In writing these previews for however many years it has been (I started before set restarts were a thing, I believe), I have well and truly exhausted all of my Easter puns, gags and clever factoids. I have parted the red sea and picked up every last Moses reference from the sand. My material is as fresh as the bloke yelling “been doing it all day” on the first penalty of the game. For the rest of this preview, I promise no more Easter references.
Speaking of no promise, how about that Eels defence huh? Parramatta has been leaking like a Wests Tigers boardroom, and you just know the Tigers will be licking their lips at the chance to put up a bit of a score against their old foes. I for one would love to deny them that satisfaction, but I won’t be the one out there making tackles on Monday so the best I can do to influence the game is write a couple thousand words about it.
We don’t know if this revival of the Wests Tigers is the real deal, though as a firm believer in the wisdom of Jack Gibson, particularly regarding the front office, I’m not willing to bet on it while the club powerbrokers continue to go Grandpa Simpson every couple of months. Still, they’ve looked good to start 2026 and like any Easter Monday, you know they will show up hungry. Can the Eels crack their neighbour and notch an unlikely winning record? Let’s dig in and find out!
Game Info
Date: Monday, April 6, 2026
Venue: CommBank Stadium, Parramatta
Kick-off: 4:05PM AEST
Referee: Peter Gough
Bunker: Ashley Klein
Weather: Warm, dry
Broadcast: Fox League, Kayo
Sixties Speculates (All odds quoted are NSW Tab)
Last week’s clash with Penrith delivered 68 total match points so I’m using that as my motivation for this week’s tip.
Heading to the “Pick Your Own Total” market, the odds of $2.65 for 54.5 points or more look sweet. If you’re game to go as high as 62.5 points or more the return is a whopping $5.50
I’ll stay conservative at 54.5 or more.
Happy, responsible punting.
Sixties
The Rivalry
How strong your dislike for the Wests Tigers will be depends on how online you are. Tigers fans are a chirpy bunch and many Eels fans I know have transferred their dislike of the fanbase onto the hapless football team. As a chronic Reddit and Twitter avoider, I’m tied to the shared history of the clubs to inspire ire and on the field this is far more a one-sided relationship than a rivalry.
Even sharing a border with the Tigers territory on the western fringe doesn’t stir the rivalry stew, as the only people that seem to care less about the Macarthur region than the Tigers management are the football fans of Sydney’s south west. Wests’ pitiful attempts to make Parramatta one of their many homes was laughed out of CommBank Stadium, a torn “Our Jungle” banner floating across O’Connell Street like tumbleweed.
Historically neither Balmain nor Western Suburbs were notable Parramatta rivals, though one of the few moments of sense from the Tigers over the last 30 years was when they rejected the overtures of Dennis Fitzgerald for a merger/hostile takeover of the Tiger brand back in the post Super League era.
The two clubs have shared some memorable Easter Monday clashes since claiming the public holiday as their own in 2014. My personal favourite was the opening of Western Sydney Stadium back in 2019, a 51-6 hiding highlighted by Mitchell Moses running 70 metres for the first try on the new ground. To be fair, that belting is an anomaly in the series, which is otherwise tightly contested despite the occasional massive ladder position difference between the sides.
I suppose I can see why the Tigers might be a bit more fired up about the Eels than we are about them. Our talisman halfback Mitchell Moses was stolen from their ranks when their ‘big four’ was raided, leaving only Luke Brooks to stay at the club. Some may claim he sooked his way out of the team, but given the number of similar incidents before and since, maybe the club was the problem all along.
There has always been a healthy trade of talent between the two teams (Concord being 15 minutes down the road from Parramatta will do that). The Eels have got the better of most of those trades; Moses, Tallyn Da Silva, Ryan Matterson, Joe Ofahengaue in near memory, while Tigers recruits from the Eels generally can’t wait to bail, Stefano Utoikamanu and Isaiah Papali’i being recent examples.
The Tigers hate us, we tolerate them. Sometimes just being disliked is enough to fire you up, and I reckon a lot of Eels fans that rate the Tigers as a rival are channeling that feeling.
Rivalry status: Like a sausage hanging off the end of a barbecue: burnt on one side, lukewarm on the other.
Teams
Parramatta Eels
1. Joash Papalii 2. Bailey Simonsson 3. Brian Kelly 4. Sean Russell 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Jonah Pezet 7. Mitchell Moses 8. Jack Williams 9. Ryley Smith 10. Junior Paulo 11. Kelma Tuilagi 12. Kitione Kautoga 13. Dylan Walker. 14. Tallyn Da Silva 15. Sam Tuivaiti 16. Charlie Guymer 17. Luca Moretti 18. Jack de Belin 19. Apa Twidle. 20. Ronald Volkman 21. Teancum Brown 22. Araz Nanva.
While not “we have to close the social media comments section” level blow-ups, there were plenty of Eels fans left disappointed by teamlist Tuesday only making injury enforced changes. Joash Papalii comes in for Isaiah Iongi at fullback, while Charlie Guymer enters the active numbers on the bench for Matt Doorey. Jack de Belin sits on the extended bench, while Apa Twidle makes his first bench appearance as the logical replacement for the “covers both fullback and half” role that Joash filled before his promotion. Teancum Brown looms on the extended reserves.
There is some hope for late changes, but for now Sam Tuivaiti and Charlie Guymer remain bench impact players while Junior Paulo and Dylan Walker will start. Kelma Tuilagi has also retained his spot, with Jack Williams remaining in the front row. Will Penisini is still a couple of weeks away from a return, and is the only player in the casualty ward we’ll see come back before winter.
Wests Tigers
1. Jahream Bula 2. Faaletino Tavana 3. Sunia Turuva 4. Heamasi Makasini 5. Luke Laulilii 6. Jock Madden 7. Adam Doueihi 8. Terrell May 9. Api Koroisau 10. Fonua Pole 11. Samuela Fainu 12. Kai Pearce-Paul 13. Alex Twal. 14. Latu Fainu 15. Sione Fainu 16. Royce Hunt 17. Alex Seyfarth 18. Bunty Afoa 19. Jeral Skelton. 20. Tristan Hope 21. Tony Sukkar 22. Pat Herbert.
A few backline injuries and form decisions have left the Tigers with a very inexperienced three quarter line, with one game rookie Faaletino Tavana joining four game hype machine Heamasi Makasini and 12 game veteran Luke Laulilii. They more than held their own last week, but there is a lot of inexperience to exploit out wide if the Eels get the chance.
The major injury for the Tigers is to five eighth Jarome Luai, replaced by Jock Madden, another who had a good last up start. Latu Fainu, who has been the next big thing for longer than it took Alex Twal to score his first NRL try, is on the bench. The Wests bench contains three big boppers in Sione Fainu, Royce Hunt and Bunty Afoa, though it is very unlikely all three will get a run.
Definition of Insanity
Last chance saloon surely for Kelma
It is hard to see any reason why the Eels fragile middle defence will miraculously improve this week. The same players are named in the same positions, and for four weeks coach Ryles has identified the middle as an issue but the side has not responded by cutting out the basic lapses in concentration and effort that have seen the Eels concede some of the softest tries of the 2026 season on their way to giving up nearly 40 points per contest. It’s bleak, but until they prove they can, I have to assume that they can’t.
Some hope for the Eels can be placed in the fact that the system, when executed, largely works. This was proven at the end of last season, and by the lack of tries scored by simply stripping the side for numbers down an edge. While I have been very critical of Isaiah Iongi’s positional defence, some of that numbers game success comes from the fullback helping in the line, and whether the smaller and inexperienced Joash Papalii is both capable of and trusted to fulfil that same role is a big watch for Monday’s game.
Perhaps a more conventional defensive positioning of the fullback will help the Eels on kick defence, at the expense of some line cohesion. The major defensive issues have been positioning and contact, players getting caught out by any play the ball registering average speed or faster, like they need extra time to both identify their target and charge up their ability to tackle. You’d hope if the problems are just hustle, commitment and effort areas they can be easily fixed by a good boot up the backside, with a second boot sending you to reserve grade if the first doesn’t fix the issue. I don’t know how many bruises are on the behinds of Tuilagi, Kautoga and Williams, but hopefully there are enough for them to get the point.
That is just the on-line defence, which is where the problems manifest on the scoreboard. The Eels are giving up more metres than any other side and folding at the first sign of fatigue building repeat sets, making set restarts more poisonous to Parramatta than other teams. The Eels seem to know it too, jumping off tackled players and rolling clear of the ruck like they’re playing floor is lava, afraid to linger even a moment around the ruck. Seeing how they have been refereed this year, I don’t blame them, but it was hard watching the Penrith defenders, even outside backs, being able to meet the Eels in contact, halt their momentum and push them sideways and backwards, while we fall or are dragged along with the opponents momentum, scattered like tenpins on a 7-10 split.
Those contact and wrestle issues won’t go away in season, they are strength and technique weaknesses that take an off season to correct. What can be fixed is the simple effort areas in the opening stages of the game, not letting middle forwards crash through barely touched under the posts. That’s where we need to see improvement.
Belief
We need an all-timer from the captain here.
This Tigers team has been fired up all off season, and if you let them build any momentum they are going to bury you. That’s bad news for a side that has fallen out of every contest this year in the first 20 minutes, clawing their way back only through the work of a strong bench and the ineptitude of their opposition. To beat Wests you need to punch them in the mouth straight up, let those lingering doubts and years of mediocrity start to bubble and fester, forcing them out of a grind and into fancy play they aren’t suited to.
While Terrell May and Alex Twal will deliver no matter the state of the contest (May delivering a lot more than Twal), players like Samuela Fainu and Kai Pearce-Paul could be beaten out of the match by forcing them into the tough stuff. Both can resort to offloads if the metres aren’t flowing, and that’s where crippling mistakes can be made. It is a lot to ask of an Eels pack that hasn’t dominated anything this year to stand up and really shut down the Tigers engine room, but this team more than any we’ve faced this year needs to be chopped at the knees before it can start running.
The next generation backline won’t mind putting their hands up for yardage work, but they are also vulnerable to mistakes. Kick at them, put them under pressure, work them over a bit in the tackle and hope they rush their play the ball. If you can get them frustrated, few players lose their head like Sunia Turuva and if he is playing angry, he is playing into your hands. Then you are asking the spine to do too much, and while Adam Doueihi is a great runner and long kicker, he isn’t going to playmake his way out of a hole.
The Game
Big Sam has made a big impact in 2026.
That whole gameplan is dependent on the Eels doing something I have stated from the top I don’t believe they are capable of doing, and that is dominating the middle. Junior Paulo has looked washed for most of the year, Jack Williams is a great back rower but as a middle he isn’t a highly effective ball carrier and he is prone to mistakes defending in the centre. Dylan Walker is a key attacking weapon off the bench, as a starter he just doesn’t have that spark. Both back rowers have had defensive lapses and are not making up for it with the highlight attacking runs we know they are capable of.
I was being somewhat facetious last week saying it won’t matter what Sam Tuivaiti and the bench can bring if the Eels are down by 20 when he gets on the field, but that is how it played out and that is a legitimate worry here. There’s no point turning the tide if it has already washed your hope out to sea. This is the last chance saloon for these starters to prove they’ve got what it takes, otherwise there has to be changes. I remember from Charlie Guymer’s debut in eerily similar circumstances how jarring his efforts off the bench were compared to the lackadaisical starters, he and Sam will have to be in line for bigger roles if we get more of the same from Paulo and Williams this week.
We could just lean on one reliable factor in an Easter Monday game: Mitchell Moses. The captain plays his best against his old club and he could drag the Eels to victory if the defence can do just enough to stay in the game. If the forwards can match it with the Tigers, then Moses will run downhill all afternoon. That’s what I am banking on here, that plus a bit of hope. There’s more than enough performative outrage and naysaying going on, and hope is healthy for the heart. If the Eels can turn it on for Easter Monday, maybe that hope will start to become belief.
Go you Eels!
Prediction: Eels 28 d Tigers 26
Man of the Match: Mitchell Moses
Gol
Alex Twal is another who was a dominant Eels junior before The Tigers recruited him away. Like Sean Kepie and Tui Kamikamika he has had a very presentable career for others, having been developed by us.
Rationally, it is impossible to back The Eels at odds on, though it was about this time last year that the side started to come together to create a promising season.
Only just odds on Noel
I’ll gladly accept your 28-26 prediction but will my nervous system survive? Love your work, Gol.
Not sure mine will McFersie but I’ll take any win
Yeah – lobe the preview Gol and somewhat optimisim; but for me I am not confident to be honest. Wests played out of their skin last week and are looking confident and fit – whereas I am not sure where we are at during this point.
I predict a very tough affair as always, and think a win would be great but am not confident at all. Feel we could be in for a tough afternoon, and am happy to be wrong.
I wonder whether the Panthers result has skewed our opinion. That score the Riff put on the Storm was telling
Thanks mate, my concern is our opening start to all games and defence; we sort this as per mid last season and we are on the road.
Penrith are a clear runaway at the moment – only team for me to challenge them is a fit Brisbane….and I dislike saying that.
Tks Gol. After 4 games I reckon you’re reading the cards pretty well. In our form lift late in 25 a mate and I who solve all the problems after each game both couldn’t help notice ( on the TV screen) how Junior 3 or 4 times each week when opponents were rucking it out started suddenly entering the screen and absolutely burying the ball carrier…if you read this Junior, we need that scary presence, I know Kane Evans tried it and got rubbed out for nothing but being too scary and maybe you don’t trust those that judge, but I think you know where the line is.
On the rivalry, ask Graham Olling about the late 7O’s, the Wests forwards seemed to have a free pass for mayhem.
BDon, I’d like Junior to simplify his game. Run hard, tackle even harder. Let the other stuff come later
Prepare to be hammered by the officials tomorrow. Canberra was dead set dudded this arvo , it’s become obvious some clubs are being favoured and unfortunately we’re one of the ones that aren’t. Six agains and bunker decisions are altering outcomes of games.
Don’t start me Seth
I’m sorry.
During the late sixties, through to the mid eighties, I called out, in a deepening voice, when the first penalty was given at Cumberland, ‘About time ref, they’ve been doing it all game.”
It became a ritual with my mates, who would expect it
I am truly sorry.
Go the Slipperies.
So it was you Darryl!
Ha, think it was many of the fans back then. Back when the guy would walk around sell the ‘peanuts, in the shell or cugar coated’ 20 cents…..
Great memories- I thought he said “in the shell or candy coated”…anyway I hope that bloke went on to make a fortune in his life. He certainly had the tenacity to turn up every week…just hope our boys do the same today…although I’m not too optimistic.
Happy to take it on the chin but I can’t see anything but a large victory for the tigers here.
My pick tigers 42 Eels 4
Reading through these match day comments most likely reflects the viewpoint of most of the fans. We couldn’t beat them when they running a clear last. So I get the pessimistic attitude but not all of us feel that way. So for those who hold out the hope of a win, I am with you. Let’s look at this from a more objective slant. The Storm, last years grand finalist, put fifty on us – they are never going to lose first up and the way they played most teams would have suffered a big scoreline. Then the following week after our horrendous start we play the premiers and beat them comfortably. Our next game against the Saints we win again – a team up to that point showed good form. Then next up are the red hot panthers and they are red hot. The Eels scoreline was better than the Storm’s. So we start the season with a horror draw and now we are up against a team that’s showing some promise. For some unknown reason the Tigers hate us too – which leads to the question why, why do so many teams and referees hate us? I don’t know but, they do. Even the so called expert journalist are the same. But, we don’t because they are our team! My match day prediction, we probably get flogged if we don’t turn up. However, in saying this I am with Gol we will get over them and hang them out to dry. I hate it when they lose but I just cannot tip against them. ( i wrote that with a long heavy sigh).
The Eels have no equity with the media and the NRL. This is because of salary cap breaches and the inconsistency over the last 20 years.
When the next GF win comes we will be described as over achieving Eels. Then not expected to make top 4 the following season.
But we can make that work for us.
If Moses fires up and the forwards hold the middle early on, we should get over the Tigers. Maybe even rack up a score. The Tiger’s big win over the Wahs is suddenly not looking so great.
I hope I’m wrong but I get feeling tigers might win they have a good forward pack and some quality outside backs who like to run the ball.
The eels must stop giving easy penalties on kick chase, no more 6 agains early, no silly mistakes in first 20 minutes.
Until we can stop having these poor first half’s Eels are going to be Rocks & diamonds. Jason ryles must solve this, or teams will start front loading all their energy and flogging us in the first half of every game until we fix something.
Yer we really need to throw some big energy at this first 20. If we get rolled the first 20 Jason really needs to start addressing there is something not right. There’s simply no excuses not to be up for this tigers are going ok but are in no way a complete football team.
Today will give us a read were we actually are i think
The tigers backs are getting up quickly to shut down our quick shifts a little kick in behind the defensively line will do two things.
If it comes off its points , if it doesn’t it forces the tigers to maintain their line.
Their struggling to contain us defensively on the the edge of the ruck we need to go there twice a set.
Pezet tried that twice to no effect. Brian Kelly is just killing us.
I wouldn’t do it on the second tackle, you have to set up for it.
In saying that if the Fox wasn’t feeling his rib cage and ready for it he would have got there.
The plays on the execution has been poor.
It’ll pay off when on the left when you force Taruva to hold.
There’s points around both Tigers centres, they both defend poorly.
In my eight decades of following the game , I’ve never seen a bloke put on report for being knocked out in a head clash. Then in the next six from the penalty they get a six again to make sure they score. It’s red hot.
High tackle?? Can you believe this ref?
Moses hasn’t been right all season – he is made of glass. Now it’s apparently a groin injury. No surprise to see him miss field goal attempts – he is as streaky at them as he is at goal kicking.
A costly loss against a team missing their primary half and strike centre.
The eels actually look worse than last season
If you had Moses in last years starting side we probably look better this by now
I also don’t like how we are coached, very little go forward, we do not run straight and hard it’s always wide or sideways, rarely run in behind ruck
Unless we can strike form by end of season Jason Ryles be under pressure going into 2026 if there’s no improvement
I personally believe we are playing with Low IQ at the moment and with little confidence, too many 6 agains, too many errors, too many poor choices, and we look out of form
Did the referee get out of the stadium alive?
Ryles’ recruitment and team selections are very questionable – eg he puts pezet next to Katonga (both of whom can’t defend) and chucks Kelly in as well (who can’t defend). He also starts Kelma who is a liability on the right, thereby making both sides porous. He has no aerial threat on wings so we suck at both contesting and defending kicks. He has no real consistent go forward in middle so he encourages passing amongst forwards but that increases error rate. Our contact and wrestle in defence is shit. Our depth is shit. It’s a bottom 4 team which seemingly has learnt little to nothing from last year (so far).
Sure the ref was very poor but this team was playing a tigers team without Luia and may and they make silly mistakes time and time again.
Going into 2027* sorry lol
And yes the ref was absolutely shocking today to top it off, unbelievable, felt corrupt it was that bad…
My confidence in the NRL and the referees is very low, there’s biases and agendas it feels like, not every player or team experiences the same calls it looks like
Can’t believe some of the crap comments on here, we lose Russel, Pezet and Simmonson. We’ve got 4 regular first graders out, they strip the ball and score and we miss 3 kicks and they don’t miss one. I won’t talk about the ref because I just think he is incompetent and you muppets are going on about how bad we are. Really? Get on board or get off because all this site ever hears from you is shit. Maybe try the old saying, if you haven’t got anything possitive to say don’t say anything. You guys repeat yourselves every week so how about giving it a miss for a couple of weeks for everybody’s sanity.
So teams just tend to score against us in the same places each week and you want to chalk it up to bad luck and injuries? That’s just dishonest when it’s clear the team has structural issues (eg the piss weak pezet/Katonga corridor and no real defensive plan to manage opposition kicks) and makes dumb decisions at crucial times (eg Moses going for a field goal from 40 out to give a 7 tackle set instead of putting bomb up in corner). A few injuries doesn’t wash away the problems
You made some good points to be fair…
ref was also CLEARLY against us, and we lost two of our most in form outside backs.
Well think about the team here, apart from the couple of injuries I mentioned before, JAC has rib issues and will be interesting to see if he plays next week. Moses clearly has a groin issue Smith is injured. Just look at how many injuries we had in the game. I for one think they played out of there skin and if we kicked one more goal we win. Talk about playing under adversity, I know the team made mistakes but name one team that doesn’t apart from the rif. Yes there were things we could have done better and everyone can see that but we don’t need it rammed down our throats every single week. Give it a rest is all I’m saying.
It was an awful experience. Avery tough game with several very nice young men seriously injured, some having been fouled; a referee who had to be bullied into making the right call and sometimes making blatantly wrong ones – the Kelly strip, the head contact with Kelma- and seeming far happier giving penalties to The Tigers than to us, the frustration of the ultimate result. The sooner that memory falls into the past the better.
We also had the rare experience of seeing The Cup side on Fox; a bit of talent there and, in some cases, an extraordinary lack of football maturity. Given all that he’s achieved I thought it a bit sad to see Nathan Cayless tied up with that level of football.