There are plenty of wins on the docket this week as well as Thursday night’s spirited loss to the Storm. The NRLW lodged, besieged by brutal injuries, lodged a critical win as Fleur Ginn – the player clearly long prophesied by this blogger in Gin(n) & Logic – scored the match winner in the 61st minute. All up the lower grades arguably posted their most dominant collective weekend of results this year as the Cup and Flegg routed the Rabbitohs while the HNWP posted their most confident victory yet as they dismantled the Panthers and surged to a third consecutive win.

It is a soggy edition of The Weekend Wrap but the Eels were in their waterlogged element so let’s slip on the gumboots and get to the task.

NRL

Melbourne Storm 16 defeat the Parramatta Eels 10

Jason Ryles cut a clear and incisive message within the first minute of his post-match press conference in Round 22 – “I honestly think we lost that game tonight, they didn’t beat us”. It was delivered with a positive intonation and parlayed into a follow-up offering that the Eels have a lot of little areas to tidy up in as they continue to grow. An obvious sign of understanding of where the team is at and what they are still lacking despite the significant growth across the park.

That really is the long and short of it this week for the NRL. From a Round 1 shellacking against the same opposition where they bled 56-points to pushing them hard in the 80th minute 21 weeks later. It has been a crazy ride in 2025 but perhaps the fullest extent of the journey is exemplified in the contrasting results against the Melbourne Storm.

There is plenty you could pick apart if you were so inclined. Red zone inefficiencies cruelled Parramatta’s hopes of a massive upset scalp and individually there were certainly some moments that players would want back. That all plays into the coach’s messaging. I am going to refrain from breaking out the magnifying glass this week as respect to the team’s desperate efforts to try an topple a premiership heavyweight in extremely testing conditions.

I argued with Sixties in the Instant Reaction podcast that I thought the Eels played with more hunger and physicality against the Storm than they did against the Broncos the week before. I stand by that. However, the costly errors in premium attacking territory can ill be afforded against Melbourne and ultimately that is what the Eels were left to rue.

Despite the loss that makes it two high effort, high intensity performances on the trot and if they can bring the same levels to bear against the Cowboys this week then they will be very hard to stop.

NRLW

Parramatta Eels 12 defeat the St George Illawarra Dragons 10

It might ultimately go down as a Pyrrhic victory for the Parramatta Eels but their Round 5 triumph over the St George Illawarra Dragons – the first ever in the head-to-head match up – has kept them inside the Top 6 as they improve to a 3-2 record.

The Eels closed out the inaugural NRLW Magic Round with a gritty 2-point as they fought back against the Red V and fought through the losses of Rory Owen, Cassey Tohi-Hiku and Kennedy Cherrington. Kennedy will almost certainly miss the upcoming clash with the Cowboys due to a Category 1 concussion but Steve Georgallis faces the painful reality of losing Owens (fibula fracture) and Tohi-Hiku (syndesmosis) for the remainder of the season in desolate double-blow.

The injuries, alongside a vigorous effort from the Dragons, added to the emotional culmination of the comeback as Fleur Ginn touched down out wide after some lovely work from Ryvvr-Lee Alo as she ranged down the left edge and found support. It was a massive moment for the rookie back and hopefully an injection of confidence and self-belief given she will likely be tasked with replacing Rory at left centre.

Abbi Church sparked to life in the second half to help muster the fight back and boldly stepped into the Tohi-Hiku sized hole in the team. She was denied an exclamation mark moment at the very end with a scintillating run and pass that seemed to have put Martha Mataele over in the final seconds after the Bunker over-turned the on-field decision of a try.

Elsie Albert scored a genuine barnstormer of a try and generally led the way for the Eels through the middle but also topped the team for errors. Like the NRL it was painful, selective errors rather than a glut of mistakes that really bogged Parramatta down for long stretches of this contest. Ditto with Rachael Pearson as the Eels’ half had some spotty moments with pass selection that put her support players in tough positions.

Like the NRL, these are areas that need to be tidied up across the park with an even greater emphasis on the pressure of time given the NRLW aspire to finals footy. There is clearly a very good team here – even in spite of the catastrophic personnel losses this week – but they need to tighten up fast if they want to contend against the likes of the Roosters, Broncos and Knights.

NSW Cup

Parramatta Eels 52 defeat the South Sydney Rabbitohs 4

There were perhaps more eyes on the NSW Cup than usual with Lorenzo Talataina making his much heralded debut in the senior grade against the Rabbitohs in Round 22. The rookie play-maker delivered in spades as he scored a try, officially set-up two more while also blazing the trail for a third with Joey Lussick diving over in the wake of an electric run from the five-eighth.

Tempering the excitement from such a brilliant debut is the understanding that Souths are anchored to the bottom of the ladder and are legitimately on Struggle Street right now but you can only play what is in front of you and Lorenzo did a sterling job in that regard on Saturday.

It was certainly more than enough to justify both the promotion and the young gun holding his place in the team as they ramp up for the finals.

Part of the reason his promotion went so smoothly was the capable work of his fellow spine members. Lussick, as mentioned above, plundered a try working in tandem with Talataina while Apa Twidle and Ronald Volkman did a terrific job guiding their team around the park in the torrid conditions.

Bailey Simonsson posted a hat-trick and nearly 200m on the ground in the sort of the showing you would expect from a legitimate first-grader in the Cup but I did note that he seemed to be working through lower-back tightness in the later exchanges of the game. Hopefully it amounts to nothing serious.

The win keeps the Eels entrenched inside the Top 4 and in lone possession of 3rd place. They are still chasing the Dragons but the Warriors have an untouchable lead and ultimately 3rd just might be where the Eels find themselves seeded heading into the finals.

Harvey Normans Women’s Premiership

Parramatta Eels 32 defeat the Penrith Panthers 4

The Eels have grown in confidence week on week in the HNWP and that was on full display on Sunday as they romped to an impressive 28-point victory over their Western Sydney rivals at Kellyville Park.

The team really showed in general a rugged commitment to playing tough while also not fearing opportunities to shift the ball in testing conditions. Ella Carlisle proved once again she has speed to burn as she tormented Penrith with her pace on a heavy track while Rosemarie Beckett pulled the strings beautifully as part of a strong partnership with Fontayne Tufuga down the right edge.

Tyla Amiatu was a late inclusion for the team after making her return from injury and produced a very good showing with some tough work through the middle and a cracking solo try in the second half.

It was an important win to keep touch with the upper bracket of the ladder with the Eels concluding the round in 6th position. They are building really nicely now though and it belies how much youth and inexperience is in the squad.

Jersey Flegg Cup

Parramatta Eels 44 defeat the South Sydney Rabbitohs 16

The global bye looks to have done the Flegg some good as they backed up their win over the Raiders with a comprehensive defeat of the Rabbitohs at Kellyville. The visitors had the silver-lining of securing their winger Jacob Fong a 4-bagger but that was the sole solace for the Rabbitohs as the Eels piled on 9 tries.

Lorima Rokosuka fell just short of Fong’s try scoring shenanigans but I imagine he would gladly take a hat-trick on debut in the Jersey Flegg.

Matthew Hunter, Newcastle-bound, dropped back to Flegg for this game and produced a really good showing working alongside Josh Lynn. Parramatta halves picked apart the Rabbitohs all game and both were deserved try-scorers too.

Will Lewis continues to be a pleasant surprise out in the centres. The rangy backrower was enjoying a good season in its own merit at his primary position out on the edge but has done a wonderful job covering in the centres for Jordan Rankin. He claimed a second half try in this game and was a constant menace down the right edge working with Rokosuka.

At the end of the round the Eels find themselves in 5th but are breathing down the necks of the Panthers, Raiders and Sharks who are fractionally ahead of them on the ladder.

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