From getting hammered 52-4 by Melbourne in Round 1 to copping an injury ward of horrific proportions, this season is fast turning into a nightmare for the Eels.
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It was billed as a potential top-four run. Coach Jason Ryles would nurture the green shoots of his rookie season, while boom recruit Jonah Pezet would deliver a brilliant one-year cameo alongside superstar halfback Mitchell Moses.
The dream has sunk to the bottom of Parramatta River in six rounds.
The Eels are 2-4, leading only the winless Dragons on the ladder.
And through no fault of their own, there may be limited scope to resurrect the campaign – which poses an awkward question over Pezet, and perhaps Moses.
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Ryles “Not gonna blame injuries” | 05:27
RYLES’ ROUGH SECOND YEAR MAKING UNWANTED HISTORY
Jason Ryles was long considered a head coach in waiting before finally settling on the Parramatta job. The Eels finished 11th in his rookie season, with a 10-14 record in a campaign that copped plenty of unwanted noise from Dylan Brown’s $13 million defection to Newcastle.
More on that later.
The upside seemed clear, especially with the emergence of Isaiah Iongi as a potential superstar at fullback; a Ryles masterstroke, after he made the tough call to move on captain Clint Gutherson in favour of younger, faster legs.
But the nagging concern: Parramatta can’t defend.
Ryles is an acknowledged defensive guru yet his team ranked 10th for points-against last season, before slumping to dead last this year with a 44-point deficit to second-last. They have leaked 226 points in six games; 37.7 per game, the equivalent of rugby league insolvency.
It is the leakiest start in Parramatta’s history, and the third-most points conceded by any side through the first six matches of a season in the NRL era (since 1998). The Eels are at risk of posting their worst-ever defensive season, surpassing the 31.4 points per game they conceded in 1995.
The coach was alarmed by his players’ lack of hunger as they were destroyed 52-10 at home by the lowly Titans on Sunday. Defence is largely attitude-based and should not be at the whim of which players are available.
It’s a massive problem to fix. The consensus says that Ryles is the man to do it – though the timelines on success for the Eels have blown out.
“I think within 12-18 months they’ll be where they want to be. I wouldn’t be giving up on them right now,” Braith Anasta, former Test half and Pezet’s agent, said on NRL 360.
“I think Rylesy is a great coach and I still have promise for them. Obviously this year will be hard now and they still have these long-term injuries, so they’re behind the eight ball this season but don’t give up on them.”
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AN INSURMOUNTABLE INJURY WARD
Never mind premierships; which for the Eels, has been a painful 40-year state of being. You need luck with injuries just to survive in the NRL, and Parramatta’s luck has gone directly to hell this season.
This is the current casualty ward.
J’maine Hopgood, ACL, next season; Matt Doorey, ACL, next season; Bailey Simonsson, ankle, TBC; Isaiah Iongi, syndesmosis, Round 13; Jonah Pezet, hamstring, Round 13; Apa Twidle, AC joint, Round 15; Jordan Samrani, knee, Round 13; Richard Penisini, knee, Round 8; Kitione Kautoga, MCL, Round 13; Sam Tuivaiti, HIA, TBC; Kelma Tuilagi, HIA, Round 8; Lincoln Fletcher, hamstring, Round 13.
Half the forward pack, half the spine, and the bright new hope cruelly snuffed out in Apa Twidle.
There’s some glass-half-full situations, like more responsibility for young prop Luca Moretti, but plenty of others where the drinking vessel is three-quarters empty. No Eels fan was anticipating playing a Round 7 game with Joash Papalii at fullback and Ronald Volkman at five-eighth.
Ryles isn’t blaming injuries for the downturn but at the same time, he’s addressed it as a glaring talking point. It’s a slippery slope as to how much the players buy into the easy excuse.
“That’s what you don’t want. You do not want players walking and having the excuse that you’re down on troops,” former premiership-winning half Chad Townsend said on SEN.
“Your season will quickly become a waste of time. There was so much work done over the summer with the new halves combination (Moses and Pezet) and the talk of Parramatta improving under a new coach. They are very deep into their roster at this early stage of the year (but) they can get their attitude right.
“This is where their leaders need to stand up. It will bring up the younger guys and build their confidence. When you get a win while you are down on troops, those are the best wins you can ever have.”
This Sunday brings a clash against the Bulldogs, who sit seventh but just stunned the seemingly invincible Penrith Panthers. If the Eels aren’t careful, now that there are signs of life in Canterbury’s Lachlan Galvin-led attack and with inspirational captain Stephen Crichton set to return, things may only get uglier.
THE AWKWARD PEZET SITUATION
Signed from Melbourne for a single season with a three-year Broncos deal struck at the same time for 2027 onwards, Pezet was heralded as a terrific cameo recruit for the Eels in a unique win-win situation.
He would get a full season as a starting half after playing back-up at the Storm, paving the way for his succession of Adam Reynolds’ Brisbane No.7 jersey. Parramatta would get a sugar hit that might power them to a finals appearance, plus a stopgap while developing their younger halves.
Pezet is now out until Round 13. It’s a cruel blow for a wonderfully gifted player who was so patient in awaiting his opportunity at Melbourne before finally pulling the trigger on a club switch.
The 23-year-old can play. He’s already dominated a final game last year against the Bulldogs, then turned in a stunner as Parra beat reigning premiers Brisbane in Round 2; a game in which they still conceded 32 points but scored 40. Pezet had four try assists and scored one himself.
“He’s been up and down,” Townsend said.
“I thought the match against the Broncos was the best game of his career. In the Melbourne Storm game in Round 1, he was targeted a lot.
“There still needs to be more to play out for me to confidently answer that question (of whether his Eels signing has been a success).”
The problem is, it may be a moot point sooner rather than later. What do the Eels do if their season is completely shot by the time that Pezet returns from injury?
That puts them in a situation akin to what happened with Brown; a young playmaker signed elsewhere, finals out of reach, and little to gain by continuing to play them.
Brown, even as a New Zealand Test star and seven-year Eel, was moved to hooker then unceremoniously dumped to NSW Cup mid-season after signing with the Knights, though he was brought back for a final-round thumping of his new club.
Ryles and Pezet have an existing relationship and the coach will want to do right by him, but will be well and truly eyeing survival if his second season in charge of Parramatta is also doomed to failure. The pragmatic call may well be to blood other players, those who will be around next season.
Papalii was mentioned as a potential future No.6, though long-term plans are focused on Lorenzo Talataina, last season’s SG Ball Player of the Year. The problem — and part of the reason Pezet was happily signed — is that Talataina is only 18, with just 12 NSW Cup appearances to his name.
The Eels won’t just throw him to the NRL wolves before he’s ready. Ditto Lincoln Fletcher, last year’s Eels SG Ball halfback as they reached the grand final, who hasn’t yet played senior football and counts among the current walking wounded.
That factor may keep Pezet in Ryles’ NRL plans, even if this season becomes a write-off. But it is now unclear if the Broncos will receive him on his three-year deal as a fully-fledged first-grader, as was intended with the Parra pit-stop.
And what of Moses in all this?
Parramatta, after so many years of waiting, actually have their next Peter Sterling. Moses is a Test-calibre halfback of awesome match-winning capabilities who for all money is good enough to anchor a premiership team.
But that won’t happen if his team isn’t any good.
The Eels captain is contracted until the end of 2029, by which time he’ll be 35. If he’s creeping up on that age and isn’t in any position to win a ring, he may get itchy feet.
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