Sydney Roosters overcame the loss of star fullback James Tedesco midway through the second half to hand the Parramatta Eels their first loss of the NRL season.
Tedesco was knocked out trying to stop a rampaging Jonah Lomu-esque run from Maika Sivo and the reigning Dally M medalist had to be assisted off the field, after his head hit the ground hard.
The incident - reminiscent of Lomu's iconic try against England at the 1995 Rugby World Cup - proved a game-changing moment, as Sivo ran over the top of Tedesco to score and put his team in front.
But two tries and two penalty goals in the final quarter saw the Roosters claim a 24-10 win at Bankwest Stadium.
"He's good," Roosters coach Trent Robinson said of Tedesco afterwards.
"We were talking about what he could've done and he was actually really well prepared. He knew he had to brace, he actually came forward, he knew he had to steel himself for Sivo's physicality close to the line there and it didn't work.
"There's a lot of courage in the way he did that.
"The boys did well. I thought after Teddy went off, we adjusted there and come up with some critical plays was good."
Despite the loss, the Eels remain atop the NRL standings, but the Roosters are hot on their heels, as they remain unbeaten since the season resumed last month.
Eels coach Brad Arthur was pleased with his side's effort.
"We didn't give up. I thought we had plenty of belief and once we got a bit of momentum, we showed that we can be a reasonable football team.
"We'd just like to be more professional in closing that game out."
Meanwhile, Wests Tigers' 36-20 win over North Queensland Cowboys has come at a cost, after losing three key players to injury.
Alex Twal, Zane Musgrove and Robert Jennings all limped off during the match, and coach Michael Maguire has to wait on scans to determine if the trio can play next week.
Maguire was happy to win, ending a two-game losing streak, but he was equally disappointed, as his team led 34-0 at the break.
"There were definitely two parts to that game,'' Maguire said. "The first half, we were in control, that second half we lost control and lost momentum.
"But the one thing I did have, based off the back of a lot of conversations we've had the past couple of weeks, was [a team] who walked in and were filthy with themselves.
"It was good to see they were willing to talk about what they needed to do and make sure they fix that up for next week."
Earlier, St George-Illawarra Dragons secured their second win of the season, beating Gold Coast Titans 20-8 at Suncorp Stadium.
