The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based 55 km (34 mi) west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrith are the current reigning NRL Premiers, having won the title four times.
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League.
Nathan Frederick Cayless is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s, and has coached in the 2010s. He played at representative level for New Zealand (captain), and at club level in the National Rugby League (NRL) for the Parramatta Eels, for whom he was a long-time captain, as a prop. He captained the New Zealand national team to a Rugby League World Cup victory over Australia in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, and coached at club level in the Intrust Super Premiership for the Wentworthville Magpies from 2016 to 2018.
The 2001 NRL season was the 94th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the fourth run by the National Rugby League. Also called the 2001 Telstra Premiership it was contested by thirteen Australia-based clubs plus one New Zealand-based club. The Newcastle Knights claimed their second premiership in five seasons, defeating minor premiers Parramatta Eels in the NRL's first ever night-time grand final.
The 2006 NRL season was the 99th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the ninth run by the National Rugby League. The lineup of teams remained unchanged from the previous year, with fifteen clubs competing for the 2006 Telstra Premiership. Throughout the 26 rounds of the regular season ten teams from New South Wales, two from Queensland and one each from Victoria, the ACT and New Zealand competed for the minor premiership. Eight of these teams qualified for the four-week finals series, with the Brisbane Broncos eventual victors over the Melbourne Storm in the grand final. Melbourne finished the regular season first so were awarded the minor premiership, but this was later revoked due to the Melbourne Storm salary cap breach.
The 2007 Parramatta Eels Season was the 61st in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2007 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season in 5th position, and came within one match of the grand final only to be knocked out by eventual premiers, Melbourne Storm, who would later be stripped of this title after being found guilty of salary cap breaches.
The 2009 NRL season was the 102nd season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the twelfth run by the National Rugby League. For the third consecutive year, sixteen teams competed for the 2009 Telstra Premiership title. The season commenced with the first match played on 13 March and ended with the Grand Final, played on 4 October. The Grand Final was won by the Melbourne Storm in their fourth consecutive grand final appearance. However, they were stripped of their Premiership on 22 April 2010 after they were found to be guilty of breaching the league's salary cap.
The 2009 Parramatta Eels season was the 63rd in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2009 Telstra Premiership, just making the finals by finishing 8th. The Eels then continued their winning streak into the play-offs, reaching the 2009 NRL grand final which they lost to the Melbourne Storm.
The 2009 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the NRL's 2009 Telstra Premiership season. Played on 4 October 2009 at Sydney's ANZ Stadium was contested between the Parramatta Eels and the Melbourne Storm, the latter competing in their 4th grand final in a row. That was later stripped from them for breaking the salary cap rule. It was also the first Grand Final to feature the two referee system, with Shayne Hayne and Tony Archer being the first referees to jointly officiate in an NRL Grand Final.
The 2012 Parramatta Eels season is the 66th in the club's history. Coached by Stephen Kearney and captained by Nathan Hindmarsh, they competed in the NRL's 2012 Telstra Premiership. Parramatta finished the regular season in last place for the first time since 1972, also failing to make the finals for the third consecutive year.
The 2011 Parramatta Eels season is the 65th in the club's history. Coached by Stephen Kearney and captained by Nathan Hindmarsh, they competed in the NRL's 2011 Telstra Premiership. The Eels finished the regular season in 14th place, failing to make the finals for the second consecutive year.
The 2010 Parramatta Eels season is the 64th in the club's history. Coached by Daniel Anderson and captained by Nathan Cayless and Nathan Hindmarsh, they competed in the NRL's 2010 Telstra Premiership. The Parramatta club finished the regular season in 12th place failing to make the finals for the first time in two years.
The 1999 Parramatta Eels season was the 53rd in the club's history. Coached by Brian Smith and captained by Jarrod McCracken and Nathan Cayless, they competed in the National Rugby League's 1999 Telstra Premiership.
The 2000 Parramatta Eels season was the 54th in the club's history. Coached by Brian Smith and captained by Nathan Cayless, they competed in the National Rugby League's 2000 Telstra Premiership.
The 2001 Parramatta Eels season was the 55th in the club's history. Coached by Brian Smith and captained by Nathan Cayless, they competed in the National Rugby League's 2001 Telstra Premiership, reaching the 2001 NRL Grand final.
The 2004 Parramatta Eels season was the 58th in the club's history. Coached by Brian Smith and captained by Nathan Cayless, they competed in the National Rugby League's 2004 Telstra Premiership.
The 2005 Parramatta Eels season was the 59th in the club's history. Coached by Brian Smith and captained by Nathan Cayless, they competed in the NRL's 2005 Telstra Premiership. The Eels finished the home and away season on top of the ladder to claim the minor premiership, but were knocked out in the preliminary final, going down 0–29 to the North Queensland Cowboys.
The 2006 Parramatta Eels season was the 60th in the club's history. Coached by Brian Smith and Jason Taylor and captained by Nathan Cayless, they competed in the NRL's 2006 Telstra Premiership.
The 2014 Parramatta Eels Season was the 68th in the club's history. Coached by Brad Arthur and captained by Jarryd Hayne and Tim Mannah, they competed in the NRL's 2014 Telstra Premiership. The Parramatta club finished the regular season 10th out of 16 teams, failing to make the play-offs.
The 2022 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2022 National Rugby League season in Australia. It was contested between the Penrith Panthers and the Parramatta Eels on Sunday the 2nd of October at Accor Stadium in Sydney. Penrith, who were both the defending premiers and minor premiers, won the match 28–12 to claim their fourth premiership title, and their first back-to-back premierships in the club's 56-year history. Panthers fullback Dylan Edwards was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal for being judged as the man of the match.
Brian Smith 
