March
The Eels started off the season with a trip to AAMI Park against the Melbourne Storm, who had won the past 22 round 1 games in a row. [5] Isaiah Iongi, Zac Lomax, Ronald Volkman, Jack Williams, Ryley Smith and Sam Tuivaiti all made their debuts, where Volkman replaced Mitchell Moses who sustained his foot injury. The Eels had a poor start to the game and were dominated by the Storm, conceding 8 tries by half-time and found themselves trailing 46–6. [5] In the second half, Parramatta grabbed a couple of tries thanks to Will Penisini and Iongi, ended the game with a loss of 56–18 and were ranked bottom of the table. [5]
In the second game, the Eels faced the Wests Tigers at home, under the 37 degrees heat at kick-off. [6] Jordan Samrani and Kitione Kautoga both made their debuts following their transfers from the Bulldogs. Both teams had chances but could not find a way through in the first 25 minutes, then Parramatta conceded three tries afterwards up until half-time. [6] Three more tries were scored by the Tigers in the second half, where winger Sunia Turuva scored his second and third tries to complete a hat-trick. The Eels could not find a way through until the 79th minute, when winger Sean Russell scored a try to avoid blanking on points, ending with a score of 6–32. [6]
Parramatta then hosted local rivals Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at CommBank Stadium. Dean Hawkins replaced Volkman at halfback on his club debut, whereas winger Josh Addo-Carr scored a try on debut against his former club. [7] The Eels conceded three tries and scored one in the first half through Penisini, and an early try by Addo-Carr in the second half had the Eels regain momentum. [7] Parramatta built up pressure and came close to scoring, but errors had stopped them from a second-half comeback. The Eels then conceded a late penalty inside their half, Stephen Crichton converted it and ended the match 8–16. [7]
The Eels were up against the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles at 4 Pines Park in their final game in March. Joe Ofahengaue played his milestone 200th NRL game, scoring a try in the second half. [8] Both team had chances in the first half, but the Sea Eagles came out on top and had a 12–0 lead. The second half saw Manly extending their lead to 14 points, but Ofahengaue's try would bring the Eels back temporarily. [8] That was until Manly scored two tries and sealing the win, but Shaun Lane grabbed a consolation try in the last minute, adding to the final score of 26–12, which would see the Eels end the month at bottom of the table. [8]
April
Parramatta started April with a home game against the St. George Illawarra Dragons. Lomax converted an early penalty to give the Eels a 2-point lead, which was cancelled out by a try from the returning Gutherson to his old ground. [9] Dylan Walker made his debut off the bench, then the Eels found an equaliser from winger Addo-Carr, but Gutherson later provided an assist and scored his second try for the Dragons. After being down at 8–20, Parramatta scored two consecutive tries from Iongi and Kautoga to level the score. [9] Late penalties converted from both sides would end the game 22–22 at normal time, as Lomax stepped up to score a field goal in golden point following an error from the Dragons, to seal Parramatta's first win of the season. [9]
Jason Ryles 
