A lot sure did happen while the Parramatta Eels got the week off. Most importantly is the fact that the NRL uprooted all of its NSW teams and operations and plonked them up North in the sunshine state in order to escape the hugely worrying outbreak of COVID-19 in Sydney and surrounds.

The chaos that the wholesale shift of the majority of the competition adds that much more intrigue to a loaded final 8 games of the regulation season and perhaps above it all it will give every NSW club and their players an extra dose of appreciation for what the New Zealand Warriors have been burdened with for close to two years.

The Parramatta Eels will now call the Gold Coast its new home for the foreseeable future. It is almost poetic in a sense as the Eels share the Glitter Strip with the team that nabbed its iconic colour scheme in the Titans. Hopefully the Eels can turn the coast blue & gold in their stay there as they firm for a Top 4 finish in 2021.

Despite the whirlwind of change raging around them, the Eels themselves have come out of the bye looking like it is business as usual. Brad Arthur has named his Origin representatives in Mitchell Moses and Junior Paulo to back up 48 hours after hopefully securing a series cleansweep against Queensland. Reed Mahoney further boosts the Eels as he makes an eagerly anticipated return from a shoulder injury sustained way back against the Newcastle Knights.

Otherwise it is the same line-up that was pipped by the narrowest of margins against the Penrith Panthers in their last start. Joey Lussick is relegated to an extended shadow bench (courtesy of Origin) with Keegan Hipgrave holding down that bonus spot. Even so, outside of what happens in Origin 3, the Eels look like they are 1-17 as they take on the home team on the Gold Coast.

The Titans have been wildly inconsistent in 2021, blending some periods of scintillating attack with horribly inept defence. They are very much in the mix for the Top 8 though and coming into this round they sit just one win adrift of that cutoff and it should go without saying that is all the motivation they will need to try and jag a massive upset victory. Like the Eels, they will have a cadre of Origin stars tipped to back up into this game but a strong showing from the Parramatta should be enough to carry the day.

NRL Team List

1. Clinton Gutherson ©
2. Maika Sivo
3. Tom Opacic
4. Waqa Blake
5. Haze Dunster
6. Dylan Brown
7. Mitchell Moses
8. Reagan Campbell-Gillard
9. Reed Mahoney
10. Junior Paulo
11. Isaiah Papali’i
12. Ryan Matterson
13. Nathan Brown
14. Marata Niukore
15. Shaun Lane
16. Oregon Kaufusi
17. Bryce Cartwright
18. Will Penisini
19. Will Smith
20. Joey Lussick
21. Jakob Arthur
22. Keegan Hipgrave

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