It was very nearly a banner weekend for the Parramatta Eels with just the NSW Cup finding itself in the loser’s column. Wins across the NRL, Jersey Flegg Cup, SG Ball Cup, Tarsha Gale Cup, Harold Matthews Cup and Lisa Fiaola Cup set up an outstanding Saturday and Sunday for the club and has left us with plenty to discuss. So let us discuss!

NRL Round 3

Parramatta Eels 30 defeat the St George Illawarra Dragons 20

It is hard to say the lustre has come off this win when it was essentially universally agreed the Eels had won ugly over the Dragons in Round 3. Even so, the loss of J’maine Hopgood for the season and the lingering concern surrounding Jordan Samrani have definitely edged this victory towards Pyrrhic territory.

Parramatta’s ability to grind out a necessary win should still be celebrated, just tempered by cruel personal blows to both Hopgood and Samrani (pending the full extent of his injury *EDIT* potentially 6-8 weeks out with a meniscus injury) and the pressure it places on the Eels’ roster moving forwards. Still, securing the two competition points was vital given the volatility we are witnessing in the greater NRL currently. Beyond the Penrith Panthers and the New Zealand Warriors, just about everyone else has looked decidedly mortal over the first three rounds. Yes, even the Melbourne Storm fall into that category and I am willing to argue that they have been overrated on the back of their Round 1 demolition job over our woefully over-matched Eels.

Banking a win, even an ugly win, is critical for ladder buffering and keeping our margin of error as wide as possible. With the spectre of the Penrith Panthers looming this coming Saturday, knowing that the worst we can finish after a month of meaningful footy is 2-2 is a very assuring fallback.

What about the game itself?

I can’t help but open with a glowing endorsement of my main man Sam Tuivaiti. The second year jump has been very real for our young colossus and he once again proved to be an indomitable force from the interchange as he punched out 175m from 18 carries. It isn’t just a command of the clerical number charting either. Sam was leading kick chases and getting heavily involved in defence.

Jason Ryles leaned on his young tearaway for 44-minutes against the Dragons on Sunday afternoon. That isn’t a notable figure for any prop forward in isolation and indeed, many quality bookend will play in surplus of 50 or even 60-minutes a week. For Sam though, it was a watershed moment for trust and accountability from his head coach. Tuivaiti averaged 24-minutes of play time in 2025 and his longest ever involvements (Rounds 4, 7 & 21) topped out at 33-minutes. Ryles challenged Sam to play well past his presently established limits in the NRL and he responded gloriously.

Despite the scrappy nature of the contest, there were plenty of other notable efforts for the Blue & Gold. Bailey Simonsson was a whirling dervish around the ruck, hitting-and-spinning his way through the teeth of the defence on his way to a mammoth 25 carry, 255m day. Josh Addo-Carr was also a sneaky feature in the 200m+ club – aided somewhat by a mid-range try at the end of the game – in a game where the Foxx found a way to still add value despite limited attacking opportunities.

As with Round 2, it is hard to fathom any positive Parramatta outcome without a serious nod to the bench. Sam Tuivaiti already got his flowers but Dylan Walker, Matt Doorey and Tallyn Da Silva all featured prominently once again. In particular Da Silva who electrified the Dragons and crowd alike in a scintillating 23-minute passage of play where he scored two tries and set up a go-ahead scoring opportunity for Kitione Kautoga on the stroke of half time.

Mitchell Moses still hasn’t quite found his rhythm in offence but there was little doubting his ferocious commitment to the cause. Parramatta’s captain was a berserker on the under-manned right edge, throwing himself around without pause to nullify the incessant raids from the Dragons. Moses held together a patchwork edge that suffered through both the loss of Samrani and the sin-binning of Charlie Guymer to somehow only concede a single try – and from a kick no less.

His legendary kicking game also played a significant role in the Eels clinging to the lead. With fatigue crushing both teams late in the contest, Moses was consistently able to mitigate favourable field position for the Dragons by flipping the territorial advantage with his prodigious boot.

Parramatta clearly have plenty to work on. They are miles from their ideal version of themselves. Forced offloads and passes are still hamstringing promising sets, there is very much a concern around teams attacking Jonah Pezet down our left edge and fears over backline depth are unfortunately fermenting to the surface.

Still, they have found a path to a 2-1 start on the year and I, perhaps optimistically, hold to the thought that a Round 4 clash with the Panthers might draw the best out of the Blue & Gold. Will it be enough for an upset victory? I am realist enough to know that we are firm outsiders against the Panthers for a good reason. So while I will be officially tipping the Eels in TCT’s tipping comp, I do think Penrith likely prevail. However, there can be plenty of meaning found in a loss and the Eels have a chance to take a swing at the best and maybe, just maybe put a dent in their armour.

NSW Cup Round 3

St George Illawarra Dragons 38 defeat the Parramatta Eels 8

I missed the majority of this game due to a scheduling clash with our Pre-Game Show at Sterlos and I guess I can count my blessings. The Dragons evidently ran the Eels off the park in a game in which Parramatta never seriously figured at any point. An early double to Toby Rumble (who rumour has it, makes a mean apple crumble) gave way to a sin-binning of Luca Moretti in the 18th-minute and the Dragons just ran riot from there as they piled on the points by way of a David Fale hat-trick leading to a 26-0 lead at the break.

It was a dismal result for our reserve grade setup and one they will want to purge from their memories. The early season loss of Ronald Volkman is a factor here but they showed in Round 1 they could engineer as positive result against the Storm. The reality is that they just played poorly and met a team that played good footy. Reset and refocus on the Panthers and the peculiar time slot of 8:00PM at CommBank Stadium on Saturday.

Jersey Flegg Cup Round 3

Parramatta Eels 12 defeat the St George Illawarra Dragons 10

I do have to admit, sometimes I am a bit of sicko when it comes to games like this and a last gasp 12-10 in the Jersey Flegg of all places does make psychotic smile bubble up from the depths. Yeah, this was one for the most ascetic of rugby league purists as the Eels battled with tooth and claw to stay perfect on the young season. Like I said though, I loved it. Not for the lack of fluency or the clear early season kinks that need to be ironed out but for the pure fight that the Eels exhibited.

None typified that more than Druzel Taula who both saved the Eels from a certain loss and ultimately won the game for them in the final moments. Two separate critical plays, the former of which is the one that really warrants the highest of praise.

When the Dragons snatched the lead from the Eels in the 54th-minute, they threatened to do even more damage when they were poised to go back-to-back. A line break on halfway from their lock forward Daniel Meafou resulted in a flurry of passes that set their five-eighth Eden Hodges up to score under the posts.

Enter Taula.

The rangy winger made the supreme hustle play to track infield from the left sideline and put himself in the position to influence a critical juncture in the game as he punched the ball free from the hands of Hodges and forced the error over the goal line. Druzel would go on to bag the match winner and his second try of the game with some sharp work done by Ioane Lui in the lead up to create the time and space needed.

As with last year, this feels like a Flegg squad that will be heavily augmented by the completion of the SG Ball tournament but they also look to be a bunch of battlers. How can you not love that either? They have every chance to force some difficult selection decisions down the track and have certainly done themselves proud in their first two games of the season.

SG Ball Cup Round 7

Parramatta Eels 44 defeat the New Zealand Warriors 4

Welcome back SG Ball! The Eels clearly took to heart the painful lessons of their blowout loss to the Rabbitohs the week prior and responded in kind with a merciless beat down of the Warriors at Kellyville on Saturday. Lincoln Fletcher produced his best individual effort of the season as he spearheaded a relentless campaign against the visitors built on his dominant running game. I think Fletcher has somewhat played within himself at times this season in an effort to uplift the considerable talent around him and this was a timely reminder of just how good he can be when he allows himself to to be even remotely ‘selfish’. Selfish of course is a poor term for the concept of Fletcher finding a better balance to his approach but you get the gist of the thought!

Samuela Sorovi was given the chance to start at right wing and certainly made the most of his opportunity. Sorovi was replacing the athletic gem that is Lorima Rokosuka and made an athletic splash of his own early on with a stunning finish to a Fletcher cutout pass as he grounded the ball in the corner in spite of the minor handicap of having nearly his entire body hanging in the air over the sideline!

The Eels dominated all facets of this game and there are plenty of other players that could get their due. Critically though, the win has opened up a 3-point buffer between the 6th placed Eels and the chasing pack behind them headed by the Bulldogs and the Knights. Parramatta still have work to do in the remaining two rounds but this was a crucial win on the balance of wider results in the season.

Tarsha Gale Cup Round 7

Parramatta Eels 60 defeat the Manly Sea Eagles 10

This was Part Deux of one of the most dominant two act showings I have ever seen in the Junior Representatives. The Parramatta Eels painstakingly and very systematically dismantled the Manly Sea Eagles in both the Tarsha Gale and Lisa Fiaola Cups as the two games totaled to an insane 128-10 combined scoreboard.

I don’t really know where to begin with either outcome as a result. Billie Va’a and Jayda Cook both notched stunning individual long range tries in the second half while Olivia Saba was deservedly rewarded with a quick fire double during her outstanding stint from the bench.

Irae Savea continues to dominate from the back for the Eels and has seriously impressed in her junior year of Tarsha Gale eligibility. Bailey Ma-Chong is another spine player in her first year of the Under 19s and she too is really starting to find her rhythm in the competition. She split dummy half duties with Alissia Misa on the weekend but it was the work they did together with both on the field that was so pleasing as they dissected the Manly ruck.

Two monstrous games now loom for the Tarsha Gale as they face fellow competition heavy weights in the Roosters and Bulldogs but they are much on the ascent and get a cracking opportunity to sharpen up for the finals.

Harold Matthews Cup Round 7

Parramatta Eels 26 defeat the New Zealand Warriors 10

This had all the makings of a trap game for our boys. Coming off a brace of heart-breaking losses and facing one of the emergent powerhouses of the grade – even in a down season for the Warriors – this game had the potential to spiral our Harold Matthews out of finals contention.

Instead, they rose to the challenge and delivered their most compelling footy in weeks. Goal line stands were intermixed with bold passages of attacking footy as the Matts finally fell back into comfortable groove for the first time in a month.

Hayden Bell was genuinely outstanding in all facets for the Eels and while I hold the highest of praise for his game in all facets – effort, execution, versatility and vision – he was extremely well supported on Saturday. Lorima Seuseu scored a brilliant individual try in the 32nd-minute as he wowed onlookers with his ridiculous blend of speed and size. William Memea Epe bagged a brace of tries with a cheeky crash over from dummy half in the first half coupled with a tough finish in the corner in the second half.

The Top 6 in the Harold Matthews is very much a hotly contested battle and the Eels need to keep their wits about them in the next fortnight. This was a big win though and as much for the manner in which they won as for the actual win itself.

Lisa Fiaola Cup Round 7

Parramatta Eels 68 defeat the Manly Sea Eagles 0

Utter dominance. What else can you say? The Eels hammered the Sea Eagles AND the clock in an almighty hiding. Havana Cook matched the feats of Taylah Barr earlier this year with a whopping five try haul as the Eels poured on FOURTEEN unanswered meat pies.

I spent much of the first half trying to catch up with our girls and their try scoring endeavors . Parra’s spine seamlessly whirred into gear from the get-go with Rylee Cash pouncing on a opportunity afforded by an early Manly error to score from a scrum win. She alongside Sienna Manuo, Charlie Noble and Tegan Nicholas pulled the Sea Eagles apart thread-by-thread and Nicholas in particular was in her full element as she unleashed an array of passes down both edges to set up scoring plays.

Chelsea Falls had a terrific game from the bench and did some wonderful work with Armanhi Cook around the ruck and really this is a game where every player could be praised.

The Lisa Fiaola have been the most consistent team for the Eels by some margin this year and they have just built and built and built. Now they enter the serious end of the season in peak form and with it all ahead of them. Their Round 9 clash with the Bulldogs will be a true clash of the titans and could very much shape the finals.

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