The expanded NRLW season is around the corner and the full rosters for each club have been confirmed. Four teams will be making their debut, with the competition due to commence on the 22nd of July.

What can be expected this season?

I see the squad as not just new, but also improved. This early preview will break down why I view it that way.

Roster Origins

The Parramatta Eels NRLW club was launched in 2021, but played in two competitions in 2022 due to the COVID delayed 2021 premiership.

In their inaugural season, the Eels went 2-3 across the regular rounds, missing out on the finals due to the points differential.

A solitary win that came in the final round of their second season was enough for Parra to qualify for finals football. A second victory, this time in the semi-final, propelled them into the 2022 decider.

Overall, the team registered four wins from twelve matches across the two seasons. It’s not a win/loss record that was indicative of success.

However, there were some unlucky losses, and the positive was the self belief within the squad, a quality which saw them defy expectations in reaching the 2022 decider.

Dean Widders and his staff deserved credit for building a chemistry within the group which was evident both on and off the field.

Dean Widders

Achieving that grand final appearance in just the second season was a promising sign for the future of the club. Improving the win loss record in an expanded competition had to be the next step.

Revamping a roster means there will be both significant losses and gains.

Big Losses

Club captain Simaima Taufa (Raiders), Rugby Sevens star Gayle Broughton (Broncos), and co-captain Tiana Penitani (Sharks), head the list of talented stars from the 2022 grand final side who have taken up contracts at other clubs.

Broughton moved to Queensland for personal reasons and joins a strong Broncos outfit led by Maroons and Jillaroo star, Ali Brigginshaw. After missing out on finals footy in 2022, these two will be looking to return Brisbane to their premiership winning form.

Tiana Penitani was originally signed on an Eels marquee player contract which should have locked her in for 2023. However, she will be joining Cronulla after requesting a release on personal grounds.

Cronulla’s raid on the Eels has also seen them land halfback Tayla Preston, Australian and NSW representative back-rower Vanessa Foliaki, and forwards Ellie Johnston and Brooke Anderson.

Simaima Taufa is one of the Raiders major recruits, and her move to the nation’s capital sees her take up an off-field role with the new franchise.

Also joining Taufa at Canberra will be five-eighth Ash Quinlan who was developing a strong halves combination with Tayla Preston in the latter part of the 2022 season. The effectiveness of Parra’s halves was highlighted by that upset semi-final win against the Roosters.

2023 Squad

Forwards

Elsie Albert, Tyla Amiatu, Kennedy Cherrington, Nakia Davis-Welsh, Jade Fonua, Madeline Jones, Ruby-Jean Kennard, Shannon Muru, Talesha O’Neill, Kyra Simon,

Outside Backs

Abbi Church, Monique Donovan, Zali Fay, Kimberley Hunt, Amelia Mafi, Mahalia Murphy, Shontelle Stowers, Cassey Tohi-Hiku

Halves/Dummy Halves

Rosemarie Beckett, Rueben Cherrington, Kelsey Clark, Pihuka Berryman-Duff, Capri Paekau, Rachael Pearson,

Development Players

Tallara Bamblett, Lindsay Tui

Experience ‘Mattas”

In completely overhauling their roster, the Eels have added experienced players in key positions as they look to eliminate some of the weaknesses exploited by the Knights in the grand final.

Rachael Pearson has inked a three-year deal in a move that sees the club shift the halfback duties from a rookie to an experienced representative player.

With an all-around kicking game, Pearson can provide the game management and leadership to steer the Eels offence.

Elsie Albert will provide additional power to a forward pack that needs to lay a platform against big match opponents such as Millie Boyle. Playing alongside Kennedy Cherrington, Albert will bring a new dimension in both attack and defence.

Elsie Albert

Shontelle Stowers and Talesha O’Neill also bring experience to the edges. Playing in the centre and back-row respectively, their ability to shut down wide shifts will be crucial in the Eels defensive structures.

Most importantly, the Eels younger players will benefit from the leadership and experience of the “new veterans”.  Locking such players in for multi-year deals allows for the development of the squad and building an identity for the type of football that the club will play.

New Talent To Shine

Which of the emerging players could make their mark in 2023?

Rueben Cherrington is a 19-year-old dummy-half who made her NRLW debut last year. She could be a difference maker as she has continued to develop her game in the Harvey Norman Women’s Premiership and recently represented for City against Country.

Rueben Cherrington

Eels pathways product Ruby-Jean Kennard made history in 2022, being the first player to progress from junior pathways to the NRLW team at the same club. After graduating from Gale to NRLW last year, she’s now signed on for a further two years with Parra. Kennard is a forward in the Millie Boyle mould, impressing with her yardage game, intensity and physicality.

The next Eels pathways product on the verge of an NRLW debut is Rosemarie Beckett. The young half has previously been a standout in Parra’s Tarsha Gale team and poses a threat with her pace and ball-playing ability. She’s had a taste of Harvey Norman Women’s Premiership footy for Wenty Magpies which moves her closer to playing in the elite NRLW competition.

Other Wenty players in the Eels squad are Jade Fonua, Amelia Mafi and Tyla Amiatu. Amiatu earned a one-year deal contract after impressing with her performances in the forwards for the Magpies.

There’s no question that the Harvey Norman Women’s Premiership has been a rich hunting ground for Parra’s 2023 recruitment, with the club signing Pihuka Berryman-Duff and Capri Paekau from the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Shannon Muru and Mahalia Murphy from Canterbury, and Monique Donovan from the Cronulla Sharks.

Flexibility for the Future

Despite locking in key players to multi-year deals, the Eels will have 14 players off-contract at the end of the 2023 season.

There will be a mix of young players, including the first of those to have come up through the Eels pathway systems, and veterans.

With four new franchises, and the ten new rosters that have had to be assembled for this season, there is an element of the unknown across the premiership. There will continue to be an extremely active player market as clubs and players try to work towards improved stability.

The number of players off contract at the Eels provides the flexibility to re-shape the roster based on exposed form during the season. If the Eels need to go “all chips in” on signing high-quality experienced talent, they will be in a position to do so.

For the first time the Eels and every franchise will have over two months of footy to assess current contracts to figure out who they want to extend and who gets told to look for contracts elsewhere. That’s a major step for a group of players who were essentially all free agents at the beginning of the last two years.

Ruby-Jean Kennard

Here’s a final reminder for Eels supporters. The Parramatta Eels identify as a development club, but with the Tarsha Gale graduates being just 19 years of age, it’s a big step going from junior to senior football.

It will take time for players to transition between junior and senior levels. Patience will be required and I expect the club to take steps to help bridge the gap. The first step has been development contracts for pathways products. The next will be keeping players outside of those contracts engaged with the club.

In the meantime, form and results across the upcoming NRLW season will be the determining factor for Eels rosters in the immediate future.

Kye Ferreira 

Images credit : Eels media

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