prop "epitomises everything we want our club to be". 

"He's selfless he's caring, he's tough, he plays injured, he's a family man, that's what we want our footy club to be and that's what we are working towards, and he is a bit of an architect of that at the moment."

All that Jazz: He may have been on the beaten side but Jazz Tevaga continued his strong form with 136 run metres and 50 tackles while Lehi Hopoate ran for 264 metres to go with his two tries.

No Mitch, no worries: Dean Hawkins grabbed his opportunity with both hands as he guided the Eels to a memorable win. Hawkins had four try assists and two line break assists and had a whopping 563 kick metres.

Full-time: The Eels jump from 17th to 14th on the back of a sensational 80-minute performance on home soil. On the back of an 88 per cent completion rate the Eels roll Manly by 20 points with Isaiah Iongi running for 258 metres and Junior Paulo racking up 195 run metres in his milestone game.

78 min: Dean Hawkins comes up with his only poor kick of the night when he bangs one too long and hands Manly a seven-tackle set.

70 min: A perfectly weighted kick out of dummy half from Ryley Smith pins Manly deep in their own territory as the Eels turn the screws.

66 min: Strong defence by Luca Moretti on Ethan Bullemor forces the ball loose and Manly squander a chance to start a comeback.

65 min: A penalty against Jazz Tevaga for holding down in the play the ball hands Sean Russell a shot at goal and he nails it for a 30-10 lead.

62 min: The Sea Eagles lose their captain's challenge after Jason Saab knocks on while trying to tap back a short kick-off and replays back up the referee's call.

61 min: A Dean Hawkins grubber bobbles around and is scooped up by Isaiah Iongi who finds J'maine Hopgood and the back-rower surges over from close range. Sean Russell converts. Eels 28-10.

59 min: The Sea Eagles run the ball on the last and Lehi Hopoate launches himself into the corner but Joash Papalii's desperate cover tackle forces him into touch. Eels 22-10.

53 min: Tom Trbojevic launches a 40-20 kick out of dummy half and almost pulls it off but Isaiah Iongi gathers it in just inside the touchline.

51 min: Manly lose hooker Jake Simpkin with a hip pointer injury after he landed heavily in a Junior Paulo tackle.

47 min: Isaiah Iongi slices through the line and scores after leaving Luke Brooks in his wake and the home side go further in front. Sean Russell converts to make it 22-10.

46 min: After the sides trade sets for the first five minutes of the half it's the Eels who go on the attack after a high tackle penalty against Matt Lodge. 

Rare air for Eels: This is the first time this season Jason Ryles' men have led at half-time. They went to the break level with the Dolphins in Round 10 and all square with Wests Tigers in Round 7 but this is their first half-time lead.

Half-time: A fine display from Dean Hawkins filling in for Mitch Moses at halfback, coming up with three try assists and a crafty kicking game. Junior Paulo led from the front in his 250th career game, running for 118 metres from 11 hit-ups. Manly winger Lehi Hopoate racked up 135 run metres and two tries to take his career tally 13 tries in 25 games.

40 min: Milestone man Junior Paulo catches a dropout 50 metres out from the line on the stroke of half-time and shapes to take a shot at a two-point field goal but thinks better of it. He passes the ball to Dean Hawkins who finds Jack Williams and the prop is tackled to end the half.

37 min: The Eels take the lead back when Dean Hawkins delivers a sweet pass to put Jack Williams into a hole and the prop powers over for his first try as an Eel. Sean Russell converts. Eels 16-10.

35 min: The Eels defend strongly with Ryley Smith putting his body on the line to stop Haumole Olakauatu before Joash Papalii climbs high to defuse a bomb.

34 min: Back-to-back six-again calls against the Eels put them under immense pressure and then an offside penalty follows as they try to keep Manly at bay.

29 min: Slick Manly attack on the left side again sets Lehi Hopoate up for his double after Luke Brooks, Tom Trbojevic and Tolu Koula combined. Reuben Garrick gets the radar working to add the extras. 10-10

26 min: The Eels go bang bang with Dylan Walker slicing through and finding Dean Hawkins in support. The halfback is dragged down from behind but manages to throw a long ball to Joash Papalii who goes over for a try on NRL debut. Sean Russell adds the extras. Eels 10-4.

23 min: A Dean Hawkins grubber is picked up by Joash Papalii who slips a neat pass to Jordan Samrani who heads for the corner and manages to ground the ball while sliding across the tryline on his back. Sean Russell misses the conversion. 4-4.

19 min: Tolu Koula flies high to bring down a bomb but loses the ball and the Eels come away. Manly challenge the call and the bunker rules Luca Moretti stripped the ball with two in the tackle and the Sea Eagles received a penalty.

14 min: Luca Moretti explodes into space but can't find his support. On the next play the Eels go left but they can't put the finishing touches on the move and the ball is turned over.

9 min: The Sea Eagles strike first after a powerhouse run by Ethan Bullemor takes them to the 10-metre line before Tolu Koula produces a superb pass to put Lehi Hopoate over in the corner. Reuben Garrick misses from wide out. Sea Eagles 4-0.

6 min: Manly halfback Jake Arthur leaves the field for a HIA. He passed and was able to return to the game.

6 min: Dylan Brown takes on the line with some sharp footwork and is caught high by Siosiua Taekeiaho. The penalty puts the Eels on the attack.

2 min: Eels centre Will Penisini leaves the field for a HIA and is replaced by debutant Joash Papalii. A blow for the Eels with Penisini ruled a Category One head knock and ruled out for the night.

Late Mail

Eels: Luca Moretti will start the game and Kelma Tuilagi goes to the bench in a late switch while Joash Papalii has joined the interchange in place of Matt Doorey, who drops to 18th man. Prop Junior Paulo makes his 250th NRL appearance. 

Sea Eagles: Back-rower Ben Trbojevic dropped out on Friday due to illness with Corey Waddell moving into the starting side and Caleb Navale joining the bench. Jake Arthur steers the ship in the absence of Maroons captain Daly Cherry-Evans, while Jazz Tevaga shifts to lock in place of Jake Trbojevic (concussion). Hooker Lachlan Croker makes his return from a knee injury on the bench.

Numbers Game

• The Eels have won five of their six games against the Sea Eagles at CommBank Stadium.
• Sea Eagles centre Reuben Garrick has scored 13 tries in 13 games against the Eels.
• Eels winger Josh Addo-Carr has scored seven tries in his last seven games at CommBank Stadium.
• Eels prop Junior Paulo will make his 250th NRL appearance.