Like Bart Simpson waiting for Krusty the Clown to come and save Kamp Krusty, Eels fans have sat in the corner, rocking back and forth muttering “round 13 will save us” as it heralded the return of most of the players who would be coming back at all this year. Alas, round 13 has arrived but the promised salvation is offset by a furthering of the injury crisis, and at this point all you can do is laugh. Or reach for the bottle.

Thank goodness for the New South Wales win on Wednesday, because chances are we’ll be seeing as much joy in Newcastle today as we saw sunshine in Sydney this week. Backup halves, missing middles, plus all of the problems we had before players started dropping like flies, this could be ugly.

Yep, it’s another one of those previews. Sixties couldn’t have been more right in saying Parramatta fans needed that bye week, and right now I’m wishing it could be extended another week or fifteen. Is there hope to be found? If there is, the preview will dig it up and dust it off for you.

Game Info

Date: Saturday, 30 May, 2026
Venue: McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
Kick-off: 3:00 PM AEST
Referee: Even the NRL aren’t sure
Bunker: Whoever it is, I’m sure they’ll be great
Weather: Sunny, damp
Broadcast: Fox League, Kayo

Sixties Speculates (All odds quoted are NSW Tab)

To come…

Sixties

Teams

Parramatta Eels

1. Isaiah Iongi 2. Brian Kelly 3. Jordan Samrani 4. Sean Russell 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Joash Papalii 7. Ronald Volkman 8. Luca Moretti 9. Tallyn Da Silva 10. Jack Willliams 11. Kelma Tuilagi 12. Kitione Kautoga 13. Jack de Belin. 14. Dylan Walker 15. Charlie Guymer 16. Toni Mataele 17. Harrison Edwards 18. Apa Twidle 20. Sam Tuivaiti. 22. Araz Nanva

Well let’s get the good out of the way, Isaiah Iongi, Kitione Kautoga and Sam Tuivaiti return, though Sam’s position on the deep bench may hint he will only be used if necessary. Those returns are offset by injuries to Mitchell Moses and Junior Paulo, while Jordan Samrani will be filling in for Will Penisini for a while longer as the man of unspeakable nicknames is now sidelined for most of the year.

Ryley Smith returns in reggies giving Tallyn Da Silva another start, while Harrison Edwards could make his Blue and Gold debut from the bench. Jonah Pezet has also got himself injured, nullifying one of the selling points of his recruitment to fill in for Moses during the Origin period. Instead Joash Papalii joins Ronald Volkman in the halves. Paying Dylan Brown $13 million suddenly doesn’t seem so silly.

Newcastle Knights

1. Kalyn Ponga 2. Dominic Young 3. Dane Gagai 4. Fletcher Sharpe 5. Greg Marzhew 6. Sandon Smith 7. Dylan Brown 8. Jacob Saifiti 9. Phoenix Crossland 10. Trey Mooney 11. Dylan Lucas 12. Jermaine McEwen 13. Mat Croker. 14. Harrison Graham 15. Tyson Frizell 16. Pasami Saulo 17. Cody Hopwood 18. Thomas Cant 19. Fletcher Hunt. 21. James Schiller.

Origin may have stolen the Eels best player but somehow the Knights’ best became one of the rare few to get sent off for foul play then not miss the next week due to suspension. Kalyn Ponga will be joined by Dylan Lucas and Jacob Saifiti in returning from Origin unscathed, Lucas and Saifiti both managing to avoid catching a cold on the Blues bench.

That leaves Bradman Best as the only Knights regular absent from their lineup, with jack-of-all-trades Fletcher Sharpe lining up in the centres in his place. Shoutouts to Trey Mooney in the Newcastle front row for perhaps the worst attempt seen at raising a “Rock eyebrow” in his team shot.

Happy learns to Putt

Welcome back Isaiah

The Newcastle Knights have emerged this year as an attacking threat, somewhat of a surprise given they were among the worst attacking teams in history last year leading them to a well deserved wooden spoon. Plenty of that can be attributed to new coach Justin Holbrook, though the addition by subtraction of his predecessor Adam O’Brien may have played just as important a role. Recruitment and health has helped too, with Holbrook finding appropriate foil for Dylan Brown in the halves and allowing him to play his natural game regardless of the jersey number he wears.

The Knights are scoring in traditional ways in a non-traditional year, with the wingers accounting for well over half their total tries scored. Dom Young and Greg Marzhew are athletic freaks and bulldozers close to the line, though both don’t mind letting a try in themselves either. Given the freshness of the edge combinations for the Eels I don’t see the Knights struggling to strip them for numbers in good ball, so Parramatta’s best defence is going to be a clean performance with the footy. They managed it against the Cowboys and snuck a win, they didn’t manage it against Melbourne and blew a fantastic opportunity, so let’s see what they produce on what should be a sunny day but a very damp track.

Through the hands has been the way for Newcastle, with the threat of Ponga and Brown drawing defenders in field. They will be well studied and should be choosing to mix their game up this week given Parramatta’s weakness to line running on the edge, especially with the defensive deficiencies seen in Ron Volkman’s game and the lack of middle defence experience for Joash Papalii. If Sandon Smith, Brown and Ponga can get into an attacking position and execute, the points will flow.

Defensively the Knights left edge has been a glaring weak point, and it will be of no surprise to Eels fans that this is Greg Marzhew’s edge. Marzhew has been a notoriously poor defender since his time as a Parramatta lower grader and even if their execution hasn’t always been great, Samrani and Kelly should get chances to force defensive decisions from a player who usually makes the wrong ones. Getting the ball out there will be the hard part, though Isaiah Iongi’s return should clean up some of the spreads to that edge which always looked a bit clunky with Joash Papalii as the link.

Castle Walls Crumbling

Welcome back Kitione

That analysis of the Knights might be giving the Eels defence too much credit, as simply playing football has usually been enough to crack the Parramatta line in 2026. Without the kicking game of Mitch Moses to bail them out the Eels are more likely to face disadvantageous field position, which has been any ball their side of halfway. Huge efforts are going to be needed from the middle to hold the line, force mistakes and earn restarts. Sam Tuivaiti should be up for it and Toni Mataele has been far better than I’d dared hope now he’s found his first grade feet, but Moretti, Williams, Guymer and De Belin need to deliver more impact and fewer errors.

The edge combinations will have me watching this game through the cracks of my fingers. I’m not sure how many times Volkman and Papalii will have defended next to Kautoga and Tuilagi in training, but it can’t have been too often. If it was just the poor communication we needed to worry about that would be one thing, but both back rowers have been left with feet in wet cement as runners strolled by them this year, as have plenty of the Eels middles. Dylan Lucas will be a massive threat, but any old nuffy could bust apart the fragile Parramatta defence this year.

The pathetic error count from the Storm game simply can’t be repeated. Every forward needs to be protecting the ball and Brian Kelly needs some extra stick-um on his jersey, arms and hands and for the love of Sterlo we’d better save our challenges from when he is inevitably stripped of the ball again. Spray Sean Russell a second time while you are at it.

In contradiction to that, we also need a bit of spark in attack to overcome the absence of Moses. That means trying a few things, like kicking Josh Addo-Carr into space perhaps? He’s only one of the fastest men in football and while Dom Young has great top speed, he turns like Austin Powers stuck in a corridor. Brian Kelly is no slouch either and aiming kicks in behind Marzhew is another proven tactic we need to be employing.

The Game

Welcome back big Sam

The potential for this to get ugly is far greater than the chance of an upset victory, but the surprise result is still possible here. The Knights have weaknesses that line up nicely with some Parramatta strengths, particularly on the flanks, and both halves will be looking to impress given the six jersey is yet to be assigned for 2027.

There has to be a defensive turnaround at some point, too. Jason Ryles continues to attribute one of the worst defences of all time to individual lapses, and if that is true then eventually those individuals will improve or be removed. Maybe the bye week and some tape study was all we needed to shape up in the decision making department.

It’s a flimsy hope, but it is a hope all the same. Likely we will go to Newcastle and come back with another 30-something to not enough loss on our record and another week of recruitment grumbling and sniping at each other on social media. But if it is dry, if the winds are blowing the right way and the Eels are electrifying, a win is a chance. As I’ve said so many times here, I’m not tipping it, but I am hoping for it.

Go you Eels!

Prediction: Knights 36 d Eels 16

Man of the Match: Dylan Brown

Gol

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