Hoodoo gurus Canberra and Cronulla have kept things weird in the NRL, continuing their surprising records against bogy clubs St George Illawarra and Parramatta.

The truth was out there on the field as, minus State of Origin X-factors, the Dragons and Eels proved they have no answers to the clubs who have jinxed them.

The Raiders made it 11 wins in the last 12 clashes with the Dragons in a 22-14 victory at WIN Stadium.

The rejuvenated Sharks kept another amazing record intact, having still not lost at Parramatta Stadium since 2003 after Saturday night's 22-18 win.

For good measure, the Warriors' record over South Sydney now stands at 15-6 after a 26-24 heart-stopper in Auckland, although the Rabbitohs had previously exorcised some demons with three straight wins before Sunday.

At least the Wests Tigers and Newcastle kept it real, the Tigers snapping a four-game horror stretch with Friday night's 23-6 win and edging ahead 8-7 in the clubs' overall battle.

"I'll take the win today but they're a good side and I spoke to the players about playing (last week's opponents) Melbourne and St George," Raiders coach David Furner said.

"I thought they were the most consistent side in the competition so, although they had a few players out, they're well coached, well drilled, they do the little things well so we had to match that."

The Dragons (16 points) remain top of the table on points differential with Gold Coast (16) second and third-placed Penrith (14) able to join them when they host Canterbury (8, 12th) on Monday night.

Manly (14) are fourth, while Souths, Parramatta, the Warriors and the Tigers (all 12) round out the top eight after a weekend in which six teams had byes.

Already missing six players to Origin, St George Illawarra's afternoon got worse even before kick-off when in-form prop Dan Hunt's season was ended by a ruptured Achilles suffered in the warm-up.

Coach Wayne Bennett denied that would have a big effect on his side's season.

"If it starts raining I'll have a rain jacket with me, you just get on with it don't you," he said.

Sharks enforcer Paul Gallen answered the NSW selectors who snubbed him with a powerhouse performance against Parramatta, running for 205 metres and making 38 tackles.

"He had a point to prove because he didn't make the Origin team but he took it in his stride," Sharks coach Ricky Stuart told ABC Radio.

"He was very professional in how he missed out on that side, he knew he had to bite the bullet and just go forward and hope that he's going to get a run in some part of the series.

"He's got good speed and he's got ball skills and I'm trying to put a little bit of that into his game."

Canterbury will find themselves in trouble if they can't beat Penrith at CUA Stadium on Monday night.

The Bulldogs are languishing on just three wins, the same number as lowly Cronulla and North Queensland, and will need to beat the Panthers without Origin stars Brett Kimmorley, Michael Ennis and Jamal Idris.

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