Before diving in, it's important to acknowledge where we currently sit on the ladder. We must acknowledge as fans that our position is far from ideal nor acceptable, however, we must also consider the challenges we've faced throughout the early part of the season:
The extended absence of Mitchell Moses, both at the beginning of the season and more recently
Mid-to-long term foot injuries to key players Zac Lomax and Bailey Simonsson
The off-field distraction and uncertainty surrounding Dylan Brown’s contract situation
A wave of suspensions, including two for Kelma Tuilagi, along with bans for Ryley Smith and Josh Addo-Carr
The inexperience of a rookie head coach still finding his feet at NRL level
The departure of several experienced and influential players — including Clint Gutherson, Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Maika Sivo, and Joe Ofahengaue
A very raw and inexperienced squad — at the start of the season, players like Iongi, "Kit Kat", Sam Tuivaiti, Ryley Smith, and Joash Papalii had fewer than 10 first-grade games combined. And with inexperience inevitably come error
Positives:
Signings:
Our recruitment for the season has undoubtedly been one of the brighter aspects. With signings including; Jack Williams, Iongi, Kit Kat, Lomax, JAC, Dylan Walker, Dean Hawkins, Joash & Jordan Samrani. Across the board, each player has at the very least met expectations, while many have exceeded expectations. Jack Williams, Iongi, and Kit Kat have stood out with consistently strong performances. There was initial scepticism — myself included — around the signings of Josh Addo-Carr and Dylan Walker. However, both have proven to be excellent additions. Addo-Carr has added a new dimension to our edge attack, offering a different style to what we were accustomed to with Maika Sivo. Meanwhile, Walker has been exceptional off the bench, regularly shifting momentum with his impact and versatility. Importantly, there hasn’t been a signing I’d categorise as a “miss.” Even those brought in primarily for development or Cup-level depth — such as Hawkins, Joash, Samrani, and Volkman — have shown encouraging signs when given the opportunity at NRL level.
Style of Football:
Gone are the days of Parramatta relying mainly on our left edge to generate points. While the Gutherson sweep play to Maika Sivo was highly effective, over time it became predictable and overused. This season, however, we’ve shown far more variety and creativity in our attacking structures. We’re now threatening across the park — not just down one channel. Through the middle, we’ve seen promising link-up play, often sparked by a Dylan Walker burst or a smart tip-on from Junior Paulo. On the right edge, we’ve found success through short balls to Kelma Tuilagi/Jack Williams or well-placed last-tackle kicks targeting Zac Lomax. Meanwhile, the left side continues to fire, with Isaiah Iongi and Josh Addo-Carr combining dangerously. Overall, our attack has evolved into a far more balanced and unpredictable system, capable of striking from multiple areas of the field.
Player Development:
A key example of our Player Development this season is Sean Russell. I’ll be the first to admit that over the past two years, I wasn’t a fan — whether he was on the wing or in the centres, I often felt he offered little in either attack or defence. But credit where it’s due: this year, Russell has taken a clear step forward. While he’s still not among the elite centres in the game, he’s become far more reliable defensively and noticeably stronger in attack.
Luca Moretti is another standout. He showed glimpses of promise in previous seasons, but before his injury this year, he was truly beginning to deliver on that potential with consistent, tough performances through the middle.
The emergence of young players like Ryley Smith, Sam Tuivaiti, and Joash Papalii has also been a welcome boost. All three have shown encouraging signs in their early NRL outings and bring much-needed energy to the squad.
We’ve also seen a resurgence in Junior Paulo’s form — back to playing with real intent — and continued strong contributions from players like Bailey Simonsson when fit.
Player Rention:
When the decision was made to release Clint Gutherson to the Dragons, it was met with heavy criticism. Many viewed Gutherson as the “heart” of the team — a leader whose effort and presence were invaluable. However, coach Jason Ryles saw things differently and placed his trust in Isaiah Iongi at fullback. So far, that call has paid off. Iongi has shown immense potential and looks every bit a future star. While Gutherson, as we saw on Saturday, can still be effective, it’s clear he’s beginning to slow down. I wouldn’t be surprised if next year is his last season at fullback.
Other key departures include Reagan Campbell-Gillard, who has struggled for form and impact this season, and Maika Sivo, who had become a shadow of his former self. Joe Ofahengaue was averaging just 65 run metres per game — a significant drop-off for a middle forward. Shaun Lane, ruled out indefinitely, had unfortunately not returned to his best football over the past two to three years.
Additionally, players like Wiremu Greig and Ryan Matterson have reportedly been encouraged or granted permission to explore other opportunities — a move many fans would agree is overdue given their limited impact in recent seasons.
Negatives:
Jmaine Hopgood & Will Penisini:
Throughout the Brad Arthur era, J’maine Hopgood was one of our most consistent performers — regularly punching out over 60 minutes with minimal errors and a strong defensive work rate. However, this season, he’s looked a shadow of that player. His minutes have been reduced, and he's become more prone to handling errors and giving away unnecessary penalties. That said, there’s no doubt the talent is still there — which is likely why Billy Slater has kept faith in him, selecting him in Queensland’s squad for Game 3. If Hopgood can rediscover his best form, it would go a long way toward stabilising and strengthening our forward pack.
As for Will Penisini, I was anticipating a breakout year. With two of the game’s most powerful wingers outside him, I expected a significant boost in both his attacking output and defensive stability. So far, though, that lift hasn’t materialised. There's still time, but he’ll need to find another gear in the back half of the season to reach the level many were expecting.
Lapses:
While the team is still relatively inexperienced, that can’t fully excuse some of the lapses we've seen in both attack and defence this season. The most recent examples — our abysmal first half against the Dragons and Chris Randall’s try last week — highlight just how costly these moments can be. Randall’s effort, in particular, was one of the softest tries you’ll see a back-rower score at this level.
These kinds of breakdowns can be momentum-killers and swing games dramatically. While there has been some improvement in addressing them, there’s still a long way to go before we become a consistently disciplined and resilient side.
Replies
Randy, Fair enough.
Unfortunately, I took a detour on the “AI theme” beyond 1EE into the world beyond. Blame my human mind. AI would’ve stayed on topic better. No scarecrows, strawmen or spanners. Wink Wink.
Now, to your points about using AI on 1EE: you’re obviously dead-set against it. Can't argue with your reasons — or feelings.
But you also seemed to imply that AI in real life is inevitable, right? And that’s a reality I can’t ignore.
How much modern tech do you use? Without it, we wouldn’t even be having this discussion or have a forum at all. Internet, phones, cars, trains, planes, laptops . They’re all so deeply embedded in our lives. So why is AI more disturbing? Maybe it’s the social acceptance, its looming threats, or frustration that AI can produce grammatically superior content that gets credit. Dunno? Just asking. AI doesn’t bug me too much. I am more interested in the person behind the tools and the ideas expressed.
As for me, I started to use AI because it’s in my nature: pragmatism, and I want to learn new things, and improve. I use it for proofreading, research, analysis, comparisons (some work clients have even requested it too) and the odd image creations. Sure, some of the results are so-so, it makes mistakes and can’t do everything unless you’re okay with a fair amount of bollocks. It needs direction like any tool but it’s useful, packs a punch and saves time. Just like driving a car over walking.
So what do we do about AI on here? Ban it? That’s probably unrealistic. It’s only going to grow. Exponentially, unpredictably, and with unforeseen consequences.
Practically speaking, Super and the mods just don’t have the time to police AI use. Maybe if it were a paid role or we had some super-duper AI tech (oh the irony and more).
The other thing is people who use AI may face backlash or get bashed up which might discourage some. So, some division may occur over time.
Either way — Ai might be programmed to, but reality doesn’t seem too bothered by how we feel. Sadly.
And history doesn’t exactly sing nice songs about human nature. If we were wiser, AI would be less of a threat.
PS: I can’t take credit for the phrase “cyber pub.” Pretty sure that was Wiz. Personally, I preferred the idea of a multi-level community center — different rooms, different vibes. If it’s merely a pub, we might get the old “I was drunk, I didn’t mean to be a dick and smash you with that broken bottle, but hey it’s a pub right?”
HOE lots of technologies have responded to programming by humans. We can,t get away from evil people exploiting AI for evil. The problem with AI now is that AI is the first technology that is capable of not responding to human programming and can now work independently from human input. It is quickly becoming a different species which can operate independently from human inputs. We are getting into a world where we can easily lose control of what AI does. Eg control over world financial institutions and even possiblely develop harmful viruses etc to destroy human species. I don't think we should ignore those clear concerns . Noah Harari a specialist in that area as well as the late Stephen Hawkings have expressed serious concerns about giving birth to this alien species. I don,t think we should ignore this.
I'm not against AI at.all. I am dead against the use cases i have mentioned without attribution. for the reasons I have stated.
We could maybe just ask posters to let folks know? so that we don't make arseholes of ourselves talking to chatbots in replies? Whatever, I could keep banging on about this as it seems so obviously deleterious when used in dialog(because it is no longer dialog, unattributed it is not even made in good faith) . A tech centred site community that i am a posting member on (earlier links), regularly praises the progress and explains the current limitations of Ai. Blatant Ai use in these comments results in posters receiving harsh humour, scorn and downvotes...and a quiet word from the mods. I am not being Chicken Little here and panicing 'bout the scary pattern-matcher for no reason. It is interpersonal engagement poison. Where wit and wordplay go to die... and there will never be less AI output here than there is right now, but more is better, right?.
Not many here seem to see it as problematic, it is being treated as a boon, all upside. So i will try to wind my objections back a bit, stay in good humour and see how we go.
...also, damn Hoe, what wild ass dive pubs do you frequent...The ones I go to also have different rooms and vibes and are peopled with drunk footy fans and weekend warriors but narely a bottling to be found...just the odd low-stakes kinetic disagreement on the balcony that no-one really sooks about.....Which level of the community centre is the CWA on.? They scary
I saw one prediction that unemployment levels will be at 25% once AI is more developed and established in society. For anyone with kids/grandkids I'd start investing now and not in real estate.
That seems unavoidable.But some would say " who cares?" When you are a billionaire and not paying any tax.
Great blog Eels2025, fair and balanced
One of the better posts for this season, keep up the good work
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