2000s
The Eels reached the 2001 NRL Grand final after a dominant regular season, where they scored a total of 839 points and lost only 4 matches, but were defeated by the Newcastle Knights 30–24. The week leading up to the grand final itself is also remembered for The infamous 2001 grand final breakfast where coach Brian Smith and the Parramatta players attended wearing as Newcastle player Mark Hughes described "Miami Vice black suits". Another Newcastle player Ben Kennedy reflected on the game saying "They came into the game under a sh*tload of pressure but for us, it was just a good time and a heap of fun. Parra were sh*tting themselves and we were just having a good time". Andrew Johns also reportedly could tell how nervous the Parramatta players were and knew they had a chance at making an upset. [21] [22] [23]
In 2005, Parramatta finished as minor premiers in the regular season and came up against North Queensland in the preliminary final. In a game that Parramatta were expected to win, North Queensland defied the odds and won the match 29–0. [24] In 2006, Parramatta finished 8th in the regular season and faced Melbourne in the first week of the finals losing 12–6 and thus being eliminated from the competition. In 2007, Parramatta again made the preliminary final and once more the opponent was Melbourne. Parramatta went on to lose the match 26–10. This was their 5th preliminary final loss in nine years. [25]
In 2009, under new coach Daniel Anderson, the Eels had an indifferent start to the season which saw the release of star halfback Brett Finch. After 18 rounds and incredibly inconsistent form, the Parramatta Eels had won only 5 games and were sitting third-last and were in direct contention for the dreaded 2009 NRL Wooden Spoon. TAB SportsBet had the Eels as $151 outsiders to win the NRL Premiership.
Though beginning in Round 19, upset victories against the Melbourne Storm and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs set the platform for an unexpected 10 wins from the next 11 games, which propelled the Eels into the Top 8 and consequently, premiership contention. This unanticipated winning streak was directly attributed by many sporting experts including Rugby League legend Andrew Johns to the spectacular run of form of star fullback Jarryd Hayne. Winning the award for man-of-the-match in every game from Round 19–24, and again in the first week of the finals, Hayne was described as "the best player in any code of football in Australia" by premiership-winning coach Phil Gould. Following his astonishing string of 7-man-of-the-match performances, Hayne won the award for Dally M Fullback of the Year and was crowned the best and fairest player in the game, winning the Dally M Medal for 2009.
After a 7-game winning streak, the Eels succumbed to a heavy defeat by the minor premiers St George-Illawarra Dragons, however they returned to Kogarah in Week 1 of the 2009 NRL Finals Series and defeated the Dragons 25–12 featuring an impressive late game try by Dally M medal winner Jarryd Hayne. Following successive wins against the Gold Coast Titans (a team that Parramatta had never beaten before), 27–2 at SFS and Canterbury-Bankstown, 22–12 in front of a record-breaking non-grand final crowd of 74,549 at ANZ stadium, the Eels qualified for their first grand final since 2001. On 4 October 2009, Parramatta Eels played the deciding game of NRL, against the Melbourne Storm at ANZ Stadium in front of a crowd of 82,538. [26] The Melbourne Storm defeated the Eels 23–16, ending what critics called "the Parramatta Fairytale" and winning the NRL Premiership. [26] Such was the euphoria at the time with Parramatta making an incredible run to the 2009 grand final that the then NSW Premier Nathan Rees pledged that if Parramatta were to win the premiership he would rename two of the new trains due to be rolled out across The Sydney network the following year. The names of the new trains were to be "The Hayne Train" and "The Fuifui Moimoi Express". They were to be painted blue and gold, and run along the western line of the railway network. [27]
2010s
On 22 April 2010, the Melbourne Storm were stripped of the premiership as a result of long-term gross salary cap breaches disclosed by the NRL. However, the premiership for 2009 was not handed over to the Parramatta Eels, instead remaining vacant.
In 2010, the Parramatta club were picked at the beginning of the year by many leading betting agencies to take out the premiership for 2010 following their surge of form which took them to the grand final in 2009. But, after a relatively poor start to the season, and then a 4-game winning streak, the Parramatta side once again returned to the inconsistent form of past seasons. This inconsistent form, recognised by all Rugby League fans, saw them miss out on the Top 8 in 2010.
After a season of unrelenting disappointment which saw five-eighth Daniel Mortimer dropped to reserve grade, centre Timana Tahu being suspended for an on-field confrontation against the Newcastle Knights and reports of player rifts, Daniel Anderson was sacked unceremoniously as Parramatta coach and replaced by New Zealand World Cup-winning coach Stephen Kearney.
The Parramatta club made several new player signings for the 2011 season. In the forwards, the Eels added former Queensland centre Carl Webb and former Bulldogs and Cronulla as well as one-time Kangaroo Reni Maitua. To bolster the backs after the retirement of Eric Grothe Jr and the departure of Timana Tahu, the Eels signed the experienced pair of Chris Walker and Chris Hicks.
The 2011 season was to be considered a year of "almosts" for Parramatta, with the team losing over half of their matches by four points or fewer, many of which were conceded after attaining leads over their opponents. Parramatta pushed a record four games into Golden Point during the season, however were unable to win any, resulting in a draw against the St. George Illawarra Dragons and one-point losses to the Penrith Panthers, Sydney Roosters and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
Throughout the 2011 season, coach Stephen Kearney motioned several reshuffles of the Parramatta side, the most high-profile change being fullback Jarryd Hayne's switch to five-eighth after his ball-playing abilities were considered by several experts including the NSW State of Origin coach Ricky Stuart, as his strongest point. Other switches include the moving of Luke Burt to fullback, second-rower Ben Smith to right centre, and the resting of five-eighth Daniel Mortimer.
Before the final match of their season, Parramatta had won only five of their 24 games and were in contention for the dreaded wooden spoon. During their final match, the Parramatta side emerged victorious over the Gold Coast Titans who were also direct contenders for last place. The wooden spoon was awarded to the Gold Coast side, finishing 16th on the NRL ladder, the club finishing in 14th position.
The 2012 season saw the retirement of Parramatta legends Luke Burt and Nathan Hindmarsh. It would also mark the first time since 1972 that the team would succumb to the dreaded wooden spoon. Parramatta struggled all year, securing just their first win of the season in Round 5 against defending premiers Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles before ending a six-game losing streak against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. This horror start to the season, and a win rate of less than 25% over almost two seasons with the club, coach Stephen Kearney was forced to resign and Assistant Coach Brad Arthur would become caretaker. The team responded to this producing 3 wins from 4 games, including competition front-runners Melbourne Storm and Brisbane Broncos to give the fans some hope for the rest of the season. However this was short lived and following a 38-6 thumping to the South Sydney Rabbitohs in Round 25 of the Telstra Premiership were officially unable to avoid the wooden spoon.
Whilst Parramatta's problems in 2012 were largely attributed to their relatively poor defence, numerous pundits blamed them on the recurring absences of star fullback Jarryd Hayne. Even whilst producing higher per-match statistics than any other fullback in the game (8 tries, 14 try-assists), Hayne only managed to complete 10 games from the season's 24, due to both injury and State of Origin duty.
Throughout the season many of the Parramatta players came under scrutiny and were dropped to the NSW Cup, including high-profile recruit Chris Sandow, who at the time was touted as overweight and unfit, [28] and veteran Luke Burt. As a result, players Matt Ryan, Jake Mullaney and Nathan Smith were called up to the top squad and have impressed in their roles of Second-Row, Fullback and Hooker respectively, making a suitable replacement for injured stars Jarryd Hayne and Matt Keating.
Towards the end of the season Ricky Stuart was announced as the new coach for the Parramatta Eels from 2013. [29] In June 2013, head coach Ricky Stuart told twelve Parramatta players via an overhead projector that their services would not be required beyond the 2013 season. [30]
Another wooden spoon followed at the end of 2013, with the club suffering their second biggest loss ever (4–64 to Melbourne in round 24), and conceding three other scores of 50 or more. On 12 September 2013, it was announced Ricky Stuart would leave Parramatta to take up the head coaching role at Canberra for the 2014 season.
Parramatta were determined to continue their rebuilding process in the off-season after receiving the wooden spoon two years running. The club did this by releasing the aforementioned twelve players and signing more in key areas to help them achieve success in the 2014 season. [31]
Parramatta also recruited a new coach in Brad Arthur, formerly an Assistant Coach at the club, as Ricky Stuart reneged on the final two years of his contract. This was in order to return to his hometown of Canberra, the team he played for during his youth. Before the 2014 season started, Brad Arthur and Parramatta implemented a new recruitment policy and made strong signings including future NSW hooker Nathan Peats, promising star Corey Norman and William Hopoate who was a 2011 premiership winner and NSW representative before leaving rugby league to join a two-year Mormon mission. [32]
The 2014 season started off in great style as Parramatta won four out of their first six matches. Parramatta then went into their Easter Monday clash at Stadium Australia sitting 5th on the ladder but lost the match controversially 21–18 in front of 50,000 fans. In round 24 Parramatta were sitting 8th on the ladder and looked destined to play in the finals for the first time since 2009 and only needed to win one of their last two remaining games against sides lower than them on the table which were Canberra and Newcastle. Parramatta lost both matches and missed out on the finals series by two competition points. [33] [34]
The 2015 season was a year to forget for Parramatta as they finished 12th on the table. The highlights being in round 1 when Parramatta defeated Manly 42–12 and Semi Radradra scoring 24 tries in 18 matches. [35]
2016 salary cap breach
The discovery by the NRL in 2016 of salary cap breaches, over a period of four years, resulted in it stripping the Parramatta club of the twelve competition points the club has accrued so far in the 2016 NRL season. In addition to being fined $1 million, Parramatta also had its 2016 NRL Auckland Nines title revoked. On 19 July 2016 the Parramatta Leagues Club board was sacked by the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority, and an administrator appointed. This effectively also removed the Parramatta board as the seven directors on both boards were the same people. Max Donnelly, of Ferrier Hodgson was appointed as administrator. At the time of the 12-point deduction, Parramatta were sitting 5th on the ladder but then found themselves at 14th position.
Prior to the start of the 2016 NRL season, the Parramatta Eels faced the prospect with starting the season on -4 points due to salary cap indiscretions in 2015, however the NRL was satisfied with governance changes at the Eels and no points were deducted. [36]
However, it was revealed in March that third-party payments had been made by several companies to several players, which is strictly prohibited in the NRL. [37]
On 3 May 2016, NRL CEO Todd Greenberg announced that the club would be docked the twelve competition points they have accrued so far this season, as well as fined $1 million and stripped of the 2016 NRL Auckland Nines title it won in February. [38] In addition, the NRL also announced that the Eels would not be able to accrue any further competition points until they fall under the salary cap, which they were reported to be $500,000 over as of 3 May 2016. [39] Five officials, including chairman Steve Sharp, deputy chairman Tom Issa, director Peter Serrao, chief executive John Boulous and football manager Daniel Anderson, were also sacked. [40]
On 9 July, after over 2 months of club officials contesting the preliminary penalties, Parramatta were handed their punishment with the addition of their for/against points tally accumulated from rounds 1-9 being deducted. [41]
The main point of interest in this episode was the manner of the punishment when compared to the Melbourne Storm salary cap breach in 2010, while the Melbourne Storm were not allowed to play for points for the whole season the Parramatta Eels were permitted to play for points as soon as they fell back in line with the cap. [39] It was acknowledged that this change was made due to the demoralising nature of the Storm punishment and having to witness a team running out week after week with nothing to play for. [42]
The aftermath ended with Parramatta hooker Nathan Peats being squeezed out of the club, so the club would be just under the salary cap and start playing for competition points for the remainder of the season. Though this did very little for the troubled club finishing the NRL season 13th on the ladder winning only six of their last 14 matches.
Their first match played after the points deduction was against South Sydney at Parramatta Stadium, Parramatta lost the match 22–20 in a close game. 2016 would also prove to be the final year that Parramatta would play at Parramatta Stadium as it was due to be demolished at seasons end to make way for a new 30,000-seat stadium. The final home game played at Parramatta Stadium was against The St. George in front of 13,553 spectators. Parramatta went on to beat St. George 30–18. Parramatta's final game of 2016 saw them travel to New Zealand to play The Auckland Warriors. Parramatta won the match 40–18 with Bevan French scoring 3 tries. At the end of the season, Parramatta finished in 14th place on the ladder but had they not been stripped of the 12 competition points they would have played in the finals. [43] [44] [45] The 2016 season was also difficult for Parramatta as to become salary cap compliant the club needed to release players such as Nathan Peats and Junior Paulo to be able to play for points. Star recruit Kieran Foran who signed only months earlier on a $1 million a year contract also walked out on the club mid-season due to numerous personal problems and off field issues. [46]
The 2017 season saw a major turnaround for the club with Parramatta finishing fourth on the table and making the finals for the first time since 2009. Some of the highlights throughout the year were the club winning nine out of their final ten matches and defeating Brisbane twice including a 52–34 win at Suncorp Stadium and eventual premiers Melbourne. [47] [48] Parramatta then went on to play premiership favorites Melbourne in the first qualifying final, going into the second half Parramatta had stunned everyone by leading the match and it took Melbourne the last play of the game to hold on and win 18–16. [49] The following week, Parramatta played against North Queensland in the sudden death elimination final. Parramatta led 10–6 at halftime but went on to lose the match 24–16 in what would be one of the biggest upsets of the season. [50]
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 6 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 24–22 to make it back to back victories for the club. The Eels then went on to lose the next 5 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 only for the club to concede two tries in 5 minutes to lose 20–18 and South Sydney after leading 20–6 late into the game only for The Rabbitohs to score late tries and win 26–20. In Round 18, Parramatta lost 18–16 to Newcastle with The Eels 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. [51] [52] [53]
Before the start of the 2019 NRL season, Parramatta were predicted by many to finish towards the bottom of the table or claim another wooden spoon. The club started off the year with back to back victories over Penrith and arch rivals Canterbury-Bankstown. In Round 6 of the 2019 NRL season, Parramatta played their first game at the new Western Sydney Stadium against the Wests Tigers and ran out 51–6 winners in front of a sold-out crowd. [54] [55]
In Round 9 against Melbourne, Parramatta suffered one of their worst ever defeats losing 64–10 at Suncorp Stadium. In the aftermath of the defeat, coach Brad Arthur and the players were placed under intense scrutiny but just a week after the loss, Arthur was given a two-year contract extension by the Parramatta board. The club would then go on to lose against North Queensland and last placed Penrith in the coming weeks. [56] [57]
Between Round 12 and Round 22 of the 2019 season, Parramatta would go on to win 8 of their 10 games. In Round 22 against the Gold Coast Titans, Parramatta qualified for the 2019 finals series with a 36–12 victory at Cbus Super Stadium. [58]
At the end of the 2019 regular season, Parramatta finished 5th on the table and qualified for the finals. In the elimination final against Brisbane, Parramatta won the match 58–0 at the new Western Sydney Stadium. The victory was the biggest finals win in history, eclipsing Newtown's 55–7 win over St George in 1944. The match was also Parramatta's biggest win over Brisbane and Brisbane's worst ever loss since entering the competition in 1988. [59] The following week against Melbourne in the elimination semi final, Parramatta were defeated 32–0 at AAMI Park which ended their season. The loss against Melbourne was also the sixth time Parramatta had been defeated by Melbourne in a finals game since 1999. [60]
2020s
At the start of the 2020 NRL season, Parramatta won their first five matches in a row which put them at the top of the table. It was the club's best start to a season since 1989. [61] At the end of the 2020 regular season, Parramatta finished in third place on the table and secured a top four spot. It was the club's highest finish on the table since 2005. [62] In the qualifying final, Parramatta lead Melbourne 12–0 early on before losing the match 36–24 at Suncorp Stadium. The following week in the elimination final, Parramatta played against South Sydney for the first time in a finals game since 1965. Parramatta lead the match 18–8 before a second half capitulation saw them lose 38–24 ending their season. [63] [64]
Parramatta started the 2021 NRL season with four consecutive victories before losing to St. George Illawarra in round 5. They then won the next five matches in a row to sit second on the competition ladder after ten rounds. [65] [66] By round 18, the club sat entrenched within the top four of the competition with a six-point gap ahead of the fifth and sixth placed Sydney Roosters and Manly-Warringah. The club then suffered an end of season slump losing to Canberra, an understrength Sydney Roosters side 28–0 and then two heavy defeats against South Sydney and Manly. Parramatta recovered to defeat North Queensland and then pulled off one of the upsets in 2021, defeating Melbourne 22–10 which ended their 19-game winning streak. Parramatta would end the 2021 regular season in sixth place. In week one against Newcastle in the elimination final, Parramatta won a close match 28–20. The following week, Parramatta lost 8–6 in the lowest scoring match of the year against Penrith in the second week of the finals which ended their season. [67] [68] [69]
Parramatta started the 2022 NRL season winning four of their opening five matches. Throughout the 2022 regular season, Parramatta struggled with consistency. Although they defeated Penrith and Melbourne twice, the club only managed to win more than three games consecutively on two separate occasions and lost to eventual wooden spooners the Wests Tigers in round 6 of the competition. In round 14, Parramatta suffered an embarrassing 34–4 loss against arch-rivals Canterbury who were sitting bottom of the table. In round 22, Parramatta were defeated 26-0 by South Sydney which saw them fall to seventh on the table. However, Parramatta would win their final three games in convincing fashion to finish fourth. In week one of the finals, Parramatta were defeated 27–8 by Penrith before bouncing back the following week against Canberra in the elimination final 40–4 to reach their first preliminary final since 2009. In the preliminary final, Parramatta pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the NRL era defeating North Queensland 24–20 in Townsville to reach the grand final. In the 2022 NRL Grand Final against Penrith, Parramatta trailed 18–0 at half-time before going on to lose 28–12. [70] [71] [72]
Parramatta started the 2023 NRL season with three straight losses, all of which were by four points. In round 1, the club lost in golden point extra-time to Melbourne, followed by a four-point loss to Cronulla and then another defeat against Manly at Brookvale Oval. In round 4, Parramatta defeated back to back premiers Penrith 17–16 in golden point extra-time with Mitchell Moses kicking the winning field goal. [73] Between rounds 12–17, Parramatta recorded five straight victories including an upset victory over South Sydney in round 12. In round 17, the club recorded their highest ever first half score in a game as they lead the Dolphins 42–4 at half-time before going on to win 48–20. The victory elevated the club up to fifth place on the table. [74] In round 19, Parramatta suffered their biggest loss of the year losing 46–10 against the New Zealand Warriors with a number of key players missing due to injury and State of Origin selection. All of Parramatta's previous losses in the season were by ten points or less. [75] Following their loss to New Zealand, the club suffered a form slump only winning two of their next six matches which included heavy losses to Melbourne and Brisbane. Parramatta's season was officially ended in round 25 when they lost against the Sydney Roosters 34-12 which meant the club could not make the finals. [76] The following week, Parramatta pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the 2023 season defeating Penrith 32–18. Parramatta would miss out on the top 8 by two points with an eventual finish of 10th place. [77]
Parramatta started the 2024 NRL season with a 26-8 victory over arch-rivals Canterbury. Following the clubs round 3 victory over Manly, Parramatta were dealt a huge blow with halfback Mitchell Moses suffering a foot injury which ruled him on indefinitely. In round 4, the club would succumb to an embarrassing defeat against the Wests Tigers who had finished the previous two seasons with the Wooden Spoon. Captain Clint Gutherson had a penalty goal attempt after the full-time siren to win the game which he missed with Wests winning 17-16. In round 7, Parramatta were beaten 44-16 by the Dolphins at TIO Stadium in Darwin. The Dolphins had seven starting players ruled out of the game with injury and head coach Wayne Bennett was also missing due to illness. The score was in favour of Parramatta 8-4 at half-time, however in the second half the club would capitulate conceding eight tries in under 25 minutes. [78] [79] [80] Following the clubs 48-16 loss against Melbourne at Magic Round, head coach Brad Arthur was terminated by Parramatta ending his ten-year tenure in charge. Trent Barrett was named as the clubs interim head coach for the rest of the 2024 season. [81] On the same day it was reported that Parramatta had been in talks with Wayne Bennett to become the new head coach whilst Arthur was still in charge but Bennett opted to sign a three-year deal with South Sydney. [82] In round 12 of the 2024 NRL season, Parramatta suffered one of their most embarrassing losses in recent times losing 42-26 against South Sydney who were bottom of the table and only had one win to their name prior to the match. Souths also had eight first team players out and had lost their previous six games in a row. [83] On 8 July 2024, the club announced that Jason Ryles would be appointed as the new head coach of the side on a four-year deal starting in 2025. [84] The club would manage to avoid the wooden spoon in the final game of the regular season after defeating the Wests Tigers 60-26 in the "Spoon Bowl" game. Due to other results going their way, Parramatta would finish 15th on the table. [85]
Current season 
