2018 Parramatta Eels season

2018 Parramatta Eels season
NRL Rank	16th
Play-off result	DNQ
World Club Challenge	DNQ
2018 record	Wins: 6; draws: 0; losses: 18
Points scored	For: 374; against: 550
Team information
CEO	Bernie Gurr
Coach	Brad Arthur
Captain	Tim Mannah Beau Scott Clinton Gutherson
Stadium	ANZ Stadium (Capacity: 83,500) TIO Stadium (Capacity: 12,500)
Avg. attendance	11,175 (Home) 16,636 (Home & Away)
Agg. attendance	134,096 (Home) 199,633 (Home & Away)
High attendance	25,106 (24 March vs Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Round 3)
Top scorers
Tries	Jarryd Hayne (10)
Goals	Mitchell Moses (45)
Points	Mitchell Moses (106)
←  2017 List of seasons 2019  →

The 2018 Parramatta Eels season was the 72nd in the club's history. Coached by Brad Arthur and co-captained by Tim Mannah, Beau Scott and Clinton Gutherson, they finished the NRL's 2018 Telstra Premiership in last place, and did not qualify for the 2018 NRL Finals Series. ^[1]

Summary

For the 2018 season, Parramatta were predicted by many before the season to finish in the top 8 and challenge for the premiership. Those predictions were matched in the opening round of the season as Parramatta lead Penrith 14–0 early on but after a second half capitulation lost the game 24–14. In round 2, Parramatta were humiliated 54–0 by Manly at Brookvale Oval. Parramatta went on to lose the opening six games of the season before eventually winning their first game of the season defeating Manly 44–10 in round 7.

In round 8, Parramatta defeated Wests Tigers 24–22 to make it back to back victories for the club. The Eels then went on to lose the next five games in a row before eventually winning their third game of the season defeating North Queensland 20–14 in Darwin in which Jarryd Hayne returned from injury scoring two tries. The following weeks were filled with disappointment as the club came close to pulling off upset wins against top of the table St. George Illawarra only for the club to concede two tries in five minutes to lose 20–18 and South Sydney after leading 20–6 late into the game only for Souths to score late tries and win 26–20. In round 18, Parramatta lost 18–16 to Newcastle with the club being denied a last minute try after it was ruled winger Bevan French had put his foot over the sideline. The following week, Parramatta defeated arch rivals Canterbury 14–8 in what the media dubbed the "Spoon Bowl".

There were hopes that Parramatta could avoid the wooden spoon as going into the second last game of the season the club sat above North Queensland on the table due to for and against. In what was the retiring Jonathan Thurston's final home game, both clubs needed a win to avoid the wooden spoon. North Queensland won the match 44–6. In the final game of the season, Parramatta were defeated 44–10 by the Sydney Roosters ensuring that the club finished last and claimed their 14th wooden spoon and the Roosters claiming the minor premiership. Before the match, the Roosters needed to defeat Parramatta by 27 points to overtake Melbourne and finish first on the table. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

Standings

2018 NRL season v t e
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	B	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Sydney Roosters	24	16	0	8	1	542	361	+181	34
2	Melbourne Storm	24	16	0	8	1	536	363	+173	34
3	South Sydney Rabbitohs	24	16	0	8	1	582	437	+145	34
4	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	24	16	0	8	1	519	423	+96	34
5	Penrith Panthers	24	15	0	9	1	517	461	+56	32
6	Brisbane Broncos	24	15	0	9	1	556	500	+56	32
7	St. George Illawarra Dragons	24	15	0	9	1	519	472	+47	32
8	New Zealand Warriors	24	15	0	9	1	472	447	+25	32
9	Wests Tigers	24	12	0	12	1	377	460	−83	26
10	Canberra Raiders	24	10	0	14	1	563	540	+23	22
11	Newcastle Knights	24	9	0	15	1	414	607	−193	20
12	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	24	8	0	16	1	428	474	−46	18
13	North Queensland Cowboys	24	8	0	16	1	449	521	−72	18
14	Gold Coast Titans	24	8	0	16	1	472	582	−110	18
15	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	24	7	0	17	1	500	622	−122	16
16	Parramatta Eels	24	6	0	18	1	374	550	−176	14

Fixtures

Pre-season

Round	Home	Score	Away	Match Information
				Date and time (Local)	Venue	Attendance
1	Newcastle Knights	6 – 26	Parramatta Eels	Saturday, 24 February, 7:00 PM	Maitland No.1 Sportsground	6,526
Source: [5]

Home and away season

Main article: 2018 NRL season results

Round	Home	Score	Away	Match Information
				Date and time (Local)	Venue	Attendance
1	Penrith Panthers	24 – 14	Parramatta Eels	Sunday 11 March, 3:10pm	Panthers Stadium	21,506
2	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	54 – 0	Parramatta Eels	Sunday 18 March, 3:10pm	Lottoland	10,502
3	Parramatta Eels	4 – 14	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Saturday 24 March, 6:30pm	ANZ Stadium	25,106
4	Wests Tigers	30 – 20	Parramatta Eels	Monday 2 April, 4:00pm	ANZ Stadium	30,420
5	Parramatta Eels	6 – 12	Penrith Panthers	Sunday 8 April, 4:10pm	ANZ Stadium	10,061
6	Canberra Raiders	18 – 2	Parramatta Eels	Saturday 14 April, 7:30pm	GIO Stadium	12,328
7	Parramatta Eels	44 – 10	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	Sunday 22 April, 2:00pm	ANZ Stadium	11,069
8	Parramatta Eels	24 – 22	Wests Tigers	Sunday 29 April, 4:10pm	ANZ Stadium	17,555
9	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	22 – 20	Parramatta Eels	Saturday 5 May, 7:30pm	Southern Cross Group Stadium	12,073
10	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	20 – 12	Parramatta Eels	Friday 11 May, 7:50pm	ANZ Stadium	15,683
11	Parramatta Eels	14 – 24	New Zealand Warriors	Friday 18 May, 6:00pm	ANZ Stadium	9,467
12	Brisbane Broncos	18 – 10	Parramatta Eels	Thursday 24 May, 7:50pm	Suncorp Stadium	21,555
13	Parramatta Eels	4 – 30	Newcastle Knights	Saturday 2 June, 7:30pm	ANZ Stadium	7,719
14	Parramatta Eels	20 – 14	North Queensland Cowboys	Saturday 9 June, 7:30pm	TIO Stadium	8,393
15	Parramatta Eels	24 – 42	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Thursday 14 June, 7:50pm	ANZ Stadium	8,047
16	St George-Illawarra Dragons	20 – 18	Parramatta Eels	Thursday 28 June, 7:50pm	WIN Stadium	6,933
17	Bye Round
18	Newcastle Knights	18 – 16	Parramatta Eels	Friday 13 July, 7:50pm	McDonald Jones Stadium	15,860
19	Parramatta Eels	14 – 8	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	Thursday 19 Jul, 7:50pm	ANZ Stadium	8,437
20	South Sydney Rabbitohs	26 – 20	Parramatta Eels	Saturday 28 July, 5:30pm	ANZ Stadium	15,542
21	Parramatta Eels	28 – 12	Gold Coast Titans	Saturday 4 August, 5:30pm	ANZ Stadium	6,158
22	Parramatta Eels	40 – 4	St George-Illawarra Dragons	Saturday 11 August, 7:30pm	ANZ Stadium	10,541
23	Melbourne Storm	20 – 4	Parramatta Eels	Friday 17 August, 7:50pm	AAMI Park	12,136
24	North Queensland Cowboys	44 – 6	Parramatta Eels	Friday 24 August. 7:50pm	1300SMILES Stadium	25,095
25	Parramatta Eels	10 – 44	Sydney Roosters	Saturday 1 September, 7:30pm	ANZ Stadium	11,543
Source: [6]

Players and staff

The playing squad and coaching staff of the Parramatta Eels for the 2018 NRL season as of 16 July 2018. ^[7]

Parramatta Eels

First team squad						Extended squad		Coaching staff
Daniel Alvaro – PR, LK Dane Aukafolau – CE, WG Kirisome Auva'a – WG, CE Nathan Brown – LK, PR Nathan Davis – WG, CE Kane Evans – PR Bevan French – FB, WG David Gower – SR, PR Clinton Gutherson (c) – FB, WG, FE Jarryd Hayne – FB, WG, CE Josh Hoffman – FB, WG, CE		George Jennings – WG, CE Michael Jennings – CE Cameron King – HK Greg Leleisiuao – WG, CE Reed Mahoney – HK Tim Mannah (c) – PR Suaia Matagi – PR, LK Manu Ma’u – SR, CE Tepai Moeroa – SR, LK Mitchell Moses – HB, FE Marata Niukore – SR, CE		Corey Norman – FE, FB Kaysa Pritchard – HK Jaeman Salmon – FE Beau Scott (c) – SR, LK Will Smith – FB, FE Ray Stone – LK, SR Brad Takairangi – CE, SR Peni Terepo – PR, LK Siosaia Vave – PR Tony Williams – SR		Oregon Kaufusi – PR, LK		Head coach Brad Arthur Assistant coaches Steve Murphy Joey Grima David Kidwell Nathan Cayless (ISP NSW coach) Dean Feeney (Jersey Flegg coach) Legend: (c) Captain(s) (vc) Vice-captain(s) Updated: 16 July 2018 Source(s): Eels Team Profiles

Transfers

In:

Nat.	Pos.	Name	From	Transfer window	Date	Ref.
	PR	Kane Evans	Sydney Roosters	Pre-season	May 2017	[8]
	HB	Jaeman Salmon	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Pre-season	November 2017	[9]
	SR	Tony Williams	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Pre-season	November 2017	[10]
	LK	Ray Stone	Youth	Pre-season	November 2017
	HK	Reed Mahoney	Youth	Pre-season	November 2017
	CE	Dane Aukafolau	Youth	Pre-season	November 2017
	WG	Greg Leleisiuao	Youth	Pre-season	November 2017
	FB	Jarryd Hayne	Gold Coast Titans	Pre-season	December 2017	[11]

Out:

Nat.	Pos.	Name	To	Transfer window	Date	Ref.
	WG	Semi Radradra	RC Toulonnais (rugby union)	Pre-season	January 2017	[12]
	HK	Isaac De Gois	Retired	Pre-season	August 2017	[13]
	HB	Jeff Robson	Retired	Pre-season	August 2017	[13]
	WG	John Folau	Blacktown Workers	Pre-season	November 2017
	SR	Jack Morris	Wentworthville Magpies	Pre-season	November 2017
	SR	Cody Nelson	Blacktown Workers	Pre-season	November 2017
	PR	Rory O'Brien	Released	Pre-season	November 2017
	WG	Scott Schulte	Redcliffe Dolphins	Pre-season	November 2017
	WG	Honeti Tuha	Blacktown Workers	Pre-season	November 2017
	SR	Joseph Ualesi	Released	Pre-season	November 2017
	LK	Matthew Woods	Wentworthville Magpies	Pre-season	November 2017
	HB	Troy Dargan	Brisbane Broncos	Pre-season	December 2017	[14]
	PR	Frank Pritchard	Retired	Pre-season	January 2018	[15]
	SR	Kenny Edwards	Catalans Dragons	Mid-season	May 2018	[16]

Controversies

Tony Williams drink driving

On 14 February 2018, Tony Williams was fined $1,000, had his driver’s licence suspended for 12 months, and was placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond after appearing in Parramatta local court for mid-range drink driving. Williams had insisted on driving home when his wife came to pick him up after a birthday celebration at the Albion Hotel in Parramatta on 16 December 2016. His three young children were in the car at the time. His driving was so erratic that members of the public called the police, who discovered Williams had a blood alcohol level of 0.122. "Shame on you, Mr Williams," Magistrate Jennifer Giles said at sentencing. She said the "community does not feel safe with you with a licence; you are exceptionally lucky you did not hurt or kill someone, or yourself." ^[17] Williams also has handed a 2-week suspension by the club. ^[18]

Corey Norman drinking fine

In May 2018, Corey Norman was handed a breach notice by Parramatta and fined $20,000 for drinking alcohol and posting pictures of himself drinking on Instagram despite being on the injured list which is against team protocols. Norman reacted to the fine saying "I take full responsibility, I'll cop it on the chin". ^[19]

Kenny Edwards contract termination

On May 19, 2018, Edwards' contract with the club was terminated by mutual agreement as the player had been caught by police driving on a suspended licence. Edwards was alleged to have fled from police after trying to avoid a roadside breath test. Edwards subsequently failed to notify Parramatta of the incident for two weeks after it happened. Parramatta released a statement saying "Today, Kenny Edwards through his management company, request a release from his playing contract with Parramatta National Rugby League Club Pty Limited, this release was granted by the club effective immediately". ^[20]

Tony Williams and Nathan Davis failed drug test

On September 25, Davis and Williams were both terminated by Parramatta after failing a second drugs test. Both players were found guilty of testing positive for cocaine. As punishment, the NRL handed down a 12 match suspension and a fine to Davis and Williams. ^[21]

References

1. Brunsdon, Simon (3 September 2018). "Parramatta Eels season 2018 review: Peter Sterling's biggest fear after horror campaign". foxsports.com.au. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
2. "Parramatta Eels NRL 2018: Season review, Brad Arthur, Jarryd Hayne". 3 September 2018.
3. "Expert predictions for NRL top eight in 2018". National Rugby League. 2 March 2018.
4. "Dragons edge out Eels in dramatic NRL comeback". www.abc.net.au. 28 June 2018.
5. "Eels secure trial victory over Knights". parraeels.com.au. 24 February 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-07-13. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
6. "NRL 2018 – Parramatta Eels". Rugby League Project. Archived from the original on 2018-09-08.
7. "Teams".
8. "Parramatta Eels sign Kane Evans – Zero Tackle". zerotackle.com. 4 May 2017. Archived from the original on 2018-06-22. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
9. "Parramatta Eels welcome four new recruits to 2018 squad – Zero Tackle". zerotackle.com. 8 November 2017. Archived from the original on 2018-07-13. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
10. "Eels sign Tony Williams ahead of 2018 season – Zero Tackle". zerotackle.com. 17 November 2017. Archived from the original on 2018-06-22. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
11. "Jarryd Hayne signs with Parramatta – Zero Tackle". zerotackle.com. 1 December 2017. Archived from the original on 2018-06-22. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
12. "Semi Radradra manager confirms future". parraeels.com.au. 11 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2018-07-13. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
13. "Eels pay tribute to retiring De Gois and Robson". nrl.com. 28 August 2017. Archived from the original on 2018-07-13. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
14. "Dargan Seeks His Chance At Broncos". broncos.com.au. 8 December 2017. Archived from the original on 2018-08-15. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
15. "Frank Pritchard ends NRL career". nrl.com. 6 January 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-07-13. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
16. "Eels release Kenny Edwards effective immediately". parraeels.com.au. 19 May 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-07-05. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
17. David Sigston (14 February 2018). "Judge scolds NRL star: 'Shame on you'". Archived from the original on 2018-03-18. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
18. "Parramatta Eels forward Tony Williams banned for two NRL games". 14 February 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-03-18. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
19. "Corey Norman Parramatta Eels NRL 2018: Star reacts to drinking fine – Fox Sports". www.foxsports.com.au. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
20. "NRL 2018: Kenny Edwards granted immediate release from Parramatta Eels". The Courier Mail. 19 May 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
21. "Williams sacked by the Eels after failing drug test". ABC News. 25 September 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-09-27. Retrieved 2018-11-18.