I don’t know about everyone else but there have been some lively discussions coming out of Round 20 in my footy circles. The vast majority of it focuses on the decision of Jason Ryles to prioritise the development of Joash Papalii over the selection of Dylan Brown. Sixties and myself have already engaged in a philosophical debate on the topic but perhaps it warrants follow-up again as the supporter base looks to be divided over the strategic planning of the head coach.
Anyway, the Eels showed some spunk against a premiership heavyweight but ran out of juice in the second half. It was a different story in the NRLW with Parramatta breaking all kinds of records in an electrifying 34-point victory. The lower graders produced mixed results with triumphs for the HNWP and Flegg while the NSW Cup fell just short. Honestly, it was a pretty solid weekend of results all things considered and it sets the stage for what is hopefully an equally solid Weekend Wrap.
NRL
Canberra Raiders 40 defeat the Parramatta Eels 14
There are a couple of different ways to unpack this loss. The pessimistic (but not necessarily incorrect) slant will be fixated on another slow start and another final quarter fade. Compounding errors and brittleness in the defence were contributing factors too. All these are legitimate concerns and should not be trivialised. Until the Eels get a grip on these issues there is absolute hard ceiling on their growth potential.
Yet there is still cause for optimism. Down 12-0 against a legitimate premiership contender, the Eels fought back with serious gusto and even put themselves in spots to deliver possible knockout blows at times. They entered half time up 16-12 but conceivably could have led by as much as 28-12 with better execution in some key spots.
The fightback is important. Surrendering a 12-point in Canberra in as many minutes is grounds for a shellacking but the Eels kept their intensity levels red-lining and genuinely had the home team faltering. The difference in the end lay with a team that has been given time to build and has bottled the confidence of prior results this year (and a few dud calls I guess). Canberra finished stronger than Parramatta and posted a scoreline that really wasn’t reflective of the pulsating contest at full time.
As I alluded to above, much of the conversation focused on young Joash in the post-game. There is no doubt he had his struggles on Saturday. The Raiders targeted him aggressively in defence, forcing him to make 30 tackle attempts. He missed 8 of those attempts with 2 ineffective tackles also thrown in. It is very clearly an area of the game in which he will need to improve – and sharply – but Canberra were always going to be a difficult outing in the regard given their array of prodigious tackle busters.
Offensively there were plenty of teaching moments as well. He clearly misplayed his hand running the ball on the last tackle in the second half. He just plain got that one wrong. I am okay with it as well. This is exactly why Ryles is giving him these opportunities and these reps. There were some tantalising positives as well. A deft kick saw Sean Russell (which probably should have been Josh Addo-Carr’s try) score while his acceleration threatened to pull apart Canberra’s right edge at times. If Joash can get a feel for the run and pass balance at five-eighth there could be a hell of player to unlock.
The Foxx was excellent for the Eels once again while Zac Lomax continues to grind out ridiculous numbers on the ground. I mentioned it in the Instant Reaction podcast thought but I do think both wingers need to re-calibrate their defensive approach. Increasingly it feels like both are jamming in man-to-man situation leaving Sean Russell and Bailey Simonsson in bad situations.
Charlie Guymer continues his improved second half of the season with a try and a lovely try involvement down the right edge. J’maine Hopgood also enjoyed a good day with his first official start in the front-row and it just might be where his future lies at the club. The real jack-in-the-box for the Eels though was Matt Doorey who delivered a rousing effort off the bench as he punched through the Raiders for 144m from 11 carries.
Canberra, of course, finished much stronger than the Eels and showed why they will be a legitimate contender come the conclusion of the regular season. Parramatta met and challenged their intensity and physicality for a long stretch through the contest. That has been something of a trend for the Blue & Gold for some time now. Even with their slow starts on the scoreboard they are consistently coming out with aggression and intent to start games. Clearly we need to work on carrying the rage through the final exchanges but that will come brick-by-brick, game-by-game.
NRLW
Parramatta Eels 46 defeat the Canberra Raiders 12
What a difference a week can make! A dismal trip to New Zealand is now well and truly in the rear-view mirror after the Eels decimated the Raiders in Round 3. Steve Georgallis got his girls back to their best as they piled on a club record 46-points in the nation’s capital.
Rueben Cherrington started the scoring early on with a sharp crack from dummy-half Rachael Pearson and Cassey Tohi-Hiku began a torturous barrage of bombs. Canberra had no answer to the air-raid as the M&Ms (and Rory Owens) pounced. Tries to Owens as well as Martha Mataele and Mahalia Murphy resulted directly from soaring kicks.
Soaring was the operative word for Zali Fay as well as she produced another incredible catch to put Owens over for a double. Fay might well be the best high ball specialist in the NRLW and is quickly building a hell of a catalogue in her name.
The moment of the game for mine though was the breakthrough try for rookie prop Tess McWilliams. It caps a meteoric rise for the young bookend amidst an incredible 2025 campaign and few, if any, can boast about dragging Simaima Freaking Taufa 6m over the line to score.
Rachael Pearson claimed a personal haul of 18-points to secure an individual record that came with 7 pin-point conversions and a deserved try for backing up a rampaging Ryvvr-Lee Alo though the middle.
This is the team we all expected coming into the season and coming out of Round 1. It they can eliminate weekly fluctuations then watch out. There are the core players in place to guide the hungry young guns this year and it could be a very potent mix.
NSW Cup
Canberra Raiders 22 defeat the Parramatta Eels 16
The Eels surrendered a rather large 18-point lead in the first half against the Raiders and it proved to be the difference unfortunately. They did well to mount a comeback that started with a neat try assist to Matthew Hunter in the shadow of half time as he found Jake Tago flying down the left sideline.
Lady Luck was not shining on them early in the second half when she handed the home team an audacious try from a chip-and-chase that saw Canberra score from a wild offload that was flung into the passing player’s own foot that then ricocheted perfectly for the try. Seriously, check the highlights!
Hunter was the man again as he put it on a platter with a deft grubber kick for Araz Nanva. Saxon Pryke and Toni Mataele combined through the ruck next as Mataele strode out for a big gain before finding Brendan Hands back on his right to bring the Eels within 8-points.
Ronald Volkman had a heated exchange with Noah Martin that resulted in Parramatta’s halfback getting sent to the bin in the 73rd minute which essentially put the kibosh on the comeback. Apa Twidle did add a penalty goal in the closing moments of the match as the Eels used game theory to keep a slender chance of the draw alive but feel just short.
Harvey Normans Women’s Premiership
Parramatta Eels 24 defeat Mounties 20
Alas, another week where the HNWP had a rough scheduling clash – this time with the NRL post-game process for TCT. I was not able to catch up on the result but pleasingly the Eels secured their first victory of the season with a hard fought 24-20 triumph over Mounties.
The win comes on the back of some serious hard work in the opening fortnight of the competition and it a well and truly deserved result for the young squad. Ella Carlisle nabbed two tries while Aaliyah Soufan, Paige Knapp and blog favourite Fontayne Tufuga also scored for the Eels.
At the conclusion of the round the Eels have lifted themselves to 9th on the ladder and are very much still in the hunt with the rest of the midfield.
Jersey Flegg Cup
Parramatta Eels 36 defeat the Canberra Raiders 30
It certainly wasn’t the most compelling victory they have lodged this season but it was good to welcome the Flegg back to the winner’s circle this week after a shootout with the Raiders. Josh Lynn started the scoring early on with a lovely pass to Dom Farrugia who dotted down in the corner before bagging his second 5-minutes later in damn near the same circumstances as Lynn lofted another silky pass across the right edge.
Canberra seized the initiative from there with three straight scores before Trace Beattie stymied the bleeding after claiming an attacking from Lynn and fighting to get the ball over the line. The Raiders reclaimed the lead before half time and would go on to score the first two tries of the second stanza but that merely set the stage for the second half comeback from the Blue & Gold.
Down 30-16 Ieti Samuelu started the fight back with as he flew into the goal line defence of the Raiders. The promise of violence in his carry drew in additional defenders before he found Javahn Stevenson-Hala with a neat pass for the easy score. Next up was Lachlan Coinakis as he bagged a cheapie from dummy-half before Lorenzo Talataina and Jezaiah Funa-Iuta cemented the victory with a lovely combination play down the left edge.
Lynn’s flawless kicking boot aided the Eels massively with his 6 conversions proving to be the difference in a game where each side score 6 tries.
Was it a good result? That is contentious and certainly the defensive issues were prevalent through the game. However you take wins in all shapes and sizes when you have lost your momentum and the Flegg will gladly claim the 2-points and move on to next week.
Tks Forty, and you have prudently lowered the volume on officiating.
I feel the commenters are exhausted, particularly as Grant Atkins in Knights v Warriors blew the whistle for just about everything including a mid-air tackle, plus a marker not straight call that Kevin Hastings will say he was 179 degrees and the other 1 degree caused by the ball player stepping to the side. I read that the bunker actually tipped this Atkins, they must have bought laser technology.
Forty20 – I have no idea what brought on the insane American politics stuff but I have edited it out and it stands as a final warning to all – Don’t bring that garbage, even jokingly, here.
WTF BDon, what’s with the MAGA shit, what’s that got to do with anything, you can tell that you are brainwashed by the TV about that crap, its American who gives a f.
Sixties/Forty ,point taken I’ll try again. You’re not wrong Anon, the only thing is my brain got a bit washed from recent reader comments, the name-calling is all there already. My post was more aimed against it, as I also reckon we should stick to football. And by the way, I’ll stand on my record over 7/8 years now of posting decently, respecting the standards you try to set.
Surely nobody would be stupid enough to throw Joash under the bus after one game. This is the exact reason we are giving him these last 8 rounds instead of starting from scratch next year. But nothing surprises me, they did the same thing to Kitione Kautoga at the start of the season.
The NRL side showed some great signs in the first half.
Overall nobody could win with the following
59% completions 16 errors was horrendous.
45 missed tackles and 30 ineffective
5 penalties to 1?
4 “ruck infringements” to 0.
According to Klein Raiders were almost perfect. Our 1 penalty was fairly meaningless.
Our halves missed 14 tackles and another bunch of ineffective. They were hammered.
Watching a rebuild is a lot like watching sausages being made. It’s pretty ugly until you get to the finished product. I feel we are watching the sausages being made. We have a lot to like for next year. But this year is not always pretty (mostly not).
This team will improve.
It was a relief (particularly after the first 10 minutes) to see them try their butts off. With some (not all) of Ryles selections signifying he is looking to 2026, there was the potential that the will to win might have been down – but it was a pretty strong effort.
I’ve no problem playing Joash and seeing what he has. He needs to be told to park the no look pass though. He needs to earn the right to throw that and first needs to focus on reading the defence and playing what is in front of him.
I agree it was probably Hopgood’s best game and Charlie Guymer’s as well. A big hat tip to Jnr for playing through whatever was going on with his eyes! He was freaking me out!
I’d push back a bit on the Lomax defensive criticism in that while he certainly makes his share of mistakes, some of Simonsen’s reads are diabolical. One try where he took absolutely no one and even if Lomax followed him in, he was still no chance of stopping the try.
And on Centre’s, if we are playing Joash to see what we have, why are we not playing Samrani? We know what we have in Russell – a low IQ footballer who if i asked, “what is Russel’s strength?”, i think the best answer anyone could give would be – he turns up on time. Ok, if Ryles hasn’t had a good chance to look at Simonsen, fair enough, but we have watched a season of Russell unable to draw and pass, unable to switch a ball inside, unable to out run anyone with two legs. What more do we need to see?
Along similar lines I have probably seen enough of Hawkins to know there isn’t much there. But then Moses might be back and he has a seasons worth of footage on Volkman and maybe he isn’t cutting it (i don’t have the time to watch NSW Cup these days)
I commend Ryles for what he his trying to do and the team for having a crack. Hopefully Ryles is building enough of a portfolio of the good and not so good to be able to go to leadership and recruit the players the Eels need.
Surely know one thinks Dylan makes any difference to that result he probably makes the tackle on hosking and that’s it. Papalii did not have a great game but he was not alone and he is 3 games into a position his learning. The kids a gun and Is easily in the top 3 best players in the whole of nsw cup he just needs a go. He will make mistakes and get targeted in defence no doubt but his an absolute game breaker if he gets some momentum let’s give him some time.
Maybe we should be looking at a few of our blokes who have played over 50-100 games and question our future with them.
People won’t like this but Joash is not a NRL 5/8. He is a handy back up for fullback, but even then you will have your heart in your mouth. He may also be a back up for 5/8 but we are kidding ourselves if you think a season will be productive with those 2 outside of backing up. Yes I would give him another game, hardly fair to drop him, but lets be realistic
14 missed tackles by the halves also put’s perspective on Hawkins and Joash as a combination, but it also shows that Dean is a handy back up, but you don’t want him to cover more than a few games in a season of FG.
We need a seasoned 5/8, personally I like Sandon Smith but something does not seem right there…..I think Douehi and Jaydon Campbell (if either of their clubs are prepared to lose them) are the right candidates.
We will and probably and should be prepared to pay over because we need the class to finish off the start of a good backline. Those 3 players cover the halves, fullback and arguably hooker in Smith’s case. Buy all three, it definately then cover’s any down fall of injury for the halves (especially Moses) and leaves us with no backline weaknesses.
The forwards, pick up De Belin and a Marquis if you can find one.
Those backs give us a much better defensive structure.
I have my question marks on Sandon Smith also, but i’d take him over the other two. Douehi and Campbell don’t do much to improve your defense at 5/8. Neither have anything that resembles a quality first grade kicking game either. Unfortunately now isn’t the time to be trying to rebuild as players and agents start eyeing off expansion clubs and the market gets more competitive.
Unfortunately the squad set up is such that we need backrowers (all good teams have one marquee back rower), we need a 5/8 and we need centres for next year and probably a prop and lock. Walker has been good but he is a better 14 than 13 and JDB has never come close to winning a thing in his 250 game career, so he isn’t likely to move the needle next year.
Sadly before we get any of those things we all know what we need in order to acquire them…
We need a 3, 2, 1 for cup each week so we know which players are performing. Just calling the try scorers gives a little knowledge of who’s doing well
Also, I’d rather a national under 20s comp than a women’s league. Not saying there’s no place for women’s, but the days of the Holden cup were the absolute best times for jnr football