The Sydney Roosters showed they wouldn't give up their spot in the top eight without a fight after registering a tough 12-8 come-from-behind NRL win over Parramatta at a wet Aussie Stadium.

Centre Ryan Cross was the hero for the Roosters with two second half tries, but his performance was marred by an allegation of an eye-gouge on Eels second rower Glenn Morrison midway through the first period.

Having been involved in a scuffle earlier in the game, Cross appeared to go after his own retribution during a tackle minutes later on Morrison, with replays showing his hand all over the Eels forward's face. Morrison complained as he got to his feet, but referee Paul Simpkins failed to take any action over the incident.

After the game Cross was quick to play the incident down.

"I don't remember it and it's not my go," Cross said.

It took away from a powerful game from the Roosters three-quarter, who pushed his already strong representative claims with another first-class performance, with fullback Anthony Minichiello also a standout performer for the victors.

"I think Ryan's in the best form of his career ... but I still think he can get better," said Roosters coach Ricky Stuart, who claimed he didn't see the incident involving Morrison.

"It's great because he's starting to get some consistent football, he's had a bad run of injuries. He is knocking on the door of representative football, absolutely."

Down 8-0 at the break after unconverted tries to Eels wingers Matt Peterson and Eric Grothe, Cross scored the first of his tries in the 51st minute when Minichiello put him into a hole after a sweeping run across field.

The try lifted a disappointing Roosters outfit, and they were rewarded for their effort 12 minutes later when Minichiello again fed him an inside pass close to the line.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP