Yeah, I know…that is just a wee bit of an overreaction from a brilliant upset win over the Bulldogs. Tell you what – I won’t get ahead of myself after the singular impressive victory yesterday but I will quietly start penciling in some of the boxes on this We’re So Back Application. Never hurts to be ready to lodge that claim.

So how about those Eels? Or maybe who are those Eels? Because we saw two vastly different teams in the space of just seven days. The impostors who were so thoroughly humiliated by the Titans in Round 6 were replaced by the team we saw impress so many in their giant slaying run late last year.

With the legends of the 1986 premiership campaign in attendance, the Blue & Gold put on a stunning show as they punched their bitter rivals in the mouth. Repeatedly. More on that shortly tough.

It was a rather bleak slate of results for the Eels outside of first-grade though. Undermanned outfits in the NSW Cup and Jersey Flegg fell prey to the Bulldogs while the SG Ball and Harold Matthews bowed out of the finals.

That means there is plenty to talk about, so let’s get wrapping.

NRL Round 7

Parramatta Eels 38 defeat the Canterbury Bulldogs 20

Did the real Parramatta Eels stand up?

Only time will tell but even the most ardent and rusted-on fans would surely have been shocked by the 18-point victory on Sunday. Every bit of messaging from Jason Ryles in the week leading up to Sunday’s stunning upset focused on not using injuries as an excuse and full credit to the coach and his troops – injuries were less an excuse and more a fuel in Round 7,

The Eels ripped in with a voracious appetite led by the resurgent Junior Paulo. Bogged down by a knee injury through the first two months of the competition, Paulo found a way to power through the handicap on Sunday and good lord did he, emphasis on power, power through. The clock was wound way back for the Samoan superstar as he dominated Canterbury’s forward pack from the opening set as he churned out 169m from 17 charges.

It was a much needed reminder to everyone – fans, opposition and perhaps even himself – that he was no spent force in the NRL. His game was simplified and stripped back as he simply bullied the Bulldogs for 53 glorious minutes. I know there is so much more to his kitbag than just bulldozing rival forwards but I am happy to wait for those play-making opportunities to come down the path. This team is so much better when he is playing the role of old fashioned tone setter.

The rest of the pack rapidly rallied around him. Jack De Belin and Luca Moretti clocked in for honest, hard working shifts while the makeshift edge pairing of Charlie Guymer and Jack Williams blanketed and suffocated their superstar opposites in Viliame Kikau and Jacob Preston. 

It was always going to take more, a lot more, to knock over Canterbury and with resources stretched terrifyingly thin, Jason Ryles needed someone else to stand up.

Say hello to the NRL, Saxon Pryke.

Sometimes the moment maketh the man and in one the club’s most challenging periods of all time this young middle forward stood tall. Entrusted with a hefty chunk of playing time by his coach (39 minutes!), Pryke comprehensively answered the call with a rugged effort that featured some tough runs (13 carries, 93m) and a honey-badger like approach to defence as he punched out 30 tackles without a miss or ineffective attempt.

The challenge of course is for Saxon to maintain, or at least stay within touching distance, of that level of play. As it stands though, Pryke has made an irrepressible claim for more playing time. His coach threw him straight into the deep end and well…he took to the water just like an Eel.

At the risk of turning this column into a protracted list of praising and glazing all the heroic efforts on Sunday I will hasten through a few more quick shout outs.

Will Penisini was awesome. Just pure, unadulterated physical prowess. While Cameron Ciraldo made the curious decision to start Josh Curran in the centres on the opposite side of field, Will locked horns with Bronson Xerri in a brilliant, prolonged exchange. Xerri had his moments too but Penisini was a massive factor through the entire contest.

A raise of the glass to Araz Nanva as well who made several huge tackles and climbed the ladder to make a stunning goal-line defusal of a dangerous kick from the Dogs. Araz, like Saxon, is a rookie that is being heavily leaned on by his coach and he is damn well putting his hand up for more opportunities.

Equally, I think it is important to mention Brian Kelly’s effort. I understand some fans will fixate on the defensive read leading to Xerri’s or the ill-advised offload just before half-time. They frustrated me too but I think it is important to frame his contributions inside his intended role in the roster as a first choice backup. Obviously he is an every week starter presently but in a parallel universe where the Eels haven’t been ravaged by injuries getting 174m from 20 carries out of your depth back line option is genuinely premium stuff. We also saw his capability for brilliance with his astonishing lead-up work in Joash Papalii’s try.

As I led off in this column, the single most pressing question to come from this legendary upset entirely centres on whether this is the real Parramatta Eels? This was the team we saw unseat the Broncos, Cowboys, Roosters and Warriors before annihilating the Knights in the final round of 2025.

Given how depleted their playing stocks are, I don’t think we can fully reproduce the sheer venom and desperation from Sunday on a weekly basis but if they are even remotely in the same post code then there is no reason they can’t challenge plenty of rival rosters.

NSW Cup Round 7

Canterbury Bulldogs 42 defeat the Parramatta Eels 24

Again the NSW Cup clashed with out Instant Reaction podcast so my analysis from this game is pretty fragmented. From what I could gather the Eels struggled badly to contain Canterbury play-maker Alex Conti who consistently fooled Parramatta defenders with his show-and-go.

Obviously the Cup is heavily undermanned and that is a significant factor in the loss as well but it was a good bounce back effort from young talent Lorenzo Talataina. After pressing too hard against Souths the week prior he quickly found his groove in this contest and was heavily involved in all the good the Eels did before the team ran out of gas in the second half.

Teancum Brown (14 runs, 124m, 21 tackles, 1 missed, 2 ineffective) and Tyrese Lokeni (14 carries, 104m, 41 tackles, 1 missed, 1 ineffective) both worked really hard throughout long stints (56 minutes and 80 minutes respectively). Among the young forwards from Flegg thrust into this game by injuries I thought Zac Visconti had a red-hot crack while Trace Beattie was forced into a really tough assignment as the backrower found himself playing at centre for 74 minutes to cover for the loss of Samuel Loizou.

They should get a modest boost next week with Sean Russell and Kelma Tuilagi expected to return to the NRL and thus triggering a trickle down of talent to Cup.

Jersey Flegg Cup Round 7

Canterbury Bulldogs 42 defeat the Parramatta Eels 22

I haven’t the chance to review anything from this game as it clashed with my coverage of the Junior Reps so I won’t make any hasty conclusions after the Eels fell to the Dogs. Parramatta were missing a trio of starting forwards with Beattie, Visconti and Miller all drafted into the NSW Cup. Let’s see how they bounce back in Round 8.

SG Ball Cup Round 7

South Sydney Rabbitohs 36 defeat the Parramatta Eels 10

I will discuss this game in earnest on the Tuesday night live stream but suffice to say I left this game with a sour taste in my mouth. I give plenty of credit to the Rabbitohs for an excellent first half that set them up for the win but there were a plethora of calls, small and large, that I vehemently did not agree with throughout this contest.

After controversially getting denied opening points to Talen Risati the Eels struggled under the high ball as the Rabbitohs struck twice from bombs to secure the early lead. From there they took control of the first half as the Eels wilted under the sustained possessions.

A valiant effort in the second stanza saw the Eels not only fight back but begin to take control of the game as they narrowed the deficit to 24-10. A bizarre sequence of events that saw Cameron Bamblett sin-binned for a hot-headed reaction to getting speared on his head as a marker in a reckless moment from a Souths player completely robbed the game of a grand stand finish. Bamblett’s binning was understandable given there was a report of striking in the fracas from the officials but the lack of an off-setting sin-bin for the initial dagnerous actions was baffling.

Still, South Sydney have proven to be a tough match-up for the Eels. That makes it twice in the same season the Blue & Gold have failed to overcome the Bunnies. With their SG Ball campaign wrapped up that means plenty of these young men will now eye opportunities in the Jersey Flegg and perhaps even beyond.

Harold Matthews Cup Round 7

Newcastle Knights 24 defeat the Parramatta Eels 18

No grief for the official in this loss, just the sting of missed chances. The Eels had a red-hot crack at upsetting the Knights on Saturday but just failed to ice multiple opportunities at key moments.

I get the feeling the team will be bitterly disappointed at themselves for the way in which their season ended and that is certainly fair and true. Given the youthful composition of the roster though they should hold their heads up high once the pain fades away. They played some terrific footy in 2026.

Unlike the SG Ball who now have the Jersey Flegg to progress to, this is the last that we will see of these players this year. Schoolboy footy awaits them and the chance for some of them to perhaps win a berth in the fabled Green & Gold at the Australian Schoolboys Carnival.

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