Eels Blogs

GAME DAY BLOG, R5 vs TIGERS: The Trial (FINAL TEAMS IN; JDB & TWIDLE ON BENCH)

It is a little known fact that Franz Kafka’s The Trial (1925) had a baby with Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot (1953), producing what literary historians know as The Parramatta Eels. In Kafka’s novel, Joseph K is an entirely unremarkable bank emp

We Don’t Lose Games in Moments. We Lose Them in Minutes.

It's all about cohesion, chaos and death zones.

Our defence sits dead last at round five. Our middle concedes the most tries of any team. 40 percent of our tries are leaked there. 

Why? Ah, yes. Our rituals say Mark O’Neill is the reason. No, the

Vale Neville Glover

Former Parramatta Eels winger Neville “Nifty” Glover has died aged 70.  

• He played 121 games for Parramatta and 13 for Penrith between 1975–1983, scoring 59 tries, and represented both NSW and Australia in 1978.  
• Glover was a highly regarded winger an

Round 5 Team List v Wests Tigers

1. Joash Papaili

2. Bailey Simmonson

3. Brian Kelly

4. Sean Russell

5. Josh Addo-Carr

6. Jonah Pezet

7. Mitchell Moses (c)

8. Jack Williams

9. Rylex Smith

10. Junior Paulo

11. Kelma Tuilagi

12. Kitione Kautoga

13. Dylan Walker

Interchange:

14. Tallyn Da Silva

1

Iongi 8 weeks, Doorey season

Isaiah Iongi will miss a minimum of 8 weeks with his injury, puts him in line for a return against Newcastle in Round 13 off a bye in Round 12. Joash gets 7 games at the helm.

Unfortunate for Doorey who will be missing the season and start of next sea

Game Day Blog R4 vs Panthers: Disrupt the Disruptors? (L48-20)

In tomorrow's Battle Of the West, Vincent Lombardi almost foreshadowed the Panthers sixty years ago when he said, “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence."

The Panthers seemed to have forgotten they're not

Poppa's Corner: We made a mistake, lets admit it, move forward; and it looks like we are overrated!

This heading is probably something we don't like admitting to. Yes it implies criticism but I don't want to start looking for blame or scapegoats, just accept it and move on.

The main issue in my mind is the "Pezet" experiment. It hasn't worked and t

Gus: Eels Showed "Real Grit"

Curled up in the foetal position, the noise is getting louder from some of our punters. Drop Pezet. Move him on. He’s been labelled “a mistake” by some, along with the usual tomatoes thrown at R&R, the team, and the front office. But not Talyn Da Sil

Round 4 Team List v Penrith Panthers

1. Isaiah Iongi

2. Bailey Simmonson

3. Brian Kelly

4. Sean Russell

5. Josh Addo-Carr

6. Jonah Pezet

7. Mitchell Moses (c)

8. Jack Williams

9. Ryley Smith

10. Junior Paulo

11. Kelma Tuilagi

12. Kitione Kautoga

13. Dylan Walker

Interchange:

14. Tallyn Da Silva

15.

Game Day Blog R3: Danger Game as Desperate Dragons Hunt First Win (Hard Fought 30-20 Win)

UPDATE: Jack Williams starts at prop. Dylan Walkers starts at lock. Hopgood goes to the bench. Jason Ryles confirmed Jack De Belin, who has been cut this week against his former club, needed to work on some areas of his game in attack and defence bu

Round 3 Team List v St George Illawarra Dragons

1. Isaiah Iongi

2. Bailey Simmonson

3. Jordan Samrani

4. Sean Russell

5. Josh Addo-Carr

6. Jonah Pezet

7. Mitchell Moses (c)

8. J’maine Hopgood

9. Ryley Smith

10. Junior Paulo

11. Kelma Tuilagi

12. Kitione Kautoga

13. Jack Williams

Interchange:

14. Dylan Walker

1

State of the Site 2026

With the 2026 season now underway I thought I would provide an overview of how the site is tracking both in numbers and in overall feedback we've been receiving.

Analytics

2025 built on the 2024 season and 1 Eyed Eel continues to grow. Numbers-wise w

Winning It Twice, Off The Canvas

Gus Gould often says there is only one thing harder than winning a game.

It’s winning it twice.

In Round 1, 2021, Parramatta came back from 16–0 down at halftime to beat Brisbane 24–16 at Suncorp.

Five years later, in Round 2 on Thursday night, it

Game Day Blog R2 v Broncos: Back on the Horse (W40-32)

Update: Eels won it twice in a thriller that had to be seen to be believed. 

Both suffered heavy round one losses. Both will be seeking redemption.

The Eels won the last meeting here 22-20 in a Walsh-inspired cliffhanger, but they have lost four of

Round 2 Team List v Brisbane Broncos

1. Isaiah Iongi

2. Bailey Simmonson

3. Will Pensini

4. Sean Russell

5. Josh Addo-Carr

6. Jonah Pezet

7. Mitchell Moses (c)

8. Jack Williams

9. Ryley Smith

10. Junior Paulo

11. Kelma Tuilagi

12. Kitione Kautoga

13. Jack De Belin

Interchange:

14. Dy

Take Aways from the game

Positive Comments:

No injuries.

All other comments:

• After the first minute of the game I immediately knew that no matter how good we try to play that we would not win the game. The corruption was pretty clear. But wow we played awful.
• The sin bin was ob

Kemp: Eels vs Storm R1 refereeing was "Disgraceful"

Denan Kemp, the former Broncos NRL player and SEN commentator was equally scathing of the Eels as the officiating in the Eels’ Round 1 loss to the Melbourne Storm in his podcast.

“The jersey deserved better than that second half," he admitted.

“(But

Game Day Blog R1 vs Storm: Gilgamesh and the Beer Goddess (L52-4)

Update: Heavy 52-4 loss. Worst loss since the 64-10 loss to the Storm in round 9, 2019 at Suncorp's Magic Round.

Epic heroes come and they go. What truly makes the hero is whether their fame goes to their head and they become a self-obsessed jerk,

Round 1 Team List v Melbourne Storm

1. Isaiah Iongi

2. Bailey Simmonson

3. Will Pensini

4. Brian Kelly

5. Sean Russell

6. Jonah Pezet

7. Mitchell Moses (c)

8. J’maine Hopgood

9. Ryley Smith

10. Junior Paulo

11. Jack Williams

12. Kitione Kautoga

13. Jack De Belin

Interchange:

14. Dylan Walker

15. Sa

Eels win in the Supreme Court

Summary:

Zac Lomax has settled his legal dispute with the Parramatta Eels, agreeing he cannot return to the NRL without the club’s written consent before the 2028 season.

In a surprise development in the NSW Supreme Court, both parties reached a settle