# 2016 Parramatta Eels season

The 2016 Parramatta Eels season was the 70th in the club's history. Coached by Brad Arthur and co-captained by Kieran Foran and Tim Mannah, they competed in the NRL's 2016 Telstra Premiership.

## Summary

Prior to the start of the 2016 NRL season, the Parramatta club 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 Parramatta and no points were deducted.
Parramatta started the season with a 17-4 loss against the previous years runners up in Brisbane. The club would win their following three matches in a row including a 20-16 victory over the reigning premiers North Queensland. 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. In addition, the NRL also announced that the Parramatta club would not be able to accrue any further competition points until they fell under the salary cap, which they were reported to be $500,000. 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.
On 9 July 2016, after over two 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. At the time of the points deduction, Parramatta sat just outside the top four on the table. Although the points deduction had been handed down, Parramatta were still mathematically able to make the finals if they could win 12 of their remaining 15 games. The first match after Parramatta were stripped of the competition points was against South Sydney at Parramatta Stadium. Parramatta would narrowly lose the match 22-20. It was around this time that star recruit Kieran Foran was released by the club having just played nine games for personal reasons and multiple off-field issues.
On 29 August 2016, Parramatta played their final ever game in the top grade at Parramatta Stadium against St. George Illawarra as it had been announced earlier the club would move into a new ground which would later be known as the Western Sydney Stadium. Parramatta would win the game 30-18 with Bevan French scoring a hat-trick. Parramatta finished the season with a 40-18 victory over the New Zealand Warriors to finish 14th on the table.

## Standings
### National Rugby League

2016 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 19 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 563 | 302 | +261 | 42 |
| 2 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 688 | 456 | +232 | 39 |
| 3 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (P) | 24 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 580 | 404 | +176 | 39 |
| 4 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 584 | 355 | +229 | 34 |
| 5 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 554 | 434 | +120 | 34 |
| 6 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 563 | 463 | +100 | 32 |
| 7 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 506 | 448 | +58 | 32 |
| 8 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 508 | 497 | +11 | 27 |
| 9 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 499 | 607 | −108 | 26 |
| 10 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 513 | 601 | −88 | 24 |
| 11 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 341 | 538 | −197 | 24 |
| 12 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 473 | 549 | −76 | 22 |
| 13 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 454 | 563 | −109 | 20 |
| 14 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 298 | 324 | −26 | 18$^1$ |
| 15 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 443 | 576 | −133 | 16 |
| 16 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 2 | 305 | 800 | −495 | 7 |
$^1$ Parramatta were deducted 12 competition points and their for/against tally accumulated between rounds 1-9 for gross long-term salary cap breaches.

### National Youth Competition

2016 NYC seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 851 | 382 | +469 | 42 |
| 2 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 16 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 770 | 520 | +250 | 37 |
| 3 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 737 | 545 | +192 | 35 |
| 4 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 670 | 607 | +63 | 35 |
| 5 | Sydney Roosters (P) | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 710 | 642 | +68 | 33 |
| 6 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 680 | 541 | +139 | 32 |
| 7 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 579 | 562 | +17 | 32 |
| 8 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 608 | 694 | -86 | 31 |
| 9 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 660 | 576 | +84 | 27 |
| 10 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 589 | 678 | -89 | 27 |
| 11 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 604 | 694 | -90 | 23 |
| 12 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 8 | 2 | 14 | 2 | 700 | 758 | -58 | 22 |
| 13 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 627 | 698 | -71 | 22 |
| 14 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 8 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 466 | 680 | -214 | 20 |
| 15 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 468 | 742 | -274 | 18 |
| 16 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 3 | 1 | 20 | 2 | 483 | 883 | -400 | 11 |

## Fixtures
### Auckland Nines

| Match No. | Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Match Information | Match Information |
| Match No. | Home | Score | Away | Date and time (Local) | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | Parramatta Eels | 4 – 14 | Melbourne Storm | Saturday, 6 February, 12:55 PM | Eden Park | 70,000+ over two days |
| 2 | Sydney Roosters | 11 – 14 | Parramatta Eels | Saturday, 6 February, 4:25 PM | Eden Park | 70,000+ over two days |
| 3 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 11 – 24 | Parramatta Eels | Sunday, 7 February, 11:00 AM | Eden Park | 70,000+ over two days |
| QF | Parramatta Eels | 12 – 8 | Newcastle Knights | Sunday, 7 February, 1:55 PM | Eden Park | 70,000+ over two days |
| SF | Parramatta Eels | 17 – 8 | Melbourne Storm | Sunday, 7 February, 4:40 PM | Eden Park | 70,000+ over two days |
| GF | Parramatta Eels | 22 – 4 | New Zealand Warriors | Sunday, 7 February, 6:40 AM | Eden Park | 70,000+ over two days |
| Source: ||||||||||

### Pre-season

| Match No. | Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Match Information | Match Information |
| Match No. | Home | Score | Away | Date and time (Local) | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | Parramatta Eels | 20 – 20 | Gold Coast Titans | Saturday, 13 February, 7:40 PM | ANZAC Oval | 2,405 |
| 2 | Penrith Panthers | 8 – 22 | Parramatta Eels | Saturday, 20 February, 7:10 PM | Pepper Stadium | 5,580 |
| Source: ||||||||||

### Home and away season

| Round | Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Match Information | Match Information |
| Round | Home | Score | Away | Date and time (Local) | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | Parramatta Eels | 4 – 17 | Brisbane Broncos | 3 Mar 2016, 8:05PM | Pirtek Stadium | 17,324 |
| 2 | Parramatta Eels | 20 – 16 | North Queensland Cowboys | 12 Mar 2016, 7:30PM | Pirtek Stadium | 12,194 |
| 3 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 6 – 20 | Parramatta Eels | 18 Mar 2016, 8:05PM | ANZ Stadium | 30,018 |
| 4 | Wests Tigers | 0 – 8 | Parramatta Eels | 28 Mar 2016, 4:00PM | ANZ Stadium | 36,112 |
| 5 | Parramatta Eels | 18 – 20 | Penrith Panthers | 3 Apr 2016, 4:00PM | Pirtek Stadium | 15,600 |
| 6 | Parramatta Eels | 36 – 6 | Canberra Raiders | 9 Apr 2016, 3:00PM | Pirtek Stadium | 12,947 |
| 7 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 10 – 22 | Parramatta Eels | 14 Apr 2016, 7:50PM | Brookvale Oval | 14,633 |
| 8 | North Queensland Cowboys | 32 – 16 | Parramatta Eels | 23 Apr 2016, 7:30PM | 1300SMILES Stadium | 19,308 |
| 9 | Parramatta Eels | 20 – 12 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 29 Apr 2016, 7:50PM | ANZ Stadium | 31,815 |
| 10 | Parramatta Eels | 20 – 22 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 13 May 2016, 7:50PM | Pirtek Stadium | 16,013 |
| 11 | Parramatta Eels | 6 – 18 | Melbourne Storm | 23 May 2016, 7:00PM | Pirtek Stadium | 8,941 |
| 12 | Newcastle Knights | 18 – 20 | Parramatta Eels | 30 May 2016, 7:00PM | Hunter Stadium | 12,856 |
| Bye Round ||||||||
| 14 | Parramatta Eels | 22 – 12 | Gold Coast Titans | 11 Jun 2016, 5:30PM | TIO Stadium | 7,722 |
| 15 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 12 – 30 | Parramatta Eels | 17 Jun 2016, 7:50PM | ANZ Stadium | 11,860 |
| Bye Round ||||||||
| 17 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 34 – 24 | Parramatta Eels | 2 Jul 2016, 7:30PM | Southern Cross Group Stadium | 19,124 |
| 18 | Parramatta Eels | 22 – 18 | Sydney Roosters | 8 Jul 2016, 7:50PM | Pirtek Stadium | 8,464 |
| 19 | Penrith Panthers | 22 – 18 | Parramatta Eels | 17 Jul 2016, 4:00PM | Pepper Stadium | 15,251 |
| 20 | Gold Coast Titans | 34 – 14 | Parramatta Eels | 23 Jul 2016, 5:30PM | Cbus Super Stadium | 15,273 |
| 21 | Parramatta Eels | 8 – 23 | Wests Tigers | 30 Jul 2016, 5:00PM | ANZ Stadium | 14,428 |
| 22 | Parramatta Eels | 10 – 9 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 5 Aug 2016, 7:50PM | Pirtek Stadium | 8,143 |
| 23 | Brisbane Broncos | 38 – 16 | Parramatta Eels | 12 Aug 2016, 7:50PM | Suncorp Stadium | 30,189 |
| 24 | Canberra Raiders | 28 – 18 | Parramatta Eels | 21 Aug 2016, 1:30PM | GIO Stadium | 18,825 |
| 25 | Parramatta Eels | 30 – 18 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 29 Aug 2016, 7:00PM | Pirtek Stadium | 13,553 |
| 26 | New Zealand Warriors | 18 – 40 | Parramatta Eels | 4 Sep 2016, 3:30PM | Mt Smart Stadium | 11,129 |
| Source: ||||||||||

## Players and staff
### First grade staff

* This section lists players who were in Parramatta's first grade squad at any point during the 2016 season
* Asterisks indicates player left mid-season
* Caret symbol indicates player joined mid-season
* Hash symbol indicates player retired mid-season
| Name | Position | Joined | Signed from |
| Daniel Alvaro | PR | 2015 | Youth |
| Mitch Cornish | HB / FE / FB | 2016 | Canberra Raiders |
| Isaac De Gois | HK | 2014 | Cronulla Sharks |
| Kenny Edwards | SR / LK | 2013 | Southport Tigers |
| Bureta Faraimo | WG | 2014 | Mackay Cutters |
| John Folau | WG / CE | 2015 | Youth |
| Kieran Foran* | HB / FE | 2016 | Manly Sea Eagles |
| Bevan French | FB | 2016 | Youth |
| Tyrell Fuimaono | CE / SR | 2016 | Youth |
| Michael Gordon | FB / CE / WG | 2016 | Cronulla Sharks |
| David Gower | SR / LK / PR | 2014 | Manly Sea Eagles |
| Clinton Gutherson | FB / CE / WG | 2016 | Manly Sea Eagles |
| James Hasson | SR / PR | 2016 | Manly Sea Eagles |
| Michael Jennings | CE | 2016 | Sydney Roosters |
| Luke Kelly | HB / FE / HK | 2012 | Melbourne Storm |
| Cameron King | HK | 2016 | North Queensland Cowboys |
| Manu Ma'u | SR | 2014 | Wentworthville Magpies |
| Tim Mannah | PR | 2009 | Youth |
| Tepai Moeroa | SR | 2014 | Youth |
| Ryan Morgan* | CE | 2011 | Youth |
| Kieren Moss* | FB | 2016 | Penrith Panthers |
| Cody Nelson | SR / FE | 2015 | Gold Coast Titans |
| Corey Norman | FE / FB | 2014 | Brisbane Broncos |
| Rory O'Brien | PR | 2016 | St George Illawarra Dragons |
| Junior Paulo* | SR / CE | 2016 | Youth |
| Nathan Peats* | HK / LK | 2014 | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| Kaysa Pritchard | HK | 2013 | Youth |
| Semi Radradra | WG | 2013 | Youth |
| Jeff Robson^ | HB / FE / HK | 2016 | New Zealand Warriors |
| Scott Schulte | WG | 2016 | North Queensland Cowboys |
| Beau Scott | SR / CE | 2016 | Newcastle Knights |
| Brad Takairangi | SR / CE | 2015 | Gold Coast Titans |
| Kelepi Tanginoa | SR / LK | 2016 | North Queensland Cowboys |
| Peni Terepo | PR / SR / LK | 2013 | Youth |
| Vai Toutai | CE / WG | 2013 | Youth |
| Honeti Tuha | WG | 2016 | Newcastle Knights |
| Alex Twal | PR | 2016 | Youth |
| Joseph Ualesi | SR / LK | 2013 | Youth |
| Anthony Watmough | SR / LK | 2015 | Manly Sea Eagles |
| Danny Wicks | PR / SR | 2015 | Unattached |
| Matthew Woods | LK / SR | 2016 | Wests Tigers |

### Coaching staff

* This section lists members of staff who were in Parramatta's first grade squad at any point during the 2016 season
* Asterisks indicate member of staff left mid-season
| Position | Name |
| Head coach | Brad Arthur |
| Assistant coach | Peter Gentle |
| Assistant coach | Steve Murphy |
| Chief Medical Officer | Dr Louis Shidiak |
| Physical Performance Manager | Paul Devlin |
| Strength coach | Jarrod Wade |
| Contact Coach | Brett O’Farrell |
| Head Trainer | Craig Sultana |
| Assistant NRL Strength and Conditioning Coach | Nathan Beutel |
| NYC Head of Strength and Conditioning | Nathan Beutel |
| Video analyst | Craig Crossman |
| NSW Cup Head Coach and Development Coach | Joey Grima |
| Under 20's Head Coach | Luke Burt |

## Transfers

In:
| Pos. | Name | From |
| HB | Mitch Cornish | Canberra Raiders |
| FE | Kieran Foran | Manly Sea Eagles |
| FB | Michael Gordon | Cronulla Sharks |
| PR | James Hasson | Manly Sea Eagles |
| HK | Cameron King | North Queensland Cowboys |
| FB | Kieren Moss | Penrith Panthers |
| PR | Rory O'Brien | St George Illawarra Dragons |
| SR | Beau Scott | Newcastle Knights |
| SR | Kelepi Tanginoa | North Queensland Cowboys |
| CE | Scott Schulte | North Queensland Cowboys |
| FB | Clinton Gutherson | Manly Sea Eagles |
| SR | Matthew Woods | Wests Tigers |
| CE | Michael Jennings | Sydney Roosters |
| PR | Alex Twal | Youth |
| FB | Bevan French | Youth |
| CE | Tyrell Fuimaono | Youth |
| HB | Jeff Robson (mid-season) | New Zealand Warriors |
Out:
| Pos. | Name | To |
| CE | Beau Champion | Retired |
| CE | Ben Crooks | Castleford Tigers |
| HB | Zach Dockar-Clay | Penrith Panthers |
| PR | Richard Fa'aoso | Retired |
| SR | Fabian Goodall | Manly Sea Eagles |
| SR | Tui Kamikamica | Rugby union |
| PR | Darcy Lussick | Manly Sea Eagles |
| FE | Ryan Matterson | Sydney Roosters |
| FE | Adam Quinlan | St. Helens |
| FB | Reece Robinson | Rugby union |
| HB | Chris Sandow | Warrington Wolves |
| LK | Joseph Paulo | Cronulla Sharks |
| SR | Josh Aloiai | Wests Tigers |
| WG | Halauafu Lavaka | Manly Sea Eagles |
| PR | Eric Newbigging | Illawarra Cutters |
| SR | Pauli Pauli | Newcastle Knights |
| CE | Ryan Morgan (mid-season) | Melbourne Storm |
| FB | Kieren Moss (mid-season) | Bradford Bulls |
| SR | Junior Paulo (mid-season) | Canberra Raiders |
| HK | Nathan Peats (mid-season) | Gold Coast Titans |
| FE | Kieran Foran (mid-season) | Released |

## Representative call-ups
### Domestic

| Player | Team | Call-up |
| Semi Radradra | World All Stars | 2016 All Stars Match |
| Beau Scott | World All Stars | 2016 All Stars Match |
| Clinton Gutherson | NSW City | 2016 City vs Country Origin |
| Nathan Peats | NSW City | 2016 City vs Country Origin |
| Michael Jennings | New South Wales | 2016 State of Origin Series |

### International

| Player | Team | Call-up |
| Semi Radradra | Australia | 2016 Anzac Test |
| Manu Ma'u | New Zealand | 2016 Anzac Test |
| Brad Takairangi (18th man) | New Zealand | 2016 Anzac Test |
| Vai Toutai | Tonga | 2016 Pacific Test |
| Peni Terepo | Tonga | 2016 Pacific Test |
| Junior Paulo | Samoa | 2016 Pacific Test |
| Kaysa Pritchard | Samoa | 2016 Pacific Test |
| Kaysa Pritchard | Samoa | v Fiji, 8 October 2016 |
| Manu Ma'u | New Zealand | v Australia, 15 October 2016 |
| Manu Ma'u | New Zealand | 2016 Four Nations |
| James Hasson | Ireland | 2017 World Cup Qualifiers |