Eels Blogs

The Burramattagal Eels host the Cowboys for Indigenous Round. The Eels have not lost to them at Parramatta for a decade.

The gravevine is buzzing. An excited Dylan Brown returns at centre. The Simonsson Shock. The thunderclouds billowing over Payten's paddock and Burramatta land. But Ryles is keeping his head over it all and any scuttlebutt.

Teams List

Eels (15th) vs Cowboys (13th), CommBank Stadium, Sunday, 10 August 2025, CommBank Stadium, 4.05pm AEST
Weather: Rain likely, 55% humidity, 16C, Winds 17kmh
Sportsbet: $1.62 Eels $2.30 Cowboys
Referees: Liam Kennedy (on-field), Ashley Klein (bunker), Belinda Sharpe and Jon Stone (touch judges).

 Eels: 1. Joash Papali’i 2. Zac Lomax 3. Viliami Penisini 22. Dylan Brown 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Dean Hawkins 7. Mitchell Moses 8. J’maine Hopgood 9. Ryley Smith 10. Junior Paulo 11. Charlie Guymer 12. Jack Williams 13. Dylan Walker
Bench: 14. Tallyn Da Silva 15. Luca Moretti 16. Matt Doorey 17. Kelma Tuilagi
Extended Reserves:  20. Haze Dunster 4. Jordan Samrani
Cut: 21. Toni Mataele 18. Ronald Volkman 19. Dan Keir

Head Coach: Jason Ryles

Cowboys: 1. Scott Drinkwater 5. Braidon Burns 3. Jaxon Purdue 2. Zac Laybutt 19. Semi Valemei 6. Jake Clifford 7. Tom Dearden  10. Jason Taumalolo 9. Reece Robson  17. Coen Hess 11. John Bateman 12. Jeremiah Nanai 13. Reuben Cotter
Bench: 14. Marly Bitungane  16. Kai O’Donnell 20. Nicholas Lenaz 22. Kaiden Lahrs 
Extended Reserves: 18. Jaxson Paulo   21. Jamal Shibasaki 
Cut: 4. Viliami Vailea 8. Harrison Edwardsm 15. Thomas Mikaele, 

Head Coach: Todd Payten

Ins and Outs from last week

Eels—Ins: Dylan Brown, Kelma Tuilagi  Outs: Sean Russell (hand, R27), Sam Tuivaita (knee, season).

Cowboys—Ins: Jason Taumalolo (returning from calf injury), Jake Clifford (returns from a quad injury), Viliami Vailea (returns from a foot injury), Thomas Mikaele (returns from a knee injury), Semi Valemei (returning from broken jaw). Outs: Robert Derby (knee). Reshuffle: Jeremiah Nanai returns to the backrow from centres last week.

A Parra Hoodoo

Round 13, 2015: The last time the Eels lost to the Cowboys at Parramatta. One man survives that game and plays this Sunday. Guess who? (Getty Images).

The Eels have won their last four-straight here.

The Eels have won 5 of their last 7 games against the Cowboys.

Josh Addo-Carr has scored 11 tries in 11 games against the Cowboys.

Zac Lomax has scored five tries in his last five games.

The Cowboys have lost 3 of their 4 games in Sydney this season.

Edges of Disasters

Twinkle-toes, Scott Dancing Drinkwater, will be on the prowl looking to silence the Eels (Getty Images).

Source: Statsinsider

The Cowboys' Right Edge leaks more tries than a colander. It's the worst in the competition (conceded 55/101 tries). A Fox double? Expect Hawkins or Moses short kicks behind the line. The Cows like to rush up, resembling a tactical train wreck.

Similarly, the Eels' right edge is its Achilles heel. The fifth-worst in the competition (conceded 42/86 tries).  This presents opportunities for their try-scoring freak, Jeremiah Nanai. Also, the dangerous Jaxon Purdue. And it might help make Braidon Burns and Jake Clifford look good. Expect Tom Dearden to float with a sweeping Drinkwater.

The newly-formed left side with Dylan Brown back and his partnership with Hawkins and Guymer is an unknown. But no doubt Deardon, Robson, and Drinkwater will look to exploit any vulnerabilities.

Meanwhile, both can be Shaky Stevens in the middle, conceded the same number of tries here. Expect Robson, Smith and Da Silva to have a crack.

 Guymer's try (R22): David Copperfield meets Mark Waugh and goes blonde. (Getty Images)

Last Week: In the Arm Wrestle, But No Cigar

Last week, you could forgive Jason Ryles for having his head in his hands after yet another dropped ball in prime real estate against the Storm.

"They didn't beat us, we beat ourselves," he told us in the pressor.

He was right. Despite the obvious improvements in the Eels' resilience, consistency and structures, ball-control challenges have been a constant theme this year. 

The match-winning moment of Aerial Kings. Coates outpoints Lomax.(Getty Images)

The short story. The game was won with a "F#@% Yeah" Coates Moment off a pinpoint Munster short-kick ten minutes from the final whistle. It came on the back of a barnstorming length-of-the-field-set off a less-than-urgent Eels kick chase. And where Utoikamanu steamrolled defenders like bowling pins.

The Longer story. 14 errors. Eight of those in prime Storm real estate. A gold medal in missed opportunities. 

The Storm did enough, without being at their best. Professionalism.

"They've been doing it for twenty years, while we've been doing it for twenty weeks," Ryles added.

'Losing Sleep'

Todd Payten also felt the Cowboys were fighting-toe-to-toe with a top team. "We were in the game up to our eyeballs," he told us.

"[I saw] a team connected and fighting hard. But I'm losing sleep on ... parts of our game."

Both the Cowboys and Eels are in the top four for handling errors: Roosters are the worst (9th on ladder), then Cowboys (13th), Knights (14th), and Eels (15th). 

Butterfingers

'Dumb'

Ricky called his team "dumb" after 14 errors last week. We matched it. So did the Cowboys. An error-fest trifecta. In a wet round 22, let us never forget:

• 13 errors (67% completions) cost the Bulldogs (3rd) in their shock loss against the Tigers (9 errors, 79% completions), 28-14.
• 14 errors (64% completions) cost the Raiders (1st) in their shock loss to the Dragons (10 errors, 83% completions), 18-12. 
• 14 errors (68% completions) cost the Eels (15th) against the 2nd-placed Storm (7 errors, 84% completions), 16-10.
• 14 errors (68% completions) cost the Cowboys (13th) in their heavy loss against the 7th-placed Sharks (13 errors, 79% completions), 32-12.
• Of course, there were exceptions. 16 errors didn’t stop the Roosters winning because Manly made 15. And then there's Souths.

There are a few morals of the story. Even the best get punished. Don't be dumb.

'Here in Body, Not in Spirit'

Plenty of experts have written off the Cowboys. Greg Alexander, the Panthers great, was scathing.

“It doesn’t happen very often in the NRL where a team makes it obvious that they don’t want to be here, but that is the Cowboys this afternoon,” Alexander said last week of the Cowboys in their Sharks loss.

“They are here in body but not in spirit. The Sharks are in cruise control and are tearing the Cowboys apart. I don’t know what Todd Payten says at half time."

"This is the worst performance I’ve seen from a team this year."

"They are the most disappointing side this year because they have more talent in their side than plenty of other rosters.”

And therein lies A Warning. Drinkwater, Dearden, Robson, Nanai, Cotter. A classy spine. A team littered with Origin class. Why are they playing so poorly for so long? 

Dearden and Robson are two dangermen along with Fred Astaire (Getty Images).

Ryles is fully aware of it, telling us in yesterday's pre-game pressor, "They're a dangerous footy side that can score points quickly. They're well coached and highly skilled."

"We're going to have to defend really well."

Final Word

The Quixotic Cowboys have been off their game for months, slipping from sixth in round fourteen to thirteenth. They can scorch the land on their day, but they own the worst defence in the competition leaking almost 30 points a game. An elite Horror Show. But this is their chance at redemption.

The Kaizen Eels have improved their defensive and attacking structures over the last few months, but struggle to close out games despite being in the grind for most games since the early season. A patience and potential movie where hope is a leading character.

This game could end up being decided by who controls the ball better and executes their chances.

History, form and the Burramattagal Land Gods say the Eels. So does my head. But my heart knows better. Never turn your back on a desperate Cowboy. And Ryles knows it.

Spoon Alert: Rabbits ($1.91), Titans ($3.40), Knights ($5), Eels ($14), Dragons ($67), Cowboys ($76)

Footnote: Stats are supplied by Rugby League Project, nrl.com, Foxlab, David Middleton and Statsinsider.