Newcastle's Brian Smith has celebrated his 500th game as a rugby league coach with his team beating Parramatta 32-12 in Sydney last night.
The 20-point margin saw the Knights jump four spots on the ladder to depose the Wests Tigers from eighth place, while delivering a serious blow to the finals aspirations of the struggling Eels, who remain two points behind a logjam of five teams tied for eighth on 22 points.
Newcastle's win pushes the Warriors down to 12th in the 16-team competition.
They have 22 points but have the worst points differential and are the bottom of the five teams on 22 points.
