It’s been a while between Bumpers Up drinks, but Parra’s recent form and fan opinions about the roster have necessitated finding the time to put the column together.

Spoiler – there will be a mix of criticism and reality checks in this post.

So as tough as the yardage will be, it’s time for the next carry.

Bumpers Up!

The Inevitable Moses Dilemma

 

Hands up anyone who was expecting some sort of Origin injury to befall our superstar halfback.

The pessimistic sphere in my brain has been on overdrive in 2026, but a training injury before Moses even played one minute was not on my radar.

Mind you it should have been a concern, given that he suffered a calf strain whilst training for Origin 2 last year. That mishap resulted in Moses being absent from the Eels line up from round 15 through to round 20.

Parra’s contribution to Origin has been minimal over the last three years, but the toll has been high. Back in 2024, the club lost J’maine Hopgood for the rest of the season following a lower back injury in Game 1, and Mitch Moses also had his season ended with a bicep injury in Game 3.

Now this hamstring problem, something he has never suffered from, will result in Parra’s captain being unavailable for multiple rounds of club fixtures, but he has still been selected for Origin 2, meaning further unavailability for the Eels.

My first concern is whether the training load at Origin is the reason for such training injuries. Parramatta does a very good job at managing such loads.

Every Eels fan has been well aware that Mitch had some niggles from the start of the season. However, he had played all eleven games until Origin selection, and indeed had looked injury free in the last couple of rounds.

As someone who watches Eels training, I can assure supporters that the management of Moses training load has been instrumental in navigating the early part of the season.

Moving forward, a difficult decision might be faced by Moses. I can selfishly wish that he decides to stand down from rep duties but it’s impossible to criticise him.

Moses has achieved his representative football status relatively late in his career. He has only made three appearances for Australia and six for NSW. Apart from a one off Origin appearance in 2021, he’s only been a serious contender for selection since 2023, and even his selection then was to fill in for Cleary.

Given that Moses turns 32 in September this year, it’s therefore easy to understand why he would want to accept the honour of representing his state and country at an age when other players might consider standing down from rep duties.

Realistically, nobody should blame him. Former Origin players have stated that if you get selected you should always take it. It’s an honour.

It also easy to understand why supporters feel frustrated. The outcome of Moses playing Origin has been felt severely at club level. It has always resulted in extended unavailability for the Eels.

Moses recent seasons have featured just eight club appearances in 2024, followed by 13 in 2025, and who knows what will happen for the remainder of 2026.

The choice will be rightly left to Moses. Why wouldn’t he take up such individual honours, especially if a premiership title looks so far away for the club?

And for any suggestions that the Eels should part ways with our star half because he chooses to play Origin, let me suggest that this. There is a hyper-focus on Moses because he is the Eels only current representative player. It is not Moses fault that he is the only elite level player on Parra’s roster.

Other clubs with greater representation even choose to rest their players outside of the mandatory club stand downs.

As a supporter I might selfishly hope Moses chooses to stand down from future rep teams. But my main hope is that the club adds players of his caliber to the roster to take the focus from him.

Roster Questions

 

There are undeniable issues with the Eels roster. The club recognises this and it’s my understanding that they are active in the player market to try to address the problems.

For the purpose of re-stating the shortfalls, outside of specifics to recruit in key positions, the club has to add more “top of the roster” players to the squad.

Representative level players (tier one countries plus Origin) are in short supply in PARRAdise, they are indeed in short supply on the player market. But, premiership winning clubs always boast plenty. The Eels current list starts and ends with Moses.

Supporters should acknowledge that Eels recruitment has successfully found high value middle of the roster recruits over the years. Some added during the Arthur era either became rep players or reignited their rep careers – see RCG, Gutherson, Nathan Brown, Fergo, Matterson.

But, taking the club from competitive to title contenders status has required a re-think, and I expect to see that reflected in some of the 2027 recruits.

Top of the roster players don’t just improve short term prospects. They also significantly contribute to fulfilling the potential of emerging players. And for a club that hangs out the “Development Club” sign, that investment in the long term is essential.

And when the trajectory is a rising one, the club will become a more attractive destination for future targeted recruits.

Media speculation has recently pointed to the likes of Burton, Leniu and Jenkins. There are a couple of other names floating around that I’d rather not mention because they haven’t appeared in the media and I’d prefer that it stays that way.

Regardless, it is indicative that the club that is looking to spend the coin to get certain targets.

When the task of recruiting for next season has been complete, we’ll see whether our fortunes have genuine hope for change.

The Injury Debacle That Is 2026

 

At full strength, the current Eels roster would be a competitive one. Realistically not title winning, but one with rightful aspirations to the bottom end of the top 8.

But fickle fate has not been Parra’s friend.

Anyone who brushes aside the Eels massive injury toll in 2026 needs to get real.

No other club, I repeat, no other club, comes within a bull’s roar of the cumulative number of games missed due to injury. The Eels hit the century mark in round 14 – see the list below. Given the long term and season ending injuries, that number will continue to grow and could well top the double century by season’s end.

Will that be unprecedented? I haven’t looked at the stats from Souths in 2025, but they might have been similarly high.

By comparison the Panthers have missed a paltry 22 missed games in 2026. That’s close to a fifth of the Eels tally! As if their squad requires any further advantage.

Injuries don’t just remove the player himself from the team, they completely disrupt combinations in both attack and defence. It goes some way to explaining disjointed attack or players not trusting the player next to them in defence.

This isn’t meant to excuse poor performances. But it is a valid reason for some of the struggles.

No Excuses Department

 

If we want to talk about no excuses, go no further than the Eels completion rates and missed tackles.

Against the Knights, the Eels enjoyed 54% possession to the Knights 46%. Furthermore, the Knights only completed at 73%. Newcastle’s defence was also poor – a combined missed and ineffective tally of 60.

Unfortunately, the Eels provided a “hold my beer” response, by matching the defensive frailty of the Knights (combined tally of 58 missed and ineffective) and completing at 71%.

The tale was worse against the Bulldogs.

Canterbury were inept against the Eels. Despite dominating territorially they failed to score in the first half and could only score twice in the second. Credit to the Eels scrambling defence, and for registering big on the effort metre (and not forgeting zero luck), but the stats are damning.

Parra’s completion rate came in at 73%, and the combined missed and ineffective tackles was a whopping 75 compared to the Bulldogs 38.

Somehow the Eels were only defeated courtesy of a late penalty goal, but you aren’t going to win games of footy with those numbers. In fact, it’s an indictment on the Dogs that they barely got the job done. Still they walked away with the competition points whilst the Eels registered yet another loss.

I can praise the effort, but effort is really non-negotiable in first grade. It’s time for the first grade team to improve their focus and minimise some of the low percentage plays.

Winning starts with playing smarter.

NSW Cup Shockers

 

The last month of football from the Eels NSW Cup team has been a huge concern.

Apart from victory against the Dragons, the Eels have registered massive losses to the Bears (46-10), Knights (56-16) and the Bulldogs (60-4)

Without question, the flow on effect of the monstrous injury toll might explain losses, but not the magnitude.

There were worrying signs from the last two losses in particular. Effort areas had massive question marks.

But the worst outcome of such performances is that it leaves almost no selection options for Jason Ryles. If he is considering a change or two for the first grade, the question becomes, “is there anyone playing better in Cup?”

The answer to that is currently quite obvious.

 

NRLW Season Launch

 

Tonight (Wednesday) the Eels are staging their official launch of the 2026 NRLW season. The event falls in the same week as the opening round of the NSW Women’s Competition, with the Eels taking on Mounties at Kellyville.

A number of Eels players are returning from season ending injuries sustained during the 2025 campaign. That injury list significantly impacted the team’s performances, and it should be a full strength side for round one.

For mine, new signings including Maroons Origin star Keilee Joseph should provide the filip for the Eels take the next step to finals footy.

Some of that NRL squad are taking the field in Saturday’s NSW Premiership clash with Mounties. I recommend checking it out.

 

Back At CommBank

 

It seems like an eternity since we’ve enjoyed a home game, or indeed a pre-game appearance in Parra Leagues.

But this week the Eels take on the Raiders at CommBank Stadium with the kick off at 7:35pm. That means we’ll be found in Sterlo’s Sports Bar from around 5pm.

Parra Leagues is the home of the Eels and every home game offers activations and dining options for the entire family.

We’ve had an incredible list of Eels legend guests in Sterlo’s this year, and this week will be no exception. Plus, we always endeavour to make them available for a chat and photos with the fans.

l’ll update everyone with the identity of our guest later this week.

See you there!

Go you mighty Eels

Sixties