So. That happened. Parramatta kicked off their 2025 campaign in disastrous fashion as the Melbourne Storm dropped 56-points on the Eels in an almighty Round 1 shellacking. If you are a believer of sports hoodoos you can run the red line through Parramatta on the weight of the fabled 50-point curse but we don’t do that here. We set the cutoff at old fashioned voodoo magic.
There is a truckload to be concerned about though and even giving undue credence to an improved second half effort the Parramatta Eels have a hell of a lot they need to work on in the space of a week.
Other grades tasted success on the weekend thankfully though with the Jersey Flegg, SG Ball and Lisa Fiaola Cup all finding themselves on the right side of the weekly ledger. The Tarsha Gale and Harold Matthews however were both left to rue narrow losses that will hurt their seedings shortly down the track.
The sting of a NRL humbling may still linger but take the edge off ever so slightly with your morning beverage of choice as we unfold The Weekend Wrap.
NRL
Melbourne Storm 56 defeat the Parramatta Eels 18
If ever a game encapsulated the theme that ‘the only way from here is up‘ than this is it. Jason Ryles was comprehensively out prepared by his mentor Craig Bellamy in just about every facet on Sunday and even allowing for Parramatta’s heavy injury toll – the Eels just looked completely off the pace in Round 1. Melbourne overran both Parra and the scoreboard in the first half as they rattled off 46-points to seal victory before oranges.
Everything the Eels showed in the preseason trials evaporated into the aether under Melbourne’s furious fusillade. Ugly, fragmented defensive structures and a complete lack of presence in the ruck head a laundry list of issues to come out of the loss but I find myself struggling to comprehend simply how unprepared the Eels looked. The season will obviously run its course and Parramatta could very well turn it around quickly but it was such a raw, painful moment for our rookie head coach and a young, transitional team.
There were positives though – believe it or not. Rookie pair Ryley Smith and Sam Tuivaiti showed some grit where there far more seasoned brethern failed. Smith practically ran himself into the ground in a whole-hearted debut and nearly nabbed his maiden NRL try assist with a nice pass to Matt Doorey. Big Sam was one of the few forwards who found traction in the middle and should be in serious contention for Round 2 on the back of the effort.
Isaiah Iongi and Will Penisini certainly weren’t flawless but both shone at various points in the second half to salvage a modicum of respectability on the scoreboard.
I have made it clear on The Tip Sheet that Penrith and Melbourne exist in a clear tier above the rest of the NRL and Round 1 was a violent reminder of that fact. It now falls upon the Eels to rally against the Wests Tigers and Canterbury Bulldogs in the coming weeks and find their identity against more mortal opponents.
Jersey Flegg Cup
Parramatta Eels 26 defeat the Kaiviti Silktails 6
A combination of wet and greasy conditions as well as the classic Round 1 rustiness produced a bludger of a spectacle at Hammondville Oval on Saturday. The Eels, to their credit, keep their heads down through a tidal wave of errors from sides to cobble together a first start victory in 2025.
Saxon Pryke opened the scoring after some quality lead up work from Anitoch Faitala-Mariner. New recruit Jack Hudson caught the Silktails napping to steal a try from dummy-half before Faitala-Mariner bagged a second try assist to put Bradley Avery over before half time. The Fijians struck first in the second stanza with some nice work from the left centre Asalusi Nagicu against a broken defensive line after recovering a Parramatta error. From there though the Eels iced the game with tries to Araz Nanva and Domenico De Stradis securing a 20-point win for the Blue & Gold.
Front-rowers Damascus Neemia and Teancum Brown worked diligently through the difficult conditions while Matthew Hunter was somewhat unlucky through the game with some nice ball-work in front of the defensive line not yielding results it probably deserved. Interchange forward Ieti Samuelu also caught the eye in his first action as an Eel following a fiery and physical stint.
There is some concern for Richard Penisini after the young centre failed to finish the second half and we await any official news on his status this week.
SG Ball Cup
Parramatta Eels 30 defeat the Canberra Raiders 18
Oh but they can. Yes sir, yes ma’am, the SG Ball delivered another certified cardiac workout on Saturday to emerge as the last undefeated team standing after 6 rounds in competition. Their 30-18 victory was laden with drama and big moments as the Eels overcame the sin-binning of Andes Johansson to not just stave off a potential Canberra comeback but deliver a stunning knockout blow from livewire five-eighth Lorenzo Talataina.
Dom Farrugia scored 2 crucial tries and was millimetres away from a third in a big game from the rugged right winger. The usual suspects all contributed across the park but debutante Isaac Jim definitely caught the eye for both a quality stint from the bench as much as his sheer size. It certainly didn’t hurt that the big fella also crashed over in the 44th minute.
With games against the Magpies (9th), Bears (14th) and Sea Eagles (13th), Parramatta now have the opportunity to put first place under lock and key over the coming rounds.
Tarsha Gale Cup
Penrith Panthers 20 defeat the Parramatta Eels 14
Parramatta are barely clinging on to the Top 4 after their second straight loss in the Tarsha Gale after they fell to the Penrith Panthers by 6-points. It comes on the back of a hefty defeat against the Sharks and has derailed all of Parramatta’s momentum in the grade.
After such a clean start to the season where they overwhelmed their opposition on the back of outstanding fundamental play they suddenly find themselves mired in errors and inefficiencies across the park. Perhaps their bye just came at an awful, momentum sapping time but they have no more time to rest. While their siblings in the SG Ball have a relatively benign run home the Tarsha Gale will have to run the gauntlet as they face the Tigers (3rd), Steelers (2nd) and Bulldogs (1st) in the coming weeks.
Harold Matthews Cup
Canberra Raiders 20 defeat the Parramatta Eels 18
Unfortunately the Eels were not able to bottle the liquid gold that was their effort against the Panthers last week. Their follow up performance against the Raiders was much less convincing as far too many ill-timed errors and some admittedly tough calls (and non-calls) conspired to hand them a painful loss against the Raiders.
The Top 8 is still within reach and I believe that winning out likely secures them a berth but gee they have chosen to take the hard road now. They have the talent to not only make the finals but do plenty of damage. However, their temprament continues to stand in their own way and they have to find away to produce consecutive strong performances.
Lisa Fiaola Cup
Parramatta Eels 46 defeat the Penrith Panthers 0
Bailey Ma-Chong was very busy early in this piece as the young rake set up both her bookends inside 6-minutes. The pair of try assists to Leonia Vei and Isabella Bell had the Eels flying and they never dropped altitude from that point. Tries to Georgia Wansey, Freedom Crichton Ropati and Irae Savea saw the Eels finish the half with an unassailable 28-0 lead.
They were far from done though as Sharon Latapu weaved her way over in the 44th minute before Freedom Crichton Ropati completed legs two and three of a hat-trick in the final 3-minutes of the game. Shoutout to Catea Duff who was covering the centres late in the game who aided the barnstorming winger in the try-scoring treble.
Parramatta now have winnable clashes against the Wests Tigers and Steelers up next before a possible winner claims top-of-the-table battle against the Bulldogs to close out the regular season.
I’ve often thought if you wait 24 hrs than mull over the comments on here, the accurate reasons for any happening are all right there..but which ones are they? A Top 5 is a way to focus, although that game could bear a Top 10 or 20. Here’s my 5:
1. The heat..Storm had a game plan for it, speedy guys taking hit ups, target our weaker ruck edge
2 We didn’t get out of ‘passive’ gear, our biggest,meanest guys were MIA (sixties’between the ears’)
3. What we did fast(allow Storm ruck speed) and what we did slow(play the ball and line speed) made the Storm look like organised cheetahs(is that spelt right?) and us like disorganised somethings
4. The Storm made their own luck and grabbed it like winners do (even Grants ham acting got rewarded)
5. Whilst played down a bit, I reckon Moses’ on the park may have made things better..Junior doesn’t strike me as a sharp mouthed provocateur which was badly needed at the get go , plus kicking game.
As you can see 5 is a struggle ,10 would be better.
Good comment. It looked like the boys had had no vocal leader out there, no mongrel and anger. Moses will force blokes to lift and face up when he is on. Paulo Jnr and Joffa looked passive. I honestly thought Joffa was close or our best player last year. Brown even when his having a avg game still cleaned up for us defensively. He looked almost non existent or disinterested. We could be “over thinking” but if blokes like Carty, brown, Joffa have gone backwards then this might be their reaction towards the coaching staff changes or something else going on we don’t understand from the outside in? A solid performance against the tigers from Joffa and brown is needed. I don’t think this team can win without Brown and Joffa fully lining up / turning up. That’s our two best players in the backline and forward pack (if last year is anything to go off?)
Panthers and Storm are just better coached teams. There are a lot of journeymen in their respective squads that in any other team would look like Cup players. Without being disrespectful, look at Shawn Blore. He was in and out of the Tigers first grade squad, but yesterday looked like Beaver Menzies carving up our right edge defence.
Defence has to be the focus this season. No more blow outs where we look like we didn’t show up to the game please.
The media is already coming after Zac Lomax at centre and his decision to join parra 😅:
https://au.news.yahoo.com/ryan-papenhuyzen-makes-mockery-of-sua-faalogo-calls-as-zac-lomax-suffers-26m-disaster-214703536.html
I hate to say it. But Will Penisini looks a lot better centre than Lomax from the two games we’ve seen so far anyhow.
Do you think Moses playing might be needed for Lomax to look effective playing at centre?
You take pap’s out of the Storm team and it’s a different contest. It was like watching Bevan French in Vegas, such was the dominance.
Paps was basically responsible for every break.
SPEED IS KING…. Now every recruitment team should repeat this a million times.
Manly have worked this out and have recruited based on this as the primary objective.
The old days of lumbering NRL players are going to be extinct. If you don’t have speedy lateral movement you just won’t have a future.
Ryles is aware of this but he’s inherited a team largely based on the lumbering old school ethos directed by BA.
Its going to take time to rebuild , especially considering every team knows that speed is the future.
It really goes to show what happens on the training field or in opposed sessions against nsw cup does not translate to when you are under pressure from one of the best sides in the competition.
What Ryles and sixties see at training does not always show when the heat is on.
Kelma was a liability in defence and always has been, the manly and tigers fans saw this in his time at those clubs. He is slow and his movement is so average. Yes he can steamroll players in attack but this is not the nfl and offence can go off and defence can come on.
Hands also did not try to tackle on two occasions that lead directly to try’s.
I was at the game yesterday and have watched the replay.
At the ground it was hard to watch our forwards walking in the first 5 minutes.
What I loved was Ryles reaction to Kelma and Hands and dragging them off very early.
I think there are a lot of positives
Ryley was great apart from one pass, big Sam I thought was great and I think Guymer and Iongi have huge futures.
We desperately need Mitch obviously.
The Fox will help the edge defence with his talk.
Ryles will hopefully coach the side to match the likes of the Storm who slow the ruck down and with referees not having the balls to blow penalties it’s not a fair game.
You saw it correctly mate .. there will be consequences.
Talagi and Hands did themselves no favours that’s for sure.
I’d be staggered if Smith is not the starting 9 when the team is announced on Tuesday.
Spark at least we’ve seen evidence that there will be consequences for actions in this team.
Although I don’t think Kelma should be in the 17 in the near future after yesterday and his tigers trial game.
I don’t think Lane or Carty are the answer either.
For me just give me an effort player who will make his tackles like Dan Keir.
I think Lane is only a middle on the bench now.
Very keen to see Moretti and Kautoga get back on the field
Jason Ryles was the motivator for the Storm. It’s a little bit like a good player leaving the team and coming up against his old team. They were motivated to tell him he picked the wrong club. And they also wanted to protect their unusual first up record. That win was for Bellamy.
Whats up with the Eels. They were like a deer in headlights unable to move. Storm literally created a storm on the park. Parra were gassed chasing the ball. It’s not the end of the world. How many other teams would have beaten the Storm yesterday. Even Brisbane would have copped a hiding. The second half was better and we can say that because Storm never show mercy on the field. They want every point they can get.
Okay with a re-set start again. No team is easy but some teams are easier.
We play the Tigers next and what concerns me is Luai and Galvin are all over the place and Parra cannot deal with that style of football. Munster with limited preseason training mesmerized Parra. The Tiger boys will do the same.
One more thing – will someone please tell Dylan Brown to watch the movie Jerry Maguire. There is an abject lesson in that movie about playing football and dealing with contracts.
And will someone also tell the referees Storm are cheating again by laying all over the tackled player. It gives them time to set their defence. Very clever but provides an unfair advantage. Should Parra do it. Not with the referees we have – we would be penalized out of the game.
Good points. They (Storm) actually hate parra. And that win would have been to stamp Craig’s victory on Jason Ryles and to obviously just keep a perfect rd 1 record.
You are also spot on with them laying all over us and having an unfair advantage with refs. This is part of why many people stop watching the NRL. Once you can see the clear bias or unintentional borderline corruption from the refs to ensure the games media darling players are given preferential treatment, it can be hard to watch. Several people I know personally stopped or limited their viewing of the nrl in recent years and the big reason was how the 6 agains seem to benefit the panthers or storm usually and get to lay on players longer or the top team can milk penalties while bottom sides get instant penalties for slowing down the ruck.
You could litterally see even linesman and the ref yelling at parra players to get off Storm players in tackles if they slowed it down, while Storm got almost a free reign to hold players down for what seems like 5 seconds.
You are right about the tigers next week too – unless Ryles adds 2 experienced defensive edge forwards tigers halves will carve us up. Matto or Carty on one side and Williams on another is one way we could plug defence. Otherwise Kelma will let in 4 tries. 😭
I haven’t had the chance to see the first half yet and only got pieces of the second. But two things Ryley Smith did really stood out in the second half.
First was his kick and chase from dummy half to Paps. I think he just missed the tackle but harassed Paps enough that the rest of the cavalry finally arrived to tackle him well in the Storm half.
Second was the Warbrick intercept try where Ryley maintained the chase against a much faster opponent until the end. Lomax was the only other player near by.
Neither thing required great skill sets. What they showed was heart, determination and will power. If all seventeen Eels on the field demonstrated the same resolve I believe the score would have been closer.
The young bloke is quickly become a favourite of mine and I hope he was just cramping rather than injured when coming off.
Shout outs to Iongi and Tuivaiti as well.
Is there something wrong between the ears when the three players I mention were all debutants? I think the more experienced chaps should look at these three and be a tad embarrassed.
Good points mate. Smith, Iongi, and Tuivaiti were the shining lights of the game.
What’s worrying mate is guys with 2 NRL games or on their NRL debuts look to have more determination and will power than the experienced NRL players in this side.
If coach Ryles isn’t able to change this behaviour and mentality in senior players, you can assume a big bulldogs style rebuild for 2026 will be on his agenda to clean it out.
The defeatist mindset may have crept into this side. It looked like some of them gave up mentally before it started. Hopefully we are wrong and they turn up at 110% against the tigers. 🤞
I’ll be interested to see if I think the same once I get to watch the whole game. Just got to wait until the power comes back on so I can watch the full replay.
But the mental side of the game is harder to fix than skill sets.
I hope we’re wrong too but it will take a few games to see.
Namrebo I agree. And once the mental side of players is shot it is almost impossible to bring them back if they remain in the same environment.
Obviously we all want them to pull through, but this club will looking to sack Jason if he can’t improve us by next year. He will be ultra proactive you would suspect. Big decisions will be made I predict he will swing the hammer / taps on shoulders possibly within 6-12 weeks from now even.
Sorry. I meant If Jason was unable to improve is by the end of next year his job will be under pressure. So you would expect Jason’s going to be super proactive about this.
Yes Muz,
Players like Junior, Lane, Joffa, Carty and Matto will all be gone in next coupleof years. That’s probably over $2.5 million in cap space. These guys know their time is running out. It’s up to them how they want to finish off their careers with a wimper or
a bang. The young guys are already showing them up in many ways.
They might end in in super league for one last pay day.
Ryles may just have learned a valuable lesson on who he can trust to run the team when
Moses is out.
The Tigers match will be a true test of where we are at and given Kelma missed 6 tackles in the trial. I doubt he’ll be risked again.
true Pete. I also believe this and that’s why I think fans need to be patient on ryles.
Some fans have already been calling to sack Ryles after one game. 😂
The Storm scored 3 tries within a set or two of scoring points.
That’s 3 x back-to-back tries. That should never happen. They also scored 3 long range tries and had less tackles in the 20 metre zone than us.
I heard the players talking about this during the pre-season – how Ryles had told them they were the worst in the comp for conceding long range tries.
So the club knew it was a problem before the game, but with heat, match fitness and inexperience – all our old bad habits came to the fore.
Storm in round 1 was always going to be a difficult task, it has been for the 22 other teams that have faced them in round 1 previously. It made it even harder once we had our captain and large part of our game plan taken out through injury. It didn’t help we also had almost half a first grade team out with injury too. We knew before the game the storm were going to be too good for us and that was confirmed over 80 minutes, even without the injuries we just don’t have the talent the storm have. Just look at their spine, if not for injury Papenhuyzen would be NSW and Australian fullback, Munster has won premierships and origin series, Hughes is a Dally M winner and NZ half and Harry Grant is the QLD and Australian hooker and will likely go on to become one of the best players the game has seen. Compared this to Iongi in his 2nd game of NRL, Brown who is a NZ half, Volkman who has played 5 NRL games but has spent a year out with injury and Ryley Smith who was on debut (I’m not counting Hands as Smith played most of the game). The storm spine has played more games in just finals alone last year than 3/4 of our spine has played altogether.
There’s positives, negatives and lessons to be learned in each game for a rookie coach. The coach can’t get bogged down in the negatives and can’t be elated too highly by the positives. Even with the injuries I’m sure we’ll see a much different team come Sunday.
SG Ball once again were next to brilliant. They now lead the competition with the 2nd best defence (6th best attack) and have defeated teams currently in 2nd and 3rd. They’re getting more and more confident in attack and once they’re in the groove this team will be hard to stop. Lorenzo Talataina has been an absolute sensation since returning from injury, he’s bulked up and with Fletcher on the other side he can focus on timing his runs and getting his side organised, what a player he is.
p.s I hope that in future the NRL stops basing the draw on “stories” and is actually at random, but unfortunately that day will never come. This also applies to tigers on Easter Monday, vs dogs on King’s birthday.
Enjoyed your post Ham. All good points.
Well it’s going to be a long year.
Brown might as well leave now for the disruption it will cause.
At least it frees up a $hitload of money.
Going to be a rough year anyway, play dyl off the bench for the rest of the year and put him into hooker and lock for bursts and can cover any back position.
Would be a great 14
Hawkins or will p into five eight
Hopefully we put a big offer in to try and get Galvin for 26
Just announced Dyl bags is off to Knights
No surprises after yesterday’s poor showing. His mind was elsewhere!