The NRL has been a topsy-turvy affair in the first fortnight. While the Melbourne Storm, New Zealand Warriors, Penrith Panthers and *checks notes*…the Newcastle Knights are undefeated in two outings it has been a volatile slate of games beyond that. Despite an almighty drubbing in Round 1, the Eels surprisingly find themselves perched at 12th on the ladder at the conclusion of Round 2. Wayward form of other clubs not withstanding, Parramatta’s own efforts to overthrow the reigning premiers and secure a vital upset represent a major turnaround from their first start loss.

Were the Eels perfect? Absolutely not. So let’s find out where the Eels improved this week and what remains a concern for our boys as well recapping the mixed results in the Junior Reps across the weekend.

NRL Round 2

Parramatta Eels 40 defeat the Brisbane Broncos 32

When the Eels were staring down the barrel of a 20-6 deficit after just 26 minutes you could have been forgiven for fearing the worst…again. A barrage of early game set restarts coupled with flimsy defence hearkened back to the horrors of opening night in Melbourne. Unlike the week prior though, Parramatta dragged themselves away from the precipice through a combination of good fortune and some honest-to-goodness hard work.

Perhaps no one better epitomised the good fortune aspect of the comeback victory than Jonah Pezet. Parramatta’s transitional five-eighth snagged a try assist for Ryley Smith and a try of his own off his boot. In both cases it felt like good vision meeting meeting miscued execution yet someway, somehow Pezet was able to coerce an error out of the defence each time. Sure that won’t happen too many times in the NRL but when it does you need to pounce on those opportunities and that is exactly what the Eels did.

Mitchell Moses and Isaiah Iongi eventually settled into the contest as the tides turned towards the Blue & Gold with both enjoying strong returns to form in Round 2. Throw in a leave-it-all-on-the-field outing from Ryley Smith and you have a vastly improved showing from the Eels’ spine.

As much as we are conditioned to single out the spine for praise in the modern game I think it is fair to say that the tide of the game was overturned due to other efforts.

Kelma Tuilagi overcame a literal early game stumble and terrorised the left edge of the reining premiers while all four members of Parramatta’s active interchange played crucial roles in a rousing comeback victory. Dylan Walker was the key man for mine but Sam Tuivaiti dominated the ruck during his 26 minute stint while Matt Doorey and Tallyn Da Silva both raised the tempo.

Walker remains one of the code’s great tempo changers while Tuivaiti reminded everyone of what was lost in Round 1 due to circumstance with rampaging shift that transformed Parra’s presence in the ruck.

Now for all the praise and plaudits to be given for the exhilarating comeback victory there is no doubt the Eels have a mountain of work to do. Most of it is centred on defence and the fragile nature of individual efforts and system reads but so too are there hitches in offence.

We still have a ways to go to even get approach the form displayed late 2025, let alone taking a step beyond that. Even so I am pleased by the fight and wherewithal shown by the team against Brisbane. Everything pointed towards a second straight capitulation but they found the resolve to carve out a path to victory. Now they get the chance to consolidate against the Dragons in their home opener at CommBank Stadium as they hunt a 2-1 record.

Finally, a brief moment to praise the work of Wyatt Raymond. While he certainly embodied the frenzied hysteria the code seemingly wants with set restarts early in the contest against the Broncos it sure felt like he eased off later into the first half and let the game properly manifest itself. Did the Eels and Broncos get away with things around the ruck? Absolutely. Was there an actual flow to the battle? 100%. It felt like we witnessed two diametrically opposed interpretations of our great game and I must say I favour the latter by the length of the field.

NSW Cup Round 2

BYE

Jersey Flegg Cup Round 2

BYE

SG Ball Cup Round 6

South Sydney Rabbitohs 44 defeat the Parramatta Eels 10

It was a serious reality check for the SG Ball on the weekend as they unraveled against the Rabbitohs. While the end result was obviously a blow out there was a direct connection between Parramatta errors and South Sydney tries through the first half as the Eels spotted their opposition plenty of opportunities and thus points. It was a bitterly disappointing result for a team of which I hold in the highest esteem but it is also a reminder of the nature of this wonderful game of ours. If you don’t come to play in any given game you can get dusted up. Souths look every bit the legitimate contender and Parramatta gave them far too much leniency across the field.

They now pick themselves up and dust themselves off as they host the Warriors in Round 7. A win is now vital is keeping the Blue & Gold on pace for the finals but they still very much control their own destiny.

Tarsha Gale Cup Round 6

Parramatta Eels 62 defeat the South Sydney Rabbitohs 0

Well, if the SG Ball faltered in Round 6 the Tarsha Gale roared as they thrashed the Rabbitohs in a 62-point shutout. It was Parramatta’s most complete offensive showing of the season and the first real stirrings of the juggernaut that was last year’s premiers. Freedom Crichton Ropati and Kyliah Gray ran amok in the first half with the former scoring a sensational solo effort while the latter set up her halfback Aaliyah Soufan in spectacular fashion. Gray would go on to bag a double and was joined in that feat by the rampaging Taylah Falaniko who scored from both short and long range as the powerful bookend dominated the second stanza.

Parramatta over-matched their opponents across the park and while there is some cautionary considerations to be had about the form of the Rabbitohs – the Eels did the job that was required of them. Our Tarsha Gale squad has been building slowly through a slow start to the season and are now rounding into what I hope is their best form at the right end of the competition.

Harold Matthews Cup Round 6

South Sydney Rabbitohs 14 defeat the Parramatta Eels 11

You have got to feel for the lads in the Harold Matthews. A heartbreaking loss heading against the Steelers heading into the bye has been followed by a heartbreaking loss coming out of the bye. If Bill Shakespeare had an interest in crafting tragic sports stories than surely these two results would have been penned by his hand because it is difficult to explain how the Eels could be done in at the final moments in such exotic circumstances.

This was a gritty and torrid contest throughout as both the Eels and Rabbitohs got stuck into each other. After 54-minutes the scores were locked up at 10-all – two tries a piece – with Tyson Puleitu and Levi Perrett crossing the white stripe for the Eels. Perrett would feature shortly thereafter as Parramatta executed an excellent field goal drill that saw Levi drill the go-ahead 1-pointer in the 59th minute.

That lead was unfortunately short lived as the Bunnies claimed the short restart and would go on to score in the left corner in somewhat controversial circumstances. I say somewhat because it was the far corner on the broadcast angle and while the South’s winger Benjamin Wright went perilously close to stepping on the sideline before flinging the ball back inside, the margin was so razor thin that I have to defer to the touch judge’s call that it was a live ball. Regardless, Wright’s desperation offload as he was getting bundled into touch found his halfback Payton Tarau who was able to burrow through the cover defenders and deliver a devastating blow to our boys.

In spite of the back-to-back gut wrenching losses, Parramatta still can punch their own ticket to the finals with the results left in hand. Through all the pain wrought in the last two outings I can only hope the Matts emerge more battle hardened and prepared for the run home.

Lisa Fiaola Cup Round 6

Parramatta Eels 22 defeat the South Sydney Rabbitohs 20

This was an odd contest that arguably went unnecessarily down to the wire due to some circumstances beyond Parramatta’s control. The Blue & Gold built a commanding 22-6 lead through the first 40-minutes of this encounter with doubles to Havana Cook and Ruby Enosi Tuipulotu bracketing a solo try to Isabella Bell. Goal kicking obviously wasn’t at its best on Saturday but the Eels had a firm hand on the game.

Souths would fight back from there and were aided by an aggressive sequence of penalties in their favour but as mentioned in the losses to the boys above – that is footy. What isn’t footy is the siren clearly ringing out amidst a completed tackle and the referee allowing a bonus play that helps a team to score a potential draw securing try. That is exactly how this game closed out as the Rabbitohs ostensibly scored in extra time to get an undeserved crack at stealing a competition point from the Eels.

Thankfully, the subsequent conversion attempt was missed and thus Parramatta escaped with the victory but it really should not have come down to that.

The narrow win keeps the Eels level with the Bulldogs and Knights as the last three remaining undefeated teams in the competition.

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