NRL Team List
Round 6 vs Gold Coast Titans, Sunday 2:00PM, CommBank Stadium
Here we are almost exactly 24 hours after the latest chapter of carnage wreaked upon our luckless Eels in 2026.
Gone is Bailey Simonsson for the season, yet another Blue & Gold victim to foul play. Gone is feel good rookie story Apa Twidle for an undetermined duration with a Grade 3 AC joint sprain. Gone is Jonah Pezet for somewhere between 4-6 weeks after his suspected low grade hamstring strain got bumped to something more severe. Gone is Sean Russell after it was finally, and correctly, confirmed that he sustained a Category 1 concussion yesterday.
Oh, we do get Will Penisini back this week! Well, maybe. That remains to be seen as the club’s injury report specifies that he will be pressing to return in Round 6.
It is the little things you know.
With the untold roster havoc laid upon the Parramatta Eels there are fresh opportunities to be had. Chief among them in the form of Araz Nanva’s imminent debut as the big, powerful centre now finds himself in line to replace Simonsson on the right flank. Nanva has been edging towards a debut this year and even prior to the critical mass of injuries heaped upon Parramatta had found himself on Tuesday team sheets. I am keen to see how the young man fares against the Titans because he certainly brings the frame needed to the job.
If Will is not good to go then I would imagine eyes then turn to either Charlie Guymer to spend even more time out wide in that oddly effective patchwork solution that he and Mitchell Moses have cobbled together under extreme adversity. Otherwise, another rookie will find himself very much in the mix in Mohamed Alameddine and that could lead to a reshuffle in and of itself with Nanva presumably taking over at his natural role of centre with Moey featuring on the wing.
Despite speculation from Brent Read, Ronald Volkman has been named to replace Pezet at five-eighth over Lorenzo Talataina. However, that battle could play out deep into the week given Lorenzo does hold a berth in the TLT22 and thus is eligible for selection on Sunday. Watch this space I guess. Given that there is a now a prolonged window to replace Pezet there are some strong arguments to be made to start prioritising the development of Talataina but Volkman is far from an undeserving selection.
Teancum Brown is also potentially in line for his NRL debut pending even more bloodletting of our playing stocks. Big T finds himself on the 6-man bench this week but is more than likely behind the likes of Da Silva, Guymer, Tuivaiti and Moretti for playing opportunities assuming the game goes remotely to plan.
Another rookie rounds out the roster with young back rower Jezaiah Funa Iuta bringing up the rearguard for the team sheet. In fact, per the NRL signings portal the only available Eels not named here are Toni Mataele and Will Latu.
It is quite literally all hands on deck for the Eels in Round 6 as they scramble to find a way to beat the Titans on Sunday afternoon. They went agonisingly close to conjuring a miracle on Easter Monday – can they do ever so slightly better on Sunday?
| Parramatta Eels | Gold Coast Titans | |
| Joash Papalii | 1 | Keano Kini |
| Araz Nanva | 2 | Sialetili Faeamani |
| Will Penisini | 3 | Jojo Fifita |
| Brian Kelly | 4 | AJ Brimson |
| Josh Addo-Carr | 5 | Phillip Sami |
| Ronald Volkman | 6 | Lachlan Illias |
| Mitchell Moses | 7 | Jayden Campbell |
| Jack Williams | 8 | Klese Haas |
| Ryley Smith | 9 | Sam Verrills |
| Junior Paulo | 10 | Tino Fa’asuamaleuai |
| Kelma Tuilagi | 11 | Arama Hau |
| Kitione Kautoga | 12 | Beau Fermor |
| Dylan Walker | 13 | Chris Randall |
| Interchange | ||
| Tallyn Da Silva | 14 | Kurtis Morrin |
| Charlie Guymer | 15 | Cooper Bai |
| Sam Tuivaiti | 16 | Moeaki Fotuaika |
| Luca Moretti | 17 | Oliver Pascoe |
| Jack De Belin | 18 | Jaylan De Groot |
| Teancum Brown | 19 | Jett Liu |
| Reserves | ||
| Mohamed Alameddine | 20 | Zane Harrison |
| Jezaiah Funa-Iuta | 21 | Adam Christensen |
| Lorenzo Talataina | 22 | Jensen Taumoepeau |
Injury Report
NSFW/NSWFL
| Player | Injury | Return Date |
| Sean Russell
Richard Penisini Jonah Pezet Jordan Samrani Isaiah Iongi Jake Tago Apa Twidle J’maine Hopgood Matt Doorey Bailey Simonsson Ryan Matterson |
Concussion
Bone Bruising Hamstring Meniscus Tear Syndesmosis Concussion AC Sprain (Grade 3) ACL Tear ACL Tear Ankle Concussion |
Rd 7 minimum
Rds 7-8 Rds 10-12 TBC Rd 13 minimum TBC TBC Season Season Season Indefinite |
NSW Cup Team List
Round 6 vs South Sydney Rabbitohs, Sunday 6:00PM, James Hardie Centre of Excellence
Welcome back Arthur Miller-Stephen! May you stay healthy since we may be requiring your services in the NRL if things keep going the way they are. Arty is back in Cup and on the wing for the Eels as Devonte Vaivela gets a second run in reggies in the centres.
Lorenzo Talataina and Teancum Brown have both been named to start in the Kellyville fixture on Sunday indicating they are likely to not see any NRL action this week. That isn’t a guarantee however so consider it more of a strong probability then a certified lock.
The Eels went down to the Magpies in a scrappy affair on Monday and would very much love to hit the reset button this week. The relentless injury toll and player drain certainly isn’t helping them though.
| 1 | Brad Avery |
| 2 | Arthur Miller-Stephen |
| 3 | Devonte Vaivela |
| 4 | Samuel Loizou |
| 5 | Mohamed Alameddine |
| 6 | Ioane Lui |
| 7 | Lorenzo Talataina |
| 8 | Uitoni Mataele |
| 9 | Kruz Niutili-Schmidt |
| 10 | Teancum Brown |
| 11 | Will Latu |
| 12 | Jezaiah Funa-Iuta |
| 13 | Saxon Pryke |
| Interchange | |
| 14 | Meni Luke |
| 15 | Damascus Neemia |
| 16 | Tyrese Lokeni |
| 17 | Max Tupou |
Jersey Flegg Cup Team List
Round 6 vs South Sydney Rabbitohs, Sunday 3:30PM, James Hardie Centre of Excellence
Updated for Round 6 team sheet.
| 1 | Corey Leigh |
| 2 | Jeshua Maa-Nelson |
| 3 | Siamani Leulaui |
| 4 | Dakota Kakoi |
| 5 | Druzel Taula |
| 6 | Harley Walker |
| 7 | Kade Moujalli |
| 10 | Beau Lucien |
| 9 | Jack Hudson |
| 19 | Jordan Miller |
| 11 | Trace Beattie |
| 12 | Callum McMenemy |
| 13 | Zach Visconti |
| Interchange | |
| 14 | Noah Parker |
| 15 | Markkuz Ofanoa |
| 16 | Elijah Shane-Taupau-Taylor |
| 17 | Javahn Stevenson-Hala |
| 18 | Lennox Risati |
Congrats to the debutants, I was hoping to see Lorenzo partner Moses but Volkman makes sense, he’s been good in cup and deserves his chance. He can goal kick which makes his selection a good choice and he’s never let the team down, he’s a massive upgrade on Pezet.
Excited for Araz and Brown, go hard young fellas, there’s nothing like youth to energise a team.
Our injury list and the severity of the injuries after round 6 is hard to comprehend, you can’t make this shit up. Yes we were lean on middles and outside backs but no club can prepare for what’s happened after just 6 rounds.
Like Sixties said, Murphy has never been kind to us when applying his law.
Something felt odd when we almost had a full squad to start the season, that was just Murphy taking the piss.
Controversial take here: I rate Volkman, Papalii, Lorenzo above Pezet @ 5/8.
Pezet came to us as a career long specialist #7 organising halfback, he plays a lot better right side of the field and in a more organising role. He is actually decent at halfback, we’ve seen that at storm and also in Pezets lower grade career if you ever saw his games.
I actually would put Lorenzo at 5/8 and just blood him. Give him first shot at 5/8. We need a running threat – it’s TOO EASY for defenders to mark up our back rowers when they know our halves done run (eg pezet), you NEED a running threat at 5/8 or it’s just too easy for defenders to slide and cover your shape out wide. Lorenzo runs the ball well.
We certainly need to focus the back end of the year getting Lorenzo up to speed to be an NRL 5/8, but I would not want to see knee-jerk reactions throwing him into the side without regard to his development plan. Ryles showed last year with Brown and Papalii what that looks like, and I would expect something similar here, with hopefully more game time than Papalii got.
No doubt Lorenzo has some KPIs to work on, and will get a chance later this season. For me, I would prefer that he is managed appropriately this season and not become the Mr Fixit for the NRL team woes.
Hows Jordan Miller going so far?
Id be happy to have Volkman over Lorenzo for now he does offer a goal kicking option aswell.
That been said Pezet defence or Volkman neither brings much confidence.
Depth was always going to be a issue and we have discovered early that it is.
I don’t see us winning this game unless Moses suddenly finds form.
The big take away from this start to the season is the pezet deal has proven to be a massive flop hopefully in the time hes away either Volkman or Lorenzo hold the spot and we can shift Jonah off to Brisbane
Part of the should of, could of, regret but we had Sandon Smith all there and waiting.
Excellent player and a damn good goal kicker.
Light years in front of Pezet in ability but we were seduced by the Storm / Braith magic.
The Gods were definitely looking over us when he signed for Brisbane despite our incompetence.
Yep Smith looks like a nrl five eight and miles in front of Pezet in every aspect. That was a big miss.
I suspect the eels recruitment after losing Sanders and Blaze were spooked that Lorenzo might leave if they locked a five eight in for 3 years.
There is a lot of pressure on Lorenzo to be the guy next season I think we need to gets some depth in that position asap.
I would have loved to see Joash get a long run at 6 this season as well.
All I can say about this team is that JDB must have really really unimpressed Ryles.
The fact that a poor player like Luca Moretti can get anywhere near this team is baffling.
Having Moretti AND Guymer in the 17 together is madness.
They are both slow, boring players who are pedestrian in attack and do bugger all in defence.
I’d rather play some of the young kids.
Talking about young kids, love what I’m seeing from young Saxon Pryke.
A terrier in defence with a bit of ball ability.
Not much of him but obviously very fit.
Charlie made 30 tackles on Monday and had 1 miss. The best tackle efficiency in the team for the game. He also played much of the game defending out of position at 3rd man in where Moses normally defends. I’d say his defence goes alright.
As for Luca, he’s much better than he looked on Monday. Give him time to get some match fitness. He runs hard and has a good, safe offload which often changes the momentum of our sets.
Don’t see the issue with having both on the bench. Luca is in the middle rotation and Charlie has the versatility of being able to play in the middle or on an edge.
Ok I was a little hard on Guymer I admit but Moretti should definitely be in Cup to gain his match fitness.
He was an absolute passenger out there on Monday and that just fatigues everyone else even more.
Anyone at 6 will be better than Pezet at this stage.
Terrible signing so far and he was gifted the 6, Ryles should be under pressure for this signing.
Where is the media presence and pressure on the eels for all of the dud signings for multiple years.
Buckets should be shot out of a cannon and sacked. We have the worst head of football in the game.