I’ve been writing these previews for seven years, and this is my 12th time previewing a contest with the South Sydney Rabbitohs. The Eels have won exactly one of those matches. I have tipped the Eels to win only once since the end of 2022, for some reason thinking we could get the job done in round 24 last year. I won’t be making the same mistake again.
That’s just how these games go. There is dominance and then there is what the Rabbitohs have had over the Eels since 2020. Personnel, ladder position and form mean nothing coming into these contests, there is something chemical in the makeup of these clubs that ensures red and green dominates Blue and Gold.
Souths have a top eight position to play for, the Eels are shuffling deck chairs to determine where between 12th and 16th they finally sit. It’s another indigenous round as well, which always means a lot to South Sydney who appear to be our appointed indigenous round rivals. Lucky us. Maybe they can take the game up to Darwin for us as well, really nail the hoodoos. Yep, it is one of those previews. Let’s go.
Game Info
Date: Saturday, August 8, 2026
Venue: Sydney Football Stadium, Moore Park
Kick-off: 7:35 PM AEST
Referee: Wyatt Raymond
Bunker: Grant Atkins
Weather: Cool, dry
Broadcast: Nine, Fox League, Kayo
Teams
Parramatta Eels
1. Isaiah Iongi 2. Brian Kelly 3. Will Penisini 4. Jordan Samrani 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Ronald Volkman 22. Mitchell Moses 8. Sam Tuivaiti 9. Tallyn Da Silva 10. Luca Moretti 11. Jack Williams 12. Kitione Kautoga 13. Jack de Belin. 14. Saxon Pryke 15. Junior Paulo 16. Teancum Brown 17. Joash Papalii 19. Jezaiah Funa-Iuta 20. Toni Mataele. 22. Ryley Smith.
Couple of changes for the Eels, with Dylan Walker rested after a few weeks of not looking quite himself, while Harrison Edwards is dropped to NSW Cup. Saxon Pryke comes onto the bench for Walker, while Luca Moretti returns from concussion protocols to replace Edwards via Kelma Tuilagi, with Jack Williams taking Kelma’s place in the back row.
Jezaiah Funa-Iuta looms suspiciously on the extended bench for the first time in his career, though the pomp surrounding a first grade debut hasn’t surfaced so it may only come if injury strikes. Ryley Smith may also come into the side for the first time in a while, offering rake backup in Edwards’ absence.
South Sydney Rabbitohs
1. Matt Dufty 2. Alex Johnston 3. Tallis Duncan 4. Jack Wighton 14. Jye Gray 6. Cody Walker 7. Ashton Ward 8. Tevita Tatola 9. Brandon Smith 10. Keaon Koloamatangi 11. David Fifita 12. Adam Elliott 13. Cameron Murray. 15. Lachlan Hubner 16. Sean Keppie 17. Jamie Humphreys 18. Jayden Sullivan 19. Thomas Fletcher 20. Liam Le Blanc. 21. Moala Graham-Taufa.
Plenty of firepower coming back for the Rabbitohs, with Cam Murray and Tallis Duncan returning from injury and David Fifita from suspension. Latrell Siegwalt makes way for Duncan in the centres, while Lachlan Hubner shifts to the bench and somebody named John Radel out of the side to accommodate Murray and Fifita.
Late injury has struck down Campbell Graham, sending Jye Gray from the interchange to the wing. Latrell Mitchell is the other major out, though the Bunnies should be used to playing without him at this point, while Euan Aitken is also absent after being a late withdrawal last week.
Deja Vu
Jack Williams has been a model of consistency in the second half of 2026
I’ve given up trying to understand why the Rabbitohs dominate the Eels. A lot can be attributed to Cody Walker and the left edge attack, but with increasing frequency the Rabbitohs have been effective on the right and in the middle as well. Maybe everybody on the Eels team is colour blind and struggles to identify red and green jerseys against green grass. It happens in different ways, but it always happens.
The most recent battle between the two clubs was typical of the 2026 Eels. 18 errors, 65% completions, high effort, low skill, in the game until the 50th minute when the weight of possession finally cracked them. I could be describing last week, except the Tigers weren’t good enough to crack the crumbling Eels. Souths most definitely will be.
One key weakness last time around was the right side defensive combination of Mitch Moses and Kelma Tuilagi, the latter being caught out by Cody Walker’s pace not once, but twice for tries. Walker won’t be able to pick out Tuilagi this time, but you can bet he’ll be aiming his first run straight at the inside shoulder of Moses to get him to bite and create that traditional left edge overlap that has provided Alex Johnston about 90% of his record breaking try total.
Tallis Duncan was another to have a beast of a game at centre, running riot over Sean Russell. Again Duncan won’t find the same opposite to torment, he should be up against the much bulkier Samrani instead of the injured Rusty, but he was a man running against boys for the second half last time and is another that they’ll try to get early ball opportunities. He’s certain to venture infield to target Ronald Volkman as well.
The third pillar of the Rabbitohs attack back in round 17 was taking intercepts, with the Eels running through their structure to the point of predictability and being picked off accordingly. Jack Williams will be licking his lips at the chance to hit some short balls off the shoulder of Mitch Moses if the Rabbitohs continue to cheat the spread and rush up. Maybe we’ll even see a rare attacking grubber from the Blue and Gold. We need to see something to adjust.
The absence of Dylan Walker is usually a problem for the Eels, but it might work to their favor this week if it means more direct ball to the halves in the red zone that speeds up the spread and nullifies some of that rush. We lose plenty in the midfield without Walker, but given how our last contest went I’m keen to see faster distribution to the halves. As long as Tallyn can follow the script.
Future Proofing
Quietly one of the signings of 2026 across the whole NRL
With 2026 simply a matter of which losers rung of the ladder we end up sitting on, the hope is that the remainder of the season can offer something for the future. We’ll get a look at what life without Dylan Walker is like this week, though whether potential replacements Jack de Belin or Saxon Pryke are taking his place for 2027 is a major question mark. We might just see a bit more passing at the line from all forwards, which would be a nice wrinkle but may stretch the skillset of some of our big guys.
While patience isn’t in great supply in the Eels fanbase, sadly that is what is required from those that believe the club has a plan. With so many raw talents (Tallyn Da Silva is a veteran in this side with his whopping 50 games played making him the 9th most experienced player in the side) the biggest factor in their development is time on the park. Kitione Kautoga might not be in great touch right now but every game is valuable as he learns just a little bit more about running lines, picking defensive reads and timing offloads with every appearance. More is asked of fullbacks in defence than ever, and Isaiah Iongi hasn’t even cracked two full seasons worth of games at the position yet. Few middles arrive first grade ready, so every minute Sam Tuivaiti and Teancum Brown get on the paddock is valuable.
You might line this Eels side up against a lot of other NRL teams and wonder how many would even make the opposing side, but that’s not the comparison Parramatta is looking at right now. It is what that equation looks like in two, three years time. Reality is we’ve wasted a few rebuilding years already, sunk cost that we can’t retrieve, but we’ve started along the path and hopefully taken the worst of the pain that comes from starting over.
Is all of that going to help us when the Rabbitohs effortlessly carve apart our edges? Probably not, but it might be some comfort to know that it will get better.
The Game
There’s every chance Tallyn will be asked to go the full 80
With that in mind, I’m looking for improvements in some key areas. The first is holding on to the bloody ball. Oh what I would give for a single digit error count, though I’d settle for no errors in exit sets and no intercepts or forward passes in attack. That alone should keep a plucky Eels defence competitive for the full 80.
The other improvement I need to see is learning from the last time. The Eels just kept running the same stale shape at Souths even after they were picked off several times by the rushing defenders, resulting in throwing three intercepts on the attack. You can’t change your attacking structure in a week, but awareness of how it will be defended and attempting to exploit that is why you pay a halfback (and a coach) big dollars. It will be on Isaiah Iongi to sell it as well, getting deeper in structure if we still want to go around it, and selling committed decoys if we are going short.
Defensively I’m not actually too concerned. Parramatta’s structure and individual efforts have improved throughout the year, whether that is due to fitness levels rising, the six again being wound back or core improvements in technique, who can say. Last week the tries may have been soft (very soft) but in between the Eels had answers to everything that was thrown at them, especially on the edge where they forced a lot of mistakes from the Tigers trying to go over and around their rush.
To sum all of that up succinctly: the Eels need to cut down on the errors. The dropped balls. The arm grabs. Falling off a defensive play once it goes past you. Choosing when to offload and getting your damn foot on the play the ball. There’s a competent football team underneath all of this, but we won’t see that until they get the basics right. Win or loss, I just need to see improvements.
Go you Eels!
Prediction: Rabbitohs 32 d Eels 12
Man of the Match: Cody Walker
Gol
