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Parramatta Eels

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Parramatta Eels
File:Parramatta Eels logo.jpg
Club information
Full nameParramatta District
Rugby League Football Club
Founded1947 as Parramatta
Current details
Ground(s)
CEODenis Fitzgerald
CoachDaniel Anderson
CompetitionNational Rugby League
200811th
Home jersey
Home colours
 Away jersey
Away colours

The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1946, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership's 40th season in 1947.

The club was highly successful in the early 1980s, winning four premierships and qualifying for five Grand Finals within six successive seasons. This was a golden era for the club and has yielded their only four premerships. The club plays in the National Rugby League, the premier rugby league football competition in Australasia. Parramatta sides are also fielded in lower grades and junior competitions run by the New South Wales Rugby League where they are typically a consistent premiership winning force.

History

Pre-NRL History

Further information: History of Parramatta Eels

The roots of the playing of rugby union and rugby league in Parramatta lie in the 19th century with the formation of the Parramatta Rugby Club in 1879. With the advent of a Sydney District competition in 1900, the Parramatta club merged with Western Suburbs and played some of its matches at Cumberland Oval. On a local level, rugby league began to be played in 1909 when a district competition was formed. Other clubs in the Parramatta district also emerged; over the ensuing decades, clubs established in suburbs throughout the area.[1]

Pressure in the area for a local club to participate in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership began in the mid-1930s with a formal proposal put to the NSWRL in 1936 by local rugby league identities such as Jack Argent and Jack Scullin. The proposal was rejected by all clubs except Western Suburbs who, despite having the most to lose from the entrance of a Parramatta side (with much of their territory being lost to Parramatta), voted for the entrance of the new club. The advent of World War II put the establishment of the club on hold and a Parramatta district club was not proposed again until 1946 when the club was successfully admitted into the Premiership.[2]

Parramatta saw very little success in their early years, finishing last in the competition 6 years in a row from 1956 to 1961. The club's only relative high points were narrowly missing out on finals qualification in 1948 and 1949 under the guidance of former Western Suburbs and Leeds five-eighth Vic Hey. In 1962, Parramatta made the finals for the first time; this achievement was repeated for three consecutive years to 1965. However, the club slid back down the ladder in the following years, collecting the wooden spoon in 1970. The club's first major success came in 1975 when they won the Pre-Season cup, defeating Manly-Warringah in the competition's final.[3]

In 1976, the club finally reached the NSWRL Grand Final, in their 30th year. However, they lost narrowly to a Manly-Warringah side that they had defeated just two weeks earlier.[4][5] The following year, Parramatta captured their first minor premiership before qualifying for the Grand Final for the second year running. Against St. George, the match was drawn 9–9, forcing a Grand Final replay the following weekend. In this match, Parramatta choked 22–0.[6][7] The team made the finals in both 1978 and 1979, but missed the finals in 1980 for the first time since 1974.[3]

The early 1980s was unquestionably the most successful period for the Eels, with the club earning five Grand Final appearances and four premierships from 1981 to 1986. Under the influence of coach Jack Gibson and with a team including names such as Ray Price, Peter Sterling, Eric Grothe, Sr., Steve Ella, Mick Cronin and Brett Kenny, the club captured three consecutive premierships from 1981 to 1983, the most recent "threepeat" in the competition's history. In 1984 the team once again reached the Grand Final, but lost in a low-scoring Grand Final to the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 6–4. In 1986, the club took out their third minor premiership while also reaching the Grand Final, beating Canterbury 4–2 in the lowest-scoring Grand Final in history.[3]

From 1987 to 1996, the club failed to make the finals. With the advent of the Super League war in the mid-1990s, Parramatta capitalised on staying with the Australian Rugby League by picking up high-profile players such as Dean Pay, Jason Smith, Jim Dymock and Jarrod McCracken from the 1995 premiership-winning side, the Sydney Bulldogs.[8][9]

In 1997, the club made the finals for the first time in 11 seasons by finishing 3rd in the Australian Rugby League competition.

1998 - The First NRL Season

Position Pld Won Drew Lost Bye Points For Points Against Points Differential
4th (of 20) 24 17 1 6 - 468 349 +119

Parramatta finished 4th in the newly created 20-team NRL. The Eels had a highly successful Finals Series, beating the North Sydney Bears in a Qualifying Final and then backing up to defeat eventual premiers Brisbane Broncos 15-10. Due to the win, Parramatta gained a week off before clashing with the Canterbury Bulldogs in a Grand Final Qualifier. The game was poised at 18-2 in favour of the Eels with 11 minutes to go. However, the Bulldogs managed a late resurgence to tie the game up at 18-18. Parramatta then went on to lose the match, 32-20 in Extra Time.

In the off-season, the Parramatta board explored mergers with Penrith Panthers and Balmain Tigers but opted against the plan.[9]

1999 - The Consistency Continues

Position Pld Won Drew Lost Bye Points For Points Against Points Differential
2nd (of 17) 24 17 0 7 2 500 294 +206

The Parramatta Eels continued their success and consistency into the second year of the new National Rugby League, finishing 2nd behind Minor Premiers Cronulla. The Eels kicked off their finals series with a comfortable 30-16 win at Parramatta Stadium. However Parramatta could not back up that performance against the Melbourne Storm, after having a week off. The Storm won 18-16 at the SFS in a close match, but the result meant that Parramatta went one more season without winning a Premiership and the 'chokers' tag stayed.

2000 - Third Time Unlucky

Position Pld Won Drew Lost Bye Points For Points Against Points Differential
7th (of 14) 26 14 1 11 - 476 456 +20

The Eels finished an inconsistent Season 2000 in 7th place, which included Parramatta being handed the two competition points that was stripped from the North Queensland Cowboys after it was later revealed that they unwittingly used a fourteenth player for three minutes in their 26-18 win against the Parramatta Eels, due to an error in interchanging players. However, in the first week of the 2000 Finals Series, Parramatta was involved in the biggest upset, defeating Sydney Roosters 32-8 at the Sydney Football Stadium. The Eels managed to repeat the result against local rivals Penrith Panthers the next week in a comfortable 28-10 win in front of 25,746 at the SFS, meaning that the Parramatta Eels reached their third straight NRL Preliminary Final. The Eels were looking to make it "Third Time Lucky" against the former NRL premiers, Brisbane Broncos, but it ended up to be "Third Time Unlucky" as the Brisbane Broncos won the match 16-10.

2001 - The Year That Should Have Been

Position Pld Won Drew Lost Bye Points For Points Against Points Differential
1st (of 14) 24 20 2 4 - 839 406 +433

In 2001, Parramatta set a regular-season points scoring record in the premiership by scoring 839 points in 26 matches on their way to claiming the minor premiership. In their 5th consecutive Finals Series, the Eels dominated the Series, starting with a 56-12 demolition of the New Zealand Warriors at Parramatta Stadium in front of 17,336. After getting a week off, the Eels then comfortably defeated the Brisbane Broncos at Stadium Australia, 24-16.

The Eels went into the decider hot favourites after losing just once in 22 matches. Despite this, however, the team was shattered in their first Grand Final appearance in fifteen years. They lost 30-24 against the Newcastle Knights, after trailing 24-0 at half-time.[10]

2002 - Another Finals Series

Position Pld Won Drew Lost Bye Points For Points Against Points Differential
6th (of 15) 24 10 2 12 2 538 498 +40

Season 2002 ended with the Parramatta Eels finishing in 6th place. The side lost in the first week of the finals 24-14 to the Brisbane Broncos at what was then known as ANZ Stadium. However, this loss resulted in the elimination of the Eels from the 2002 Finals Series as 7th place St. George Illawarra Dragons upset the defending premiers, Newcastle Knights.

2003 - The Missed Finals

Position Pld Won Drew Lost Bye Points For Points Against Points Differential
9th (of 15) 24 11 0 13 2 570 582 -12

After reaching the Finals Series every year for the last six years, Parramatta could not make it a 7th year running as they finished 9th in the 2002 Season. Needing to beat runaway Minor Premiers by over 30 points in the final round, the Eels were comprehensively beaten away, signalling the need for changes at the club should they continue to be successful.

2004 - Cause For Concern

Position Pld Won Drew Lost Bye Points For Points Against Points Differential
12th (of 15) 24 9 0 15 2 517 626 -107

Season 2004 was the worst in some time for the Parramatta Eels. After only managing 9 wins in 24 games, the Eels finished 12th and missed out on the Finals for the second year running. This was a grave cause for concern at the club who had not seen a Premiership victory since 1986.

2005 - The Parramatta Revival

Position Pld Won Drew Lost Bye Points For Points Against Points Differential
1st (of 15) 24 16 0 8 2 704 456 +248

2005 marked a resurgence of the Parramatta Eels. After two years in the wilderness, the Eels were back into premiership contention after ending the season as minor premiers on 36 points, ahead of St. George Illawarra on points differential. After a comfortable 46-22 over the Manly Sea Eagles, who were in their first finals campaign since the creation of the National Rugby League in 1998. Following the week off, the Parramatta Eels were annihilated by the Johnathon Thurston-led North Queensland at ANZ Stadium, 29-0, ending another season in disappointment.

2006 - The Second-Half Resurgence

Position Pld Won Drew Lost Bye Points For Points Against Points Differential
8th (of 15) 24 12 0 12 2 506 483 +23

The Parramatta Eels began Season 2006 with the knowledge that their coach Brian Smith, would not be there next season, after being asked to step down by the management of the Parramatta Eels rugby league club in what turned out to be a direct trade with the Newcastle Knights club for their coach, Michael Hagan. However, Brian Smith resigned officially on 15 May, 2006, after an extremely poor start to the season, which left the Eels running 14th and second-last. Assistant coach and former Eels great, Jason Taylor, took over as caretaker manager for the rest of the season and led a Parramatta resurgence in the second-half of the season to eventually reach 8th position by season's end. They were, however, eliminated by eventual runners-up Melbourne Storm in the first week of the Finals, 12-6.

2007 - Hagan's Heroes

Position Pld Won Drew Lost Bye Points For Points Against Points Differential
5th (of 16) 24 13 0 11 1 573 481 +29

Under new coach Michael Hagan, the Eels saw a great performance in Season 2007, where the Eels finished in 5th position. In the first week of the Finals, they defeated the New Zealand Warriors away, 12-10 to set-up a huge clash with the Bulldogs the following week. In an incident-filled match at ANZ Stadium in front of 50,621, the Eels ran out 25-6 winners booking them in a Preliminary Final clash with Minor Premiers Melbourne Storm. In a gruelling match at Melbourne's Telstra Dome, the Storm eventually won 26-10 ending the Eels' 2007 season, one win away from their first Grand Final appearance since 2001.

2008 - The Disappointment

Position Pld Won Drew Lost Bye Points For Points Against Points Differential
11th (of 16) 24 11 0 13 2 501 547 -46

After being billed at premiership contenders by several prominent betting agencies, including TAB SportsBet, the Parramatta Eels failed to impressment in the 2008, in a season that could only be described as a huge disappointment. The Eels finished 11th in an inconsistent season marred by Jarryd Hayne's controversial shooting incident in the pre-season. Despite the poor performance by Parramatta, CEO Denis Fitzgerald stressed that Michael Hagan's position as club coach was not in danger. Michael Hagan resigned as coach on October 21, citing family and health reasons for his decision.

Emblem

Like most clubs established before the 1980s, Parramatta was established with no official nickname or mascot. The only nickname Parramatta had ever been known by was the "Fruitpickers", a reference to the orchards spread throughout the District and surrounding suburbs in the first half of the 20th century. As the competition and the clubs themselves became more focused on marketing in the 1970s, Parramatta adopted an official club mascot.[3]

In the mid-1960s, Peter Frilingos, a Sydney rugby league journalist, suggested that the club should be known as the "Eels". This reasoning was based on the name of the Parramatta, anglicised from the Aboriginal dialect "Barramattagal" meaning "place where the Eels dwell". After this, the team was commonly called "The Eels" and it became an official nickname in the late 1970s.[3]

File:1980s Parramatta Eels logo.jpg

As a result, the club's crest was changed in 1980, to a design featuring an Eel. This crest remained, despite several changes in jersey design, until a new Eel logo was introduced in 1999. In 2005, the club mascot featured on the crest reverted to an Eel drawing similar to that featured on the original crest.

File:1999-2004 Parramatta Eels logo.jpg

Parramatta has also used two separate crests based on Parramatta City's crest. The first was a highly-detailed scene showing a typical scene on the foreshore of the Parramatta River in the early days of European settlement. It is an apparent tribute to the District's original occupants, the Barramattagal tribe. In the foreground of the original crest, a male Aboriginal is preparing to spear a fish while a woman in a canoe watches. In the background a paddle steamer is visible as well as the tree-lined banks of the Parramatta River. This crest was used by the Club until the 1970s when a more stylised version showing only the hunter, and the club's name on a scroll, was used. This crest is still used in 2006 by the Parramatta District Junior Rugby League Football Club.[3]

Colours

When a Parramatta District Club was first proposed in 1936, the colours put forward to the New South Wales Rugby League by the District were emerald green and white, as these were the colours worn by the Western Districts President's Cup side and the Western Suburbs Rugby Union Club.[11][1] However, when the proposal for a Parramatta club was next put to the NSWRL in 1946, the proposed colours for the new District side were blue and gold. These colours are said to have been selected based on the navy, sky blue and gold colours used by Parramatta High School.[2][12] These colours were also adopted by the Parramatta District Rugby Union club in 1936 and also suggested in Parramatta City Council's use of livery of blue and golden-orange in their crest. While this colour scheme has remained consistent throughout the history of the club, the shades of blue and gold have changed several times.

The original Parramatta jersey used in 1947 was of a blue design with a single yellow hoop around the middle of the jersey, extending across the sleves. This original design was altered in 1949 to a design based on blue and gold hoops and remained unchanged until the 1970s when a jersey comprising stripes on a predominantly blue or gold background was adopted. Over the years, the design has changed gradually from one based on blue and gold stripes to a design incorporating different blue and gold designs around the fringes of a predominantly blue or gold jersey.

Stadium

Further information: Parramatta Stadium

Rugby league was played at Cumberland Oval from as early as 1909 by local clubs such as Parramatta Iona, Endeavours and the Western Districts representative side. When the club was admitted into the NSWRL Premiership in 1947, Cumberland Oval became its home ground. The club played its first match in the premiership on 12 April 1947 against Newtown, being defeated 34–12 in front of 6,000 spectators. Cumberland Oval remained the home ground of the Parramatta Eels until 1981; the club played their last match there against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.[13] Later that year, after the Parramatta Eels secured their first-ever Premiership trophy, Eels fans rallied at Cumberland Oval; during the celebrations, fans set fire to the ground's soon-to-be-demolished stand.

From 1982 to 1985, the club used Belmore Oval, home of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, as a temporary home ground while a new facility (Parramatta Stadium) was built. The new stadium to be built on the site of Cumberland Oval was approved by the New South Wales Government for development in 1983 and the contract for the construction and design of the Stadium was put to competitive tender.[14] After construction was completed in November 1985, the club played its first match at the new stadium on 16 March 1986 winning this opening game 36–6 against the St. George Dragons. The capacity of the ground is 20,000, after the construction of seated terraces on the previously hilled areas in 2002.

The largest crowd to watch a rugby league match at Cumberland Oval was 22,470 when the Parramatta took on the South Sydney Rabbitohs on 26 April 1971. The largest crowd at Parrmatta Stadium under the current configuration was 21,141 in 2006 against the Wests Tigers.[15]

Rivalries

Parramatta's most significant and famous rivalry is with Northern Beaches-based club Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. Though both clubs were formed in the same year, this rivalry did not develop until the 1970s and 1980s when the clubs faced each other in three Grand Finals: in 1976, 1982 and 1983. The clubs also competed in several play-off finals matches during this period including a controversial drawn semi-final and subsequent replay in 1978. The famous rivalry between the clubs was also marked in an advertising jingle in a 1970s Tooheys television commercial. The rivalry has been regularly rekindled at various times since, particularly when Parramatta players have transferred to play with Manly.[16][17]

A similar rivalry also developed between Parramatta and the Bulldogs during the 1980s when the clubs faced one another in Grand Finals in 1984 and 1986 as well as regular play-off matches during this period. This rivalry received renewed impetus during the Super League war when Parramatta recruited 4 notable Bulldogs players.[18][19]

Another significant rivalry is with neighbouring Western Sydney club the Penrith Panthers. The match between the two is known as the "Western Sydney derby" or "The Battle of the West".[20] Aside from local 'bragging rights' the rivalry is also partly founded in bitterness associated with the former status of the Penrith district as part of the Parramatta rugby league district. The relationship between local Penrith clubs and the Parramatta District was often problematic; players and officials in the Penrith area considered themselves ignored and neglected by the Parramatta club during the 1950s and 1960s.[21]

Statistics and records

Further information: List of Parramatta Eels records

Individual Records

Most Appearances (200+)

Scoring records

Mick Cronin holds the record for most number of points scored across all grades (2,001) between 1977 and 1986. Cronin also holds the record for most points scored in a single season (282) in 1978. Brett Kenny holds the record for most First Grade tries (110) between 1980 and 1992.[22]

Parramatta's largest victory was a 74 - 4 win over Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks on 23 August 2003 at Parramatta Stadium. The club's largest defeat was a 0 - 68 loss to Canberra Raiders on 22 August 1993 at Canberra Stadium.[23]

Attendances

The largest crowd Parramatta has played before was 104,583 at Telstra Stadium in the Round 1 'doubleheader' in 1999. The largest home crowd at Parramatta Stadium, before the construction of the hill terraces, was 27,243 against South Sydney Rabbitohs on 17 August 1986.[24]

All Time Match Record

The all time playing record for the Parramatta team since 1947 (including finals).[25]

Games Points Wins Draw Losses Win % Correct to
1364 23254 633 38 693 46% 23 September 2007

2009 Squad

Further information: Parramatta Eels 2007

The following list comprises players who make up the Top 25 squad of the Parramatta Eels first-grade team in 2009.

No. Position Player

585 Nathan Cayless – PR (c) 595 Nathan Hindmarsh – SR ??? Kevin Kingston – HK 602 Luke Burt – FB 608 Eric Grothe, Jr. – WG 665 Fuifui Moimoi – PR 673 Feleti Mateo – LK 674 Ben Smith – CE 683 Joel Reddy – CE 685 Josh Cordoba – PR ??? Callan Richardson – FB

No. Position Player

690 Jarryd Hayne – CE 691 Brett Finch – FE 692 Todd Lowrie – SR 695 Krisnan Inu – WG 696 Junior Paulo – SR 697 Weller Hauraki – SR 698 Taulima Tautai – CE 699 Joe Galuvao – SR 700 Matt Keating – HK 701 Brendan Oake – SR 702 Kris Keating – FE Anthony Mitchell – HK 703 Broderick Wright – SR ??? Jeremy Latimore – PR ??? Jeff Robson – HB

Notable players

In 2002 a team of the greatest Parramatta players, known as the Parramatta Legends, were selected based on a public vote of fans. In August of that year the following players were named in each position:[26]

No. Position Player

214 Ken Thornett – FB 376 Eric Grothe, Sr. – WG 351 Mick Cronin – CE 366 Steve Ella – CE 340 Neville Glover – WG 381 Brett Kenny – FE 358 Peter Sterling – HB

No. Position Player

250 Bob O'Reilly – PR 378 Steve Edge – HK 560 Dean Pay – PR 218 Dick Thornett – SR 368 Peter Wynn – SR 346 Ray Price – LK

Honours

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b Fagan, Sean. "Cumberland RLFC". RL1908. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
  2. ^ a b Fagan, Sean. "Parramatta Eels". RL1908. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
  3. ^ a b c d e f The History of Rugby League Clubs. New Holland Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd. 2004. ISBN 1-74110-075-5. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Fagan, Sean. "The Eels' Flying Wedge of '76". RL1908. Retrieved 2006-09-05.
  5. ^ Alan Whiticker, Grand Finals of the NSWRL (2e), Gary Allen, 1994
  6. ^ "1977 Tied Rugby League Grand Final". Era of the Biff. Retrieved 2006-09-05. {{cite web}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  7. ^ Alan Whiticker, Grand Finals of the NSWRL (2e), Gary Allen 1994
  8. ^ "How the war unfolded". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2005-03-26. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
  9. ^ a b "Double punt is finally paying off". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2005-03-26. Retrieved 2007-09-18. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ "Eels coach rues missed chances". British Broadcasting Corporation. 2001-09-30. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
  11. ^ "60 Years of Parramatta Junior League". SportingPulse. Retrieved 2006-09-06.
  12. ^ "Parramatta High School Badge". Parramatta High School. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
  13. ^ "Cumberland". Parramatta Stadium. Retrieved 2007-07-14.
  14. ^ "Parramatta Stadium - Construction Project". Parramatta Stadium. Retrieved 2007-07-14.
  15. ^ "Attendances Parramatta". Rugby League Tables & Statistics. Retrieved 2007-07-14.
  16. ^ Prichard, Greg (2005-09-06). "Eels won't be reserved in hitting Hill: Hindmarsh". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
  17. ^ Masters, Roy (2005-09-12). "Manly whipping was one for the true believers". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
  18. ^ Paine, Chris (2007-09-14). "NRL Preview: semi-final one". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
  19. ^ Ritchie, Dean (2007-09-10). "Dogs, Eels back to the future". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
  20. ^ Dick, Barry (2007-04-12). "'Derby' the highlight". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 2007-04-27.
  21. ^ Fagan, Sean. "Penrith Panthers". RL1908. Retrieved 2007-04-27.
  22. ^ "Parramatta Scorers (since 1971)". Rugby League Tables & Statistics. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
  23. ^ "Game Records - Parramatta". Rugby League Tables & Statistics. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
  24. ^ "All Games - Parramatta". Rugby League Tables & Statistics. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
  25. ^ "Season Summary". Rugby League Tables & Statistics. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
  26. ^ "Legends Dinner". Parramatta Eels. 2002-08-29. Retrieved 2007-03-03.
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