Effort without reward
Parramatta's last 7 weeks have shown that working hard isn't always enough
Parramatta’s opening six weeks of football in the 2027 NRL season was that of riding a rollercoaster.
A crash and burn second half against Melbourne, followed by a match pulled from the fire against the Broncos. Then a tough win against the Dragons followed by a capitulation against the Panthers.
Into Easter Monday their patchwork side fell in golden point before being trampled by the Titans.
Since Round 7 though, Parramatta’s efforts have steadied but the results haven’t been forthcoming.
2 wins from 7 games is the headline, but within those matches were moments, chances and scorelines that were up in the air until very late.
They rumbled the Bulldogs on a Sunday afternoon in Parramatta with the heroes of 1986 in attendance. The undermanned Eels showed an impressive physicality and tenaciousness against their, at the time, much more fancied opponents.
Their 7-6 half time score against Manly was a traditional arm wrestle until a 7 minute period from the Sea Eagles broke the game open. The Eels pulled on back but ultimately fell 33-18.
A 36-14 loss to the Warriors at home was again a case of being within touching distance of the second placed kiwi team until the final 10 minutes.
They stole a win in Townsville against a Cowboys side that can be absolute wrecking balls on their day. Parramatta’s commitment to completing high and competing on everything ultimately gave them the chance to storm home and grab the golden point win.
While the 34-8 scoreline against Melbourne in Magic Round indicates one way traffic. The match itself was far from it. A 10-4 half time score to the Storm again showed Parramatta in the thick of things. And again it was a late flurry that blew the scoreline out.
Even so it was more due to Parramatta’s own errors than Melbourne’s attacking brilliance that ended the match.
Against Newcastle the Eels again had their more highly rated opponents there for the taking. A very narrow 12-10 halftime lead to the Knights was unexpected given their attacking ability.
Again, Parramatta’s handling and execution let them down. The fact the Eels were still circling Newcastle in the final minute showed they weren’t behind due to lack of effort.
And in their second match against the Dogs, they were desperately unlucky not to pluck a second win from their arch-rivals. This time a 0-0 first half (which honestly should have been 6-0 to the Eels) was unexpected both due to the lack of defensive resolve both sides had shown all year, and the surprising defensive effort on Parramatta’s own goal line.
So much of Parramatta’s season has come down to small periods in matches when mistakes come in clumps, whether with the ball or in defence.
Their 14 points conceded against the Dogs was their best all season.
Few fans could be upset at an Eels side clearly trying their guts out, despite their squad missing over 110 collective games this season. And many of those on the injured list are part of their experienced core.
Junior Paulo with over 270 first grade games, Mitchell Moses with 249, Will Penisini with 105, Bailey Simonsson with 106, J’maine Hopgood with 71 and Matt Doorey with 54.
Not to mention injuries to Isaiah Iongi, Ryley Smith, Sam Tuivaiti, Jordan Samrani and even debutant Apa Twidle.
With an experienced core of 859 matches sitting out games and the next layer underneath also copping injuries, the Eels have been playing with an incredibly inexperienced spine.
Joash Papalii has 24 NRL games, Ron Volkman 15, Tallyn Da Silva 44 and Isaiah Iongi 28.
111 first grade games spread across the 4 most important players on the field.
That’s like fighting with one hand tied behind your back.
But fighting is exactly what this side has been doing. Jack Williams and Jason Ryles have been pointing to it in their media appearances.
The hardest thing to do in the NRL is perform week in, week out and continue to fight even when results aren’t going your way.
There are players out there who make errors because they’re learning how to play in the NRL.
To their credit though, each time they get knocked down, they get back up.
Certainly, 15 years ago, under the coaching of Stephen Kearney and Ricky Stuart, those wearing the blue and gold were seen packing it in when results went against them.
The effort stopped.
That hasn’t happened here. It’s a group made largely of young players all trying to find their way in the toughest sport on the planet.
Fight, get knocked down, get back up, fight again.
“The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender.” - Vince Lombardi