The Cumberland Throw

An Open Letter To The Eels Squad

As we approach the first day of the 2025 preseason, a fresh start is upon you.

For those returning, many of your mates from previous years won’t be training alongside you. Those new to PARRAdise will have completely new bonds to forge.

Furthermore, there’s the unknown of what to expect from Jason Ryles, Nathan Brown, Scott Wisemantel, Sam Moa and Blair Mills.

The season just gone is just that. It’s gone. It’s in the rear view mirror and we are now laser focussed on what lies ahead.

So I write to you on behalf of Eels fans about what 2025, and any season in the future, means to the Blue and Gold army of supporters.

Firstly, let’s talk about the passion and loyalty of Eels fans.

The passion of Eels fans

Despite a 15th place finish, a battle to avoid the spoon, and a title drought that extends back to 1986, half a million people identified as Parra supporters in 2024. This means that Parra continues to be the most widely supported Sydney based club in the NRL.

By way of comparison, the four time premiership winning Panthers sit way behind on less than 380 thousand.

And in a season where there were only seven wins, including five at home, crowds at CommBank Stadium averaged just under 19K. How many teams sitting at the bottom of the table would draw nearly 22K for their final home match of the year?

The Hawksley family are Eels supporters from America and visit Eels preseason training every summer (pictured on the old Kellyville hill)

Furthermore, membership numbers (32,375) continue to be the highest for a Sydney club. And as you know, support for Parra extends far and wide – be it regional NSW, interstate or overseas. Wherever you play, there are those in the stands who have travelled great distances to watch you in action.

I often wonder what the numbers would look like with premiership success.

The SCG Hill was a sea of Blue & Gold in 1981 as we waited for the players to celebrate with us

Premiership success or not, you enter the upcoming season with a fan base unlike any other. Our resilience is unmatched. We trust that it is never, ever, taken for granted.

Former players are revered. Those from the 1980s are placed on a pedestal, even by fans who were too young to see them play. Mind you, any players from any era who left nothing in the tank when they wore the Blue and Gold are special to supporters.

Supporters revere Sterlo and were overjoyed to see him and Rylesy tour the Centre of Excellence project at Kellyville

To the kids, you are the heroes. They want to meet you. Many aspire to be like you. Interact with them and they become fans for life.

To the older supporters, you are the custodians of the jersey that we are passionate about. We used to be those kids. The Blue and Gold runs through our veins.

There are Parra faithful who have been there since day one in 1947, those like me who’ve been there since the 60s, and many who have never witnessed a title.

 

Even the primitive conditions at Cumberland Oval couldn’t stop fans from squeezing in to watch Parra play

No matter how we support you, where we are from, or the journey we have taken as fans, we all want you to be successful and to create your own history. We can, and do, reflect on and appreciate past glories, but the business of right now and the upcoming campaign is what matters the most.

As professional players, you’ve made sacrifices to get where you are. Additionally, your time is often not your own. We can’t truly understand how that impacts you.

What we do know is that supporters might cross boundaries, expecting photos, autographs or your time when you are away from footy. It would be especially tough when you’re with your family or just trying to unwind with partners or mates.

The passion of Eels supporter Mary as she confronts the controversial Greg Hartley at Leichhardt Oval in 1980

And of course social media gives a voice to some with extreme opinions who actually drive players away from social platforms altogether, let alone preventing them from interacting with fans online.

Such passion gone wrong is the exception, not the norm.

Over half a million Eels supporters are on the journey with you, not against you. When you are victorious, we also feel the joy. When you lose, the pain or disappointment is shared by us. When you earn higher honours, or hit milestones, we are proud of you.

 

Is there anything that compares to a sold out CommBank Stadium full of Eels supporters?

In 2025, the stands at CommBank Stadium will be again be full and coloured Blue and Gold. You’ll witness the support at other venues near or far.

Win or lose, at the end of the game those fans will be there to meet you and thank you for busting a gut for our club.

As you begin the grind (torture?) of a summer pre-season, we wish you all the best in hitting your goals and achieving success in 2025.

Go you mighty Eels!

Eels forever,

Sixties (Craig Hawkins)

 

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58 thoughts on “An Open Letter To The Eels Squad

  1. Colin Good

    It’s such a shame that the Gold has almost disappeared from our jersey and somehow white has taken its place,to me the authorities don’t have the Blue and Gold in their blood.

    1. Prometheus

      It all falls on the coach to keep these players accountable. 80 minutes of your best effort is needed. If not replace them with blokes that will. Previously to many have got away with to little. I’ve been a Parra boy since 47, it’s time to get back to the top of the tree.

  2. Jason Newman

    Excellent letter Craig. We are so lucky as a club for the time and effort you put into TCT. I have personally seen you at training sessions, and the time and effort is appreciated.

    Looking forward to a fresh start next year, but I think it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the tremendous effort of “Gutho” during his time at the eels.

    1. sixties Post author

      Thanks Jason. That means a lot coming from a highly respected supporter such as yourself. No matter what happens with Gutho, he’s earned his place as a legend player.

  3. Sec50

    I am looking every day at TCT to see who is our next signing. I am loving what I am hearing and feel optimistic about our future. It is exciting times. I think Ryles understands how understanding and incorporating history into the mix is so important. Love your sentiments 60s. Looking forward to your preseason analyses as always.

  4. Parramatta Tragic

    What a wonderful letter sixties!
    Those photos were real memory jerkers. While we loved the old Cumberland Oval, I wonder how many would winge about the conditions today? Not me. That woman Mary confronting Hartley is a standout. You had to be around then to understand the level of angst. Have you ever interviewed her? I would love to know word for word what the exchange was. She would be a brilliant motivational speaker for our new players to introduce them to Eels passion. It amazes me that streamers have been banned amd replaced with flame throwers on the field that scorch people halfway up the stands. Bring back streamers for atmosphere.
    Such a good write up.
    Cheers

    1. Milo

      You took some of my words PT. The womans passion was amazing and I recall as kid seeing this…..
      The 81 GF was amazing on tv….many great, sad, and tough memories for all, and I for one thank my old man for teaching us about following your ‘local team’ and from Ingleburn back in the mid 70’s it was a decent trip to Cumberland but gee we loved to get a pack of sugar coated peanuts!!

        1. John Eel

          The Hill shot of the 81 GF certainly brings back some memories. Probably sitting in the middle of that photo on the South West corner of the hill.

          One of the most amazing days of my life.

  5. AdamM

    Great letter Craig, thank you for writing it and making it public.

    Whatever happens from this moment on is all the mighty blue an golds can control. The past is over, so let’s move forward with renewed optimism and confidence that brighter days are ahead.

  6. Shaun

    A wonderful read. Every story about how these half a million people came to the support the Eels is unique and contingent on the fates aligning. Countdown starts Monday. Go Parra!

  7. BDon

    Tks sixties, love your work! How many 7 tackle counts did Hartley allow? I’ve got 5 in my head,but was it 7? One is understandable, two is poor officiating, three is incompetent,
    How can you allow 5 (or 7) honestly? It would be interesting to have a numbers guru work out the odds of it happening per chance.

    1. sixties Post author

      From memory, I think there was even an 8 count once, and a 4 and 5 tackle count against Parra. Might have been an error or two against Manly as well. When people, including myself, whinge about refs, I think back to those days and realise how much better the officiating is these days.

  8. Milo

    Thanks Sixties, hope this letter is pasted to the players lockers…..and from what we have seen Ryles may be trying to bring back some of the history to the club. If so, well done.

  9. Markoa

    Great letter, the players would love this – Rylesy get this man in the sheds Monday morning.

    Parra tragic yet to see a title. Loyalty tested, heart never folding.

    Parra fans lets go again ⚔️. Something just feels right.

  10. Muz

    Breaking: Eels agree released effective immediately.

    With His ego shattered being offered a 14 Jersey and will instead play fullback at St George up until they realise they can’t score points the same without Sloans speed lurking up from fullback which is how they score points and won games usually.

    With a bitter, and torn heart. We wish him well. Long live the king (Clint gutho 🤴) lots of great memories.

    1. Stubbyholder

      What happened to we have the squad to win a comp from management? Best forward – gone. Highest try scorer – gone. Captain and heart and soul of the team – gone. One of the best junior prospects – gone. Some other juniors including the best 9 prospect in ages – gone. Replacements signed so far under Ryles – very little with NRL experience. Will be an interesting couple of weeks for Eels fans waiting for the quality replacements to be signed. Strange that I see a couple of idiots elsewhere saying they have more hope of good times ahead with Ryles in charge than they had with BA in 10 years – either short memories or total imbeciles!!

      Thanks for the memories and effort, Gutho, it was never lacking.

      1. Muz

        It’s a very risky situation mate I agree. it could really go either way. If new coach can’t sign quality prospects our 2025 campaign will be simply about developing players, which wastes our best half since Sterlo In moses, wasting his best years. Not ideal for him.

        It’s a really tough situation because the club originally blamed Brad and said (like you referenced) above…

        “We believe we have the roster to win a comp” But ba was a scape goat. we had major roster Our roster was mismanaged, no coach could get our players we had up into a top 4-8 side in 2024 in my view.

        I’m with you that being totally optimistic at this time is possibly a bit silly. Although BA took us from wooden spoon to finals before (I think in 1 year?) we don’t know if the rookie coach has the ability to do that yet, or the players.

        I will say one thing though mate, we did almost get the spoon. I can’t see us finishing top 8 in 2025 with same roster. Maybe this radical change will hurt us for 1 season – but maybe 2026 is the season he is building into recruiting wise.

        It looks like the club finally realised we didn’t have the roster to win a comp like we all knew 😅 those press conferences were a joke.

        I remember commenting here how stupid it was when they said “we believe we have the roster to win a comp” then the first thing new coach is move on I think 17 players off our overall rosters from memory 😅

        1. BA Sports

          Good posts by you and Stubby..

          Ryles deserves a chance – what choice do we have, but BA was clearly scapegoated when others have failed in their roles as well..

          Gutherson set the standard. Every week. When he was up, the team was at least competitive. That now falls solely on Moses, with Paulo and Brown (more so the latter) failing to show any sort of leadership.
          And we go from having a 200 game fullback, who was the leader of the club, to either starting the year with a second grader playing fullback or, heaven forbid, Bailey Simmonson or Sean Russell… That is our fullback depth chart now.

          I can understand Gutherson being insulted if he was told he was going to be a 14, he is a better player than that. I could have seen Gutho playing a Yeo style role giving us a year to develop Guymer, but what is done is done.
          It is going to be a rebuild year and short of Ryles being a miracle worker, who can overcome an ordinary roster and a below ordinary HoF, its hard to see Parra finishing out of the bottom 2 or 3.

          1. sixties Post author

            BA – the Eels won’t finish bottom two or three. The team picked up wins in the latter half of the season and should have won more, despite awful defensive moments. When you consider the players who were out injured (including our two Origin reps), and the fact that around 140 games were missed by top 30 players, it says that a better season with injuries would see improvement. Look, there’s a huge element of unknown but I reckon we will do a bit better than many expect

      2. Bert.tweed heads

        I agree with everything you say stubbyholder .I have been heart broken ever since they let mahoneyand papilli go 2years ago management has a lot to answer for .

      3. sixties Post author

        Stubbyholder, I reckon my stance with regard to BA was very well documented. I know you’ve read it and commented on the topic. I copped more than my share of heat for that support from those who weren’t fans. When anyone speaks to me about the last ten years, I stand by my support because it was earned.
        However, as a lifetime Eels supporter I am going to look forward. I am looking for the positive, and I am already finding those positives in my visits to Kellyville.

        1. Stubbyholder

          Sixties, as with most things in life, the most positive thing is to look forward and not back and when you do take the time to reminisce, it should be fondly on the good not focusing on the bad, especially when the former outweighs the latter by a fair margin. That said, there’s some people who, sadly, can’t do that and even while looking back they totally ignore any good that was done because it makes a mockery of their ignorant rhetoric. I really just feel sorry for those people. From where the club was when BA took over to making consistent finals and a GF (after the salary cap scandal to boot) is a pretty damn good achievement, so I’ll always defer in a positive way on BA’s time at the Eels, most sensible people would, despite the fact he had some obvious flaws that eventually caught up with him. Then again, just as when BA was sacked, I now see your mate Chief is posting pics of popping champagne bottles at the news Gutho is signing with the Dragons. I’m still dumbfounded as to whether blokes like that are just looking for a reaction or are that brain dead they actually believe what they say/do?

  11. Grunta

    Not sure why we didn’t have a go at signing Hunt. We desperately need a solid hooker and as good as Hands may turn out, he isn’t there yet. I thought a swap deal with Gutho would make sense.

    1. John Eel

      Would Hunt be willing to sign up to a club as a Hooker. I think he sees himself as a 7.

      I agree Grunta he would be a good short term hooker. He would also make a great replacement 7.

    2. Muz

      Would be good but I think he wants to move to QLD if he can for family and prefers being a 7. He would have been awesome at parra playing with Dylan and Moses. That’s the type of core playing group I could see get us into the finals again.

    3. sixties Post author

      I think the issue around Hunt is his age, and inconsistency. Ask Dragon supporters how they feel about him. Ultimately, the call would have to be made in the first instance by Ryles, and I figure if we were in the market for him, it would have been done by now.

  12. Denis Garlick

    Very well written so passionate l love it bee supporter since 1962 seen high and lows I will never falter

  13. Russell

    Hi I just wanted to say I appreciate that letter written to Eels. As a person born in 1982. It would be nice to at least have memories of Parramatta winning a premiership. In the last ten years been close but no cigar. I can say if Parramatta eels want to get more players that are just after money and U only see them for ten minutes during the game. Then Ryles is going to have a more of a rough trot then Arthur. Cause I’m one of the fans who has had enough. Ryles better do something or he can go back to Melbourne. If he can’t do it in two years see ya. Also if Ryles gets that injury prone fullback from Melbourne then where screwed.

    1. sixties Post author

      Hey Russell. I feel your frustration. You’ve stayed strong during some tough years – we get tested as fans. Better times are ahead.

  14. Stephen McCabe

    Thanks for writing that Craig you’re definitely a bit of a wordsmith. I sat on the hill that GF against Newtown with a few of my younger siblings . We were Eels tragics then & remain Eels tragics today. I’ve been diagnosed with terminal cancer this year and have spent most of it receiving different forms of treatment. It’s more about delaying the inevitable for me & although several years has been mentioned I realistically think 2022 was the one that got away. Anyhows all I’d like to see is the boys put an effort in week in & out & do there best. Bring on 2025 . Stephen McCabe.

    1. sixties Post author

      Stephen, I’m so sorry to hear about your battle. I send you my positive thoughts as you receive the treatment. I watched that grand final from the same vantage point as I did at every SCG grand final – those shelters at the very top of the hill. They were about two foot above the hill so the view cleared even the tallest person standing on the hill. What days they were. Even the losing ones.
      Thank you for replying and sharing your story

  15. Joseph

    Articles like this make me really proud to be an Eels supporter.
    Craig, I can’t think of a single fan you haven’t spoken for.
    The iconic photo of Mary should be in the leagues club somewhere.

  16. Bert.tweed heads

    I agree with everything you say stubbyholder .I have been heart broken ever since they let mahoneyand papilli go 2years ago management has a lot to answer for .

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