Once upon a time Parramatta were a team who could challenge the best and beat the best. I speak of course of the all conquering teams of the 80's, late 90's and early 2000's. In the early 80's Parramatta had their mortgage on the Premiership with a team that boasted half the NSW side. They were dominant, uncompromising and feared. If you were drawn to play Parramatta and you weren't Manly or Canterbury you started contemplating how much you'd get beaten by. As the legends slowly retired, the power of Parramatta descended with it. Parramatta became a laughing stock in the early 90's as they struggled to entice star players to replace the legends that had gone before.
With the acquisition of Brian Smith, the big 4 from Canterbury were signed at the conclusion of the Super League war. Parramatta's dominance was about to arise again. In the late 90's, the Eels' junior system began showing it's worth through the debut of future legends Nathan Cayless, Nathan Hindmarsh and Luke Burt. As well as that, the legendary Eric Grothe Snr's son, Eric Grothe Jnr made his debut in the jersey his father made famous. However, the side, although stronger than it was a few years previous, still lacked the killer punch. In 2001 it was added in the form of retiring halfback Jason Taylor. The magical 7 was seen to be Sterling's replacement, even if it was for only one year. In this famous season the Eels set about re-writing the record books. They finished Minor Premiers for the first time since 1986 and scored a record 900 points in the regular season. The Parramatta juggernaut cruised through the finals and met the Andrew Johns led Newcastle Knights. It was a showdown that would be remembered for years to come. Not only was it 2 great halfbacks facing off against each other, the result was an upset win to Newcastle. The Eels had lost the "unlosable" Grand Final. Newcastle stunned the favourites to lead 24-0 at half time, however they took their foot off the pedal and the Eels came charging back to lose the game 30-24, a remarkable turn-around which was only prevented by future Eel Timana Tahu's try just after half time.
But again, the Eels dominance ended with the retirement and leaving of key players. Young players had to fill the void and they struggled to do so. They made the finals in 2002 but meekly bowed out. They were then in the wilderness for the following 2 seasons. In 2005 Parramatta again became the power it once had been. Led, this time by mercurial halfback Tim Smith, the Eels launched into another Minor Premiership and took the season by the scruff of the neck. The Eels had shopped around well and bought hooker Mark Riddell, utility John Morris, second-rower Glenn Morrison and welcomed the return of PJ Marsh. Along with that they uncovered the powerful, Polynesian powerhouse Fuifui Moimoi, who became a cult figure because of his heavy hits and hard charges. With the team playing the free-flowing football that the club had been renowned for previously they dominated the opposition. However, they would fall to runners-up the North Queensland Cowboys in the Preliminary Final to again leave the job half-done.
Instead of falling by the wayside, the next few years saw Parramatta re-gain some of it's former glory. In 2006, mid-way through the campaign, Brian Smith was sacked and replaced with former halfback Jason Taylor. Taylor decided he needed youth in his team and called in an 18 year old youngster in the form of Jarryd Hayne to provide some spark. Hayne did just that, scoring 14 tries in 6 games and he received the Dally M Rookie of the year award. On the back of 9 straight victories Parramatta charged into the finals, only to draw the Melbourne Storm in the first round. In 2007, the Eels played consistently throughout the season to make it into the top 4, they won their quarter final over a determined Warriors outfit and went through to the Preliminary Final, where again they met the Melbourne Storm. 2008 was a turbulent year with Hayne being shot at in the Cross and talented halfback Tim Smith revealing he had both a drinking problem and Bipolar Mood Disorder. At the conclusion of the 2008 season, new coach Michael Hagan left due to health reasons.
2009 continued on the same way 2008 had finished. It was a side struggling to play consistent footy. Coach Daniel Anderson was seemingly at a loss with what was needed to do to pull the side out of their slump. At the time Jarryd Hayne was playing at 5/8 and was seemingly the only person attempting to create something. Then something went click. In what seemed a bizarre move at the time, Anderson moved Hayne to his preferred position of fullback, with the leaving of halfback Brett Finch, journeyman Jeff Robson was given a crack at the position and a young man with a famous surname went to 5/8. I speak of course of Daniel Mortimer. The team began rolling forward at unbelievable rate. It all started when Nathan Hindmarsh, now an experienced campaigner, ran out for his 200th game against the Melbourne Storm. The Eels put in a spirited showing and beat the Storm 18-16 with Jarryd Hayne playing a starring role. The following week the Eels again surprised and beat competition heavyweights, the Bulldogs, with Hayne again being the orchestrator. Those games began a run that would go down in Rugby League folklore. Hayne won 7 consecutive Man of the Match awards and was awarded as many accolades as he was eligible for. The run ended, when, without a game plan they faced Minor Premiers St George Illawara in the final regular season match.
The following week they again lined up against St George, this time with a game plan and surprised everyone. They ran out 25-12 winners with Hayne beating half the St George team to score close to full time. The following week they ran out against the Gold Coast who had also finished in the Top 4. The Eels monstered them across the park, running out 27-2 winners. This set up a Preliminary Final for the ages. It was the 80's and 90's rivals facing off in another finals series match. The last time the 2 teams had met, the Bulldogs engineered a come from behind victory after 10 minutes of madness from Parramatta fullback Paul Carrige. With the Bulldogs racing to an early lead, Parramatta began to play. Hayne started dancing and the Blue and Gold machine clicked into gear. In front of 75,000 screaming fans the Parramatta juggernaut beat the Bulldogs 22-12 and set up another Finals clash with the Melbourne Storm.
It seemed that 2001 would repeat itself when the Storm launched to an early 10-0 lead. After half time it was a different Parramatta outfit that ran out. Playing enterprising football, Eric Grothe Jnr scored to make it 16-6, Melbourne responded to make it 22-6 and seemingly pushing a comeback out of reach. However, the Eels threw caution to the wind. In the 70th minute Joel Reddy scored from a bomb to make the score 22-12. In the 73rd minute, the Tongan wrecking ball, Fuifui Moimoi, barged over in the corner to make it 22-16 with 6 minutes remaining on the clock. However, that's as close as the Eels got, with Inglis kicking a field goal to seal a 23-16 win.
Parramatta were installed as favourites in the 2010 season. Early in the season it was revealed that the Melbourne Storm had cheated the salary cap. As a result they were to be stripped of the 2009 and 2007 premiership. Much to the pleas of Parramatta fans the trophy was not handed to the Eels, it was left vacant, as was the 2007 one. 2010 was a disappointing one when compared with the previous season's efforts. The fans waited for a Premiership charge but it never came. At one point the Eels had won 3 in a row and it seemed that the charge had started, but this was dashed when a Luke Burt penalty goal went wide against the Tigers. The Eels' legendary captain Nathan Cayless retired at season's end.
2011 was seen as an opportunity for Parramatta to play without a target on their back like they had the previous season. With a new coach and a new style of play it was thought the Eels could find their much needed consistency. Alas, 2011 showed that the Eels could not find the killer blow they needed, having lost 8 matches by 8 points or less, 3 of those being golden point losses as well as a draw. With the start of 2012 and the acquiring of enigmatic halfback Chris Sandow it was believed that the Eels had found their killer blow. The Eels got off to a slow start but it was believed the tide would turn. Club stalwart Nathan Hindmarsh then announced that he would retire at season's end. This looked like the kick the team needed and they beat defending premiers and arch rivals Manly. However, with a game plan that didn't suit the halves, a coach out of his depth and an underperforming team, 2012 will forever go down as one of the worst in the club's season. Fellow Veteran Luke Burt also announced his retirement meaning that the 2013 roster will be one of Parramatta's most inexperienced since the late 70's. At the time of writing it seems that either Kearney's head will role or the Board will be deposed soon. The Eels currently languish in last place and seemingly need to win the majority of their remaining matches to avoid the wooden spoon, something the club has not received since 1972.
The once mighty Blue and Golds are now a shadow of their former selves. Only the die hard supporters dare to wear the blue and gold in public. Constant media scrutiny seems to be taking it's toll on the team's confidence and the coach's days seem numbered. For supporters, the only comfort is the memories of those once dominant years, when the team was feared and it was the benchmark for the competition.
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sorry can't do it!
I DID IT! I READ THE GREAT WALL OF TEXT!!!!
Nice write up. SuperEel.
The thing to remember is that we are in the trough of the wave, and Parramatta will rise again.
Did the Titanic rise from the trough of the last wave????
BTW SE22 - The Lord of The Rings was written as a trilogy - you should try doing the same next time.
Wasn't really the waves that damaged the Titanic though, was it.
What I want to know is - who's to blame? Who's the trough boy?
Thanks for the memories Supereel.....all I need to do now is to start singing 'The way we were..'.LOL
To go with the RSI in your wrist, eh Wiz..... :-)
As the great Muhammad Ali once said "Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even."
First time poster, but felt I had to chime in with some alternative views to this blog:
Re: our 1997 dominance - the big 4 from Canterbury were signed at the end of 1995 in the middle of the Super League war. The ARL gave us the Canterbury 4 and a bunch of other players to act as an bulwark against Super League in the West. Under Hilditch failed to get us into the finals with this new side.
RE: ‘Parramatta’s late 90’s dominance’ – a direct result of the structures Brian Smith put in place, including cutting most of the pre-1996 squad, gradually phasing out the $9million team’ and fixing up our under-performing juniors. You gloss over our preliminary finals appearances in 1998 and 1999 where we should have made the Grand Finals in both years and would have been near-favourites in 1999. These seasons were no fluke/didn’t come out of nothing – they were the result of the $9million team reaching its potential as a unit, with Pay, Smith, McCracken and Dymock all playing important roles in 99, supplemented with savvy purchases by Brian Smith as well as the first few kids developed under smith (Hindmarsh, Cayless).
You also gloss over the fact that Brian Smith rebuilt the squad in 2000 – Pay, McCracken and Smith left / retired after 1999 and in 2000 the Eels had a young side that blooded several young players. This rebuilding effort was successful well ahead of schedule, and off the back of some smart signings (Buettner, Solomona, Taylor (as you mention) we had our near-perfect 2001.
We didn’t rebuild after 2002 so much as HAD to ‘evolve’ due to salary cap pressures on our squad (who were picked off by predatory clubs while the Dogs just paid their players illegally to stay) and the evolution of the game away from unlimited interchange, dummy half-style play towards limited interchange football that required large forwards (instead of our skilful forwards). Brian Smith letting Andrew Ryan leave, choosing to re-sign Ashley Graham over Willie Tonga, and the defection of that traitor, Jaime Lyon all combined to hurt us in 2003/4.
The 2003/4 ‘wilderness’ you speak of was also a result of us needing contracts to expire so we could spend up big (which we did at the end of 2004 as you note). Paul Stringer was another of our good signings – a very important player for us in the march to the Preliminary final in 2005).
On an aside, though not the only reason for our loss in 2005, Nathan Hindmarsh was injured and didn’t play – before the last game of the regular season against Brisbane (when he got injured) he was in amazing form, and might have taken us to the GF…..such is life.
2006 was a transitionary phase made easier by the fact Taylor was a disciple of Smith, but switching Coaches after such a long time was always going to be a big change and I think we are still trying to forge a new (improved structure) to those implemented by Smith (which is a credit to the job he did in that aspect of the side).
RE: 2007 – you fail to mention Hagen being the new coach and the his (initially) successful tactic of blooding the promising juniors and letting them play a less structured game was one of the reasons we made the preliminary final in 2007 and probably why we dropped back badly in 2008. He undid all that Smith built up and left a damaging legacy we are still trying to fix. He was out of his depth and in hindsight was a mere muse to Andrew Johns at Newcastle.
2008 was one of the limpest, half-hearted seasons I can remember (and I painfully remember 1992, 1995, 2003/4 etc), and Hagen must take a fair whack of responsibility for this – he gave the Gen Y squad players way too much leeway and they took advantage of it by playing at 60% most games.
In 2009 Daniel Anderson had to battle hard to fix the attitudinal mess that Michael Hagen has created at the Club. The Gen Y players were running amok and he had to rein them in, and try to get them to play structured football. The run of wins in 2009 was magical, but it hid a broader problem that the club actually needed some structure, despite the once in a decade run of amazing form. This was not a problem in 2009 (after the run of form and GF loss), but in 2010 the chickens came home to roost and the attitude problem resurfaced. We had a squad that should have made the top 6 easily, yet we failed to make the finals at all – the attitude stank and certain players needed to move on.
As for 2011 – the Board decided (in all their wisdom) to sack Daniel Anderson in favour of Kearney. This would have been a bigger blow to me at the time if I didn’t get the impression Kearney and the board wanted to finally implement new structures to replace the ones Brian Smith set up in 1997 (that were now either no longer followed or obsolete). Talk of a Melbourne Storm-style ‘Academy’, a new focus on structured football, and improved player/junior recruitment and retention were all music to my ears. On the other hand, in one sense, Anderson could not be judged negatively for his 2 seasons as he was not supported by the new board and was not allowed the time to restructure the club in his ‘vision’ by the new board.
As it turned out, 2011 was a very frustrating year, though unlike 2008 and 2010, the effort levels were evident. We should have won plenty more games than we did and I ended the season hopeful we could come back better in 2012. This obviously hasn’t transpired, and 2012 has been up there as one of the more numbness-inducing seasons I can recall – not as frustrating as some as the players are trying reasonably hard and lots of kids are getting blooded – but we are cellar dwellers like we used to be from 1991-1995 and I am tuning out more than usual.
As for your final paragraph, I would suggest you are being overly dramatic / using hyperbole for effect. The club is rebuilding, and hopefully the board will stick with the rebuilding process a little longer so as not to waste the heartbreak we have thus far experienced. The ‘memories’ of those dominant years are very fresh! 2009 is not that long ago, and this competition is a fluid one, with teams going from last to first in the space of 1-3 seasons. However, it must be said that the 1976-1986 Golden Era stands out in our history….1997-2009 has been pretty successful, though that 10 years of making 8 Grand Finals and winning 4 is rare in the history of Rugby League, let-alone one club (I bet Cronulla would die for a ‘golden era’ half as grand)
It is not the end for Parramatta, we have risen and fallen several times since we were ‘saved’ during the Super League War, and though we may be in a trough, if we follow through with our rebuilding process, and don’t just seek an easy come back, we will experience the good times once more. We are still popular enough that if we ever get our act together, the rest of the NRL will know about it.
Note: Though I want Kearney to be a success, even if we sack him, we have blooded enough good kids under his regime for the new coach to come in and build on the foundation. What we don’t need is to sign up a bunch of older veterans who give us a spike in performance but cannot take us to a Premiership –something all Parra fans are dying for.
BKTAG, great first post mate, very indepth n well articulated, im looking forward to reading more of your posts, you have a long memory ,i like that, but i will say kearney has left very little for the next coach to build on imo, infact he has taken the club backwards a mile, all this stuff about kearney bringing young blokes through is pure spin n nothing more, we have bought young blokes through for years, yes he is right that we need to identify our juniors n keep them, every club worth their salt should be doing that, but that should be the job of a junior developement officer and good talent scouts, we had the best in crusher cleal, and we let him go, he never wanted to leave but we let him go...
kearney has used the juniors spin that everybody wanted to hear as his safety blanket, whilst letting every other department go backwards, he will not leave our club in a healthy state at all, infact the oppersite, cheers n great post
What I mean by the memories of the dominant years was the years of the 80's and late 90's, when were good on a consistent basis and teams didn't want to play against us.
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