After an unusual number of Sunday afternoon games, as the weather turns the Eels start a month-long stretch of Thursday and Friday night football. While the stretch of lovely weekend football wasn’t matched with a stretch of lovely weekend victories, things are on the up for Parramatta with the return of Mitchell Moses and watchable attacking football. I’m still angry about last weekend, but a victory against the Dolphins in their first ever visit to Parradise would go some way to easing that angst.
The Dolphins have barely managed to put together 40 minutes of good footy in most games this year, and have certainly got nowhere near a full 80. The highlight of their season is back-to-back wins against a depleted Panthers and Storm, but putting 40 on any Melbourne side is worthy of much respect. They’ve got speed and strength out wide that has traditionally worried the Eels, but history has shown that a committed 80 minute effort will take you a long way to victory against the Phins.
Have the Eels got that 80 minute effort in them? Let’s dig into that question with the preview!
Game Info
Date: Thursday, May 8, 2025
Venue: CommBank Stadium, Parramatta
Kick-off: 7:50PM AEST
Referee: Wyatt Raymond
Bunker: Chris Butler
Weather: Cool, small chance of rain
Broadcast: Nine, Fox League, Kayo
Sixties Speculates (Odds quoted are NSW TAB)
Every season, there are weeks when I suggest keeping your punting powder dry. Whether it’s the weather, the Eels form, the available odds, there will be something that I don’t like.
The Eels are the favourites in this game. I never like that. Nor do I like seeing the bunker official from the Sharks game again making the decisions this week.
Despite the fact that I’m bullish about the Eels winning, I’m not advocating any tip. If you’re keen on having a flutter, maybe Mitch Moses as any time try scorer at $3.50. I was going to suggest Jordan Samrani but his odds were too short at $3.
But as always, keep it fun.
Happy, responsible punting everyone.
Sixties
Teams
Parramatta Eels
1. Isaiah Iongi 2. Bailey Simonsson 3. Will Penisini 4. Sean Russell 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Dylan Brown 7. Mitchell Moses 8. Jack Williams 9. Ryley Smith 10. Junior Paulo 11. Charlie Guymer 12. Gideon Kautoga 13. J’maine Hopgood. 14. Dylan Walker 15. Luca Moretti 16. Jordan Samrani 17. Matt Doorey. 19. Joash Papalii 21. Toni Mataele.
Despite rumblings, no early return for Zac Lomax is on the cards as the backline remains unchanged. The only change from last week is the return of Matt Doorey for Sam Tuavaiti, who is out for a couple of months with a syndesmosis injury.
The Dolphins
1. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow 2. Jamayne Isaako 3. Jake Averillo 4. Herbie Farnworth 5. Jack Bostock 6. Kodi NIikorima 7. Isaiya Katoa 8. Francis Molo 9. Kurt Donoghoe 10. Felise Kaufusi 11. Kulikefu Finefeuiaki 12. Connelly Lemuelu 13. Tom Gilbert. 14. Ray Stone 15. Mark Nicholls 16. Josh Kerr 17. Sean O’Sullivan. 18. Harrison Graham 19. Oryn Keeley.
The backline is full strength for the Dolphins, but there are plenty of key outs in a pack that was already struggling. Daniel Saifiti, Max Plath and Jeremy Marshall-King are all out, though Felise Kaufusi and Kurt Donoghoe return from injury to boost the ranks somewhat. Former Eel and now noted try scoring machine Ray Stone is on the bench.
Greasy Fast Speed
The Fox is in fine tryscoring form
One thing Jason Ryles has made clear is the need for speed in an Eels side that was frequently burned by the burners in recent years.You don’t get much tougher a test of pure pace than Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, who hasn’t exactly found his form in 2025 but will quite happily turn a half chance into a try if he can catch a defence on the back foot. The punishment for lazy edge defence and not covering from the inside is going to be severe if the Hammer gets some space.
The Dolphins pack hasn’t always been able to provide the impact that creates that space and gets defenders backpedaling, but Darwin last year showed they can certainly manage a roll on against the Eels. Josh Kerr has joined the illustrious ranks of otherwise anonymous Eel killers (Danny Levi, founding member), while Kulikefu Finefeuiaki has come into his own in a starting role and Connelly Lemuelu is a great line runner and knows how to sniff out a close range try.
Sadly, it hasn’t been the strength of the opposition that has determined the fate of the Eels defensive line but the frailty of its parts. One fast play-the-ball was all it took for the Sharks to crack their opening try last week, while Dylan Brown’s tendency to overcome a numbers advantage by shooting out of the line was exploited for Nikora’s try. That’s before we get to the unfortunate levels of soft contact and backpedaling we’ve seen all year, which led to an embarrassing concession against 12 men last week. It’s a worry against a side that you really only need to compete with to beat that such lapses occur with regularity.
Stepping Up
C’mon big guy, step up!
Jason Ryles is quick to bring out the red marker to drop a forward for form (except in the case of Kautoga, but we’ll get to that), and J’maine Hopgood might be the next player in the firing line. His electric debut season in Blue and Gold was a long time ago now, with the deft ballplaying and frequent offloading a rare sight in 2025. Over the last few weeks his role has been reduced, with Dylan Walker offering a lot more as a link man and relegating Hopgood to tackle-bot status in this pack. With the form of Luca Moretti this year, a bench visit or worse might be in the near future for Hopgood, who just hasn’t had that spark for some time.
Kitione Kautoga is another who has kept a starting spot all year despite some serious lapses through the season. While his defensive efficiency numbers are good and he can lay the smack down with a big hit when he gets the chance, there are too many individual moments where he lets the team down, particularly under fatigue. His attacking involvements suggest he’s in the side primarily as a defender; he took three NRL appearances to crack 100 running metres total, and has only eclipsed the century in yardage once this year. You can’t afford to be in the background of too many opposition scoring highlights if you are in a team for your defence, and Kautoga is a regular in those clips.
Kautoga looks to be running hard, though his numbers don’t often reflect that, and he can get an offload away, but right now he’s not doing enough as a defensive enforcer and he isn’t a regular attacking weapon. Depth may be the only reason he is getting an extensive run in first grade, but he needs to decide (or be told) what he is as a first grader and work at it. This Parramatta team isn’t a side of enough quality to carry a project player right now.
In terms of stepping up, we should acknowledge how much better Dylan Brown has looked without the burden of being the man weighing on his shoulders. Now that we’re all tired of mocking the Knights for paying a supporting man the biggest contract in NRL history, we can get back to enjoying how good he looks when paired with one of the three best halfbacks in the NRL.
The Game
Luca is a rapid climber in my “favourite Eels” list
The Dolphins present a very interesting test for the Eels at this stage of the season. A team that is better than their ladder position, but absolutely beatable with a consistent effort. If Parramatta is going to do anything more than fight to avoid the spoon all year long, it is a must win game.
While not much went right in the Sharks game, ultimately the Eels lost that match not because of refereeing inconsistency but because of an inability to defend in the face of adversity. Any team that concedes while holding a man advantage doesn’t get to ref blame, no matter how bad the decisions are. You can be upset about it, but in the end that was a win left on the table because of a lack of defensive resolve and the inability to convert attacking chances. Some of that was good Sharks defence, but some was a team still getting combinations right after their halfback missed the first two months of the year.
It isn’t going to be an electric atmosphere by any means, but this is a crucial game in the Eels’ season. I’m hoping for a strong finish, maybe a sniff of the top eight that’s more than just a mathematical hope with four or five rounds to go. It’s been a crazy year, anything could happen, but it starts with a win tonight.
Go you Eels!
Prediction: Eels 28 d Dolphins 22
Man of the Match: Isaiah Iongi
Gol
Some of his actions in the past certainly don’t add up to him being a “team first” player but we really are having ourselves on if we want to pretend that Ryan Matterson is not one of our best ten forwards. I think he should start at lock. Walker’s maturity when we have the ball has been welcome but his ineffective and missed tackle counts are cause for concern
Samrani as an edge forward could be the discovery of the year.
I agree we should have Matterson in the team. I sometimes wonder whether Matterson wants to be there but on his day a very effective forward. I would be inclined to send Hopgood back to the reggies just to get his mojo back. He is on his day very good but prone to giving away penalties. The same with Williams – he hasn’t matched the hype that came with him. Another who drops off close to the line in defence. Gough last week was quick with the whistle with Parra and slow with the Sharks. JAC is excellent team member but worries me at times with penalties. The Dolphins will be hard to beat and unfortunately for Parra over the years we have come across struggling teams and we played them into form at our expense. I tipped Parra last week and they could have won it. That 40/20 hurt as with that stupid penalty – those two sealed the game for the Sharks who were starting to really struggle at that time. I still don’t understand why Trindall didn’t get 10 minutes for his hit on Moses. They were in the red zone and therefore a professional foul. I have seen Pensini and Gutherson sent to the bin for the slightest interference. I refuse to watch any other games except for Parra because the referees now determine who wins. And that is all on the administration. As much as we need the referees they have become a curse to the game. Back to tonight – as always I tip Parra and if we get on top early a big win. I haven’t given up on a top eight but with origin coming up definitely not top four.
Mate… “I refuse to watch any other games than Parra because the referees decide who wins” is exactly my thoughts.
I used to watch every game and most footy related shows through the week, but I struggle to even watch Parra games nowadays and because of the 6 again (a free ticket for the refs to decide games) and the betting agency sponsorships. Not to mention the conflict of interest at the heart of it all. The Goulds, Anastas etc ….
Still here clinging by a thread.
Noel and zero Matto is leaving it seems like mate
https://www.zerotackle.com/parramatta-eels-forward-ryan-matterson-linked-with-exit-221488/
This came out today
Rumour has come out about Hopgood in the last week is that his limited minutes and form is majorly because his back is playing up again. It seems to be a touch and go type thing but I’d argue that could be reason more for him to come off the bench, still good but doesn’t have to go toe to toe with the fresh starting packs of opposition teams.
Love Luca but wondering if he would be a more “Spencer leniu” type right now. If you were to move Hopgood to the bench rotation I’d argue moving Guymer to lock and starting Samrani on the edge if the coach thinks Samrani can do a job starting there.
On the Kautoga point, I’d say if his position is in jeopardy it would be over the next 3 weeks before kelma returns and seeing if Guymer or Samrani can outshine him considerably on the edge to pick him there, if we don’t make any massive second row signings over the off season like a David Fifita if ryles thinks he can motivate him then Will Latu could be a 1st round pick smokey with an injury free season and off season (touch wood), looked huge and dangerous against the jets on the weekend.
The game will be a tough one for me as the Dolphins are playing some good footy. This is a tough one and each way for me; can see us winning by 6 or possibly losing by anything from 2-18 points tbh. A win will be v good.
As for Matterson I’m right behind Ryles here and he needs to put his stamp on the club and team and so be it.
Replacement with some experience or skin in the game would be good
Joash Papalii is 18th man fellas.
I know many of us have commented on this previously, but it’s going to be damn interesting to see how they play him if somebody goes down and he ends up playing.
It’s a very interesting one because he is a specialist fullback, has anyone seen them testing him in different positions at training?
Hopefulll we don’t need 18th man. But im very curious on how our coaches plan to use him if he is needed in tonight’s match.
Was picked at 5/8 in Cup a few weeks back.
Gee this lot are frustrating aren’t they? Last night was a game we should have won. Some of the football we’ve played in patches this year has been the best we’ve seen from The Eels in years but we still sit stone motherless. I’m far from sure that we’re getting the pack right. We would have been better off I suspect if Ryles had been able to overcome his evident distaste for Ryan Matterson who, in moving on will remain one of the great enigmas in the history of our club, to be mentioned along with for example Filete Mateo.
See what we get next week.