Well, what a win that was on Friday night! It was certainly one to remember, and a sure sign that these baby Eels are a team on the rise. Even though it was an early morning from where I was watching in Chicago, I could practically hear the roar from the TCT watch party at Sterlo’s, and the collective silence from over 40,000 Brisbane fans at Suncorp.

The combination of the respective ladder positions of the two clubs and the fact that the game was being played in Brisbane, meant that the result was a surprise to all but the most ardent Parramatta supporters. However, for those familiar with the history between the two clubs, it perhaps shouldn’t have been quite the surprise that it was.

The addition of Brisbane to the competition in 1988 coincided with the end of Parramatta’s glory years. The flagship Queensland club tasted almost immediate success, only waiting until their 5th season to win the competition, a feeling they have enjoyed five times in their history (six if you count the Super League title, which we won’t, but probably would’ve if Parra had won that comp). This in stark contrast to Parramatta, who are famously 39 years into a premiership drought, which started around 18 months prior to Brisbane joining the NSWRL.

In spite of all this, Parramatta have a surprisingly good record against Brisbane, with the head to head record standing at 39 to 29 in favour of Brisbane (with one draw). Although Parramatta started as rank outsiders on Friday night, this was far from the only time that Parramatta have caught their more fancied opponents on the hop. Long time supporters of the club will remember these games, but for those newer to the club, let’s delve into a reminder of some of the more surprising Parramatta triumphs over Brisbane. Now to clarify, there have been bigger and more spectacular wins than these (who could forget our 68-22 hammering of the defending premiers in 2007, Semi’s 4 tries in a 52-34 win at Suncorp in 2017, our 58-0 semi-final shellacking at home in 2019, or winning 53-6 at Suncorp on our way to a grand final appearance in 2022), but these are the true backs to the wall results, the ones where nobody outside of the players would’ve given them a chance. You might be surprised at how often this has happened!

1. March 1993: Brisbane 8 vs Parramatta 12 at ANZ Stadium

This was the one that started the trend. Brisbane had moved base from Lang Park to ANZ Stadium (formerly Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Sports Centre) to much fanfare prior to the 1993 season, and this was their first home game at the new stadium. Brisbane were the reigning premiers, and favourites to go back to back. Parramatta were coming off some lean years, following the retirement of most of their stars from the 1980’s. The only player remaining was Brett Kenny who was in his last season before retiring and not named to play that day. In this 3rd round clash, it was the no frills Eels who got the chocolates by a scoreline of 12 points to 8. Star rookie Michael Buettner scored all the points, and it was journeyman halfback,

That shock winning feeling with Stu

Stu Galbraith, calling the shots behind a courageous forward pack. This game would prove to be an anomaly, with Parramatta regressing during the season before ultimately finishing 11th (including a record 68-0 loss to Canberra), while Brisbane would indeed repeat as premiers. None of this mattered on this one magical day though, as the team of scrappy blue and gold underdogs stood tall against a team stacked with representative players

• September 1998: Brisbane 10 vs Parramatta 15 at ANZ Stadium

This game wasn’t the surprise that the 1993 result was but still came as a shock to many. Brisbane had been a dominant force once the 1998 competition had brought the two warring ARL & Super League parties back together. They had finished as 1998 minor premiers after they had tasted premiership success in the 1997 Super League season. Parramatta had qualified 4th for the semi-finals, their best position in over a decade. The contrast between the two sides was significant, with Brisbane having the best attacking record in the competition and Parramatta having the worst attack of any team in the semi-finals (which was 10 teams for that year!). Even though Parramatta had beaten Brisbane a couple of months earlier, that game came during the origin period and few gave the Eels a chance of knocking over the red-hot Broncos.

What eventuated was a Brian Smith coaching masterclass, with Parramatta strangling the Brisbane attack in a 15-10 win. A famous win for sure, and no need to relitigate how the remainder of the 1998 season played out…

• July 2012: Brisbane 22 vs Parramatta 42 at Suncorp Stadium

Brad Arthur had been brought in as caretaker coach to assist the ailing Eels, following the unceremonious dumping of Stephen Kearney a week earlier. Parramatta were heading to their first wooden spoon in 40 years that season and Brisbane would ultimately scrape into the semi finals, but for one perfect night it was party time up north, as the likes of Chrissy Sandow and Jake Mullaney ran roughshod over the hapless Broncos.

Arthur

While Arthur would leave the club at the end of 2012, he would only be gone for 12 months, replacing Ricky Stuart after the 2013 season.

• May 2013: Parramatta 19 vs Brisbane 18 at Parramatta Stadium

Fast forward one year, and Parramatta were still close to rock bottom. Although Brisbane would go on to miss the semi finals in 2013, Parramatta were headed for their second wooden spoon in two years and not many gave them a chance of winning this game. Parramatta were also recovering from some of the most questionable recruiting decisions in the club’s history in 2012, bringing in several players well past their best. Ricky Stuart had come in for 2013 and brought out the infamous whiteboard to start from scratch, meaning the 2013 team had a number of players who had been told their services would not be required beyond that season.

Hayne

It was the wizardry of Jarryd Hayne who won this game for Parramatta, scoring a try and kicking the winning field goal in a narrow victory. For those who questioned the job that Brad Arthur did at the club, it’s worth looking back on the 2012 and 2013 seasons and seeing the almighty effort that was required to pull the Eels out of the mire and back into premiership relevance. It may well have been the right time for him to depart last year, but the value of his efforts in the preceding decade should never be understated.

• July 2025: Brisbane 20 vs Parramatta 22 at Suncorp Stadium

There’s not much more to add that hasn’t already been said by the rest of the contributors to TCT. $4 outsiders, playing in hostile territory, given no chance to succeed by most pundits. In retrospect, it was almost too obvious that we would win. I never thought that I would feel so much joy at watching my team sit in 14th place, but that lowly ladder position belies what has been a fairly positive trajectory for the past two months.

What winners look like

Let’s hope that Brisbane isn’t the last big scalp our young side adds to their belts before the end of the season, and we finish the year strongly, with the hopes of a return to finals footy in 2026 on the horizon.

Go you mighty Eels!

Chris

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