It is a wrap on a tough, disappointing season for the Parramatta Eels but before we fully close the chapter on season 2026 – the Ken Thornett Medal ceremony will celebrate the bright moments and talented individuals who shone in spite of the trials and tribulations this year. With Sixties in live attendance at the banner event, Forty20 will man the console for a fly-by-the seams live stream.
Outside of the live winners from the KT Medal, The Tip Sheet will look at the weekend results and wrap up the small amount of news out of Parradise this week. The wheels are in motion across the wider NRL though as 8 teams gear up for the finals while the cold war between players and PVL gets a fair bit more intense as battle lines begin to be drawn over the controversial set restart era of the game.
So, if positions were reversed. That is the women’s season was over and the men still had a game in the coming weekend, would they take the night of training and attend the club awards night? I think everyone would be highly critical of the men’s team if in the last week of the season they took a night off training and had an awards ceremony. Yet the club think it’s an ok look to do it to the women. Just my take on it though.
Hi Jim,
I get where you are coming from. With the team playing last Sunday night I’m not sure they would have trained, and if they did it would have been very light. For example, last week the NRL trained on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday after playing on the Sunday arvo. Two sessions and a caps run is fairly typical of a seven day turn around, especially late in the season. I think it’s more a case of it was decided with still one match to go. They obviously plan that if there is no finals footy, that the Women’s Player and other awards would be based on ten rounds.
I had a similar thought JimO. But more along the line of the ladies only get an 11 ganme regualr season. So the voting ignores almost 10% of their season.
I would have thought you could wait a week – but i guess its them valuing a willingness to interupt a womans preperation for a final regular season game vs not wanting to hold it during the Finals (if we ever make it).
I would hold it in Oct after the Grand FInals, but that just me.
I will be hitting up Fui’s sideline bar at NRL-Land