# 2021 Parramatta Eels season

The 2021 Parramatta Eels season was the 75th in the club's history. Coached by Brad Arthur and captained by Clinton Gutherson, they competed in the NRL's 2021 Telstra Premiership.

## Summary

Similar to the 2020, Parramatta started the 2021 season in good form winning nine of the opening ten games. Towards the back end of the season however, Parramatta once again displayed inconsistent form and were hit with heavy losses against South Sydney and Manly. They also suffered an embarrassing 28-0 loss against an understrength Sydney Roosters side in round 20. In round 24, Parramatta produced the biggest upset of the season defeating Melbourne 22-10 who were on a 19-game winning streak. Parramatta would finish the regular season in sixth place. In the elimination final, they defeated Newcastle 28-20. The following week, they played Penrith in what would turn out to be the lowest scoring game of the season. Parramatta would lose the match in controversial circumstances 8-6.

## Squad information

The playing squad and coaching staff of the Parramatta Eels for the 2021 NRL season.

## Transfers

In:
| Pos. | Name | From | Transfer window | Date |
| CE | Tom Opacic | North Queensland Cowboys | Pre-season | October 2020 |
| LK | Isaiah Papali'i | New Zealand Warriors | Pre-season | October 2020 |
| HK | Joey Lussick | Salford Red Devils | Pre-season | October 2020 |
| CE | Michael Oldfield | Canberra Raiders | Pre-season | November 2020 |
| LK | Keegan Hipgrave | Gold Coast Titans | Pre-season | November 2020 |
| HK | Nathaniel Roache | New Zealand Warriors | Pre-season | November 2020 |
| SR | Bryce Cartwright | Gold Coast Titans | Pre-season | November 2020 |
| PR | Wiremu Greig | North Queensland Cowboys | Mid-season | March 2021 |
| CE | Hayze Perham | New Zealand Warriors | Mid-season | April 2021 |
Out:
| Pos. | Name | To | Transfer window | Date |
| PR | Stefano Utoikamanu | Wests Tigers | Pre-season | January 2020 |
| PR | Kane Evans | New Zealand Warriors | Pre-season | August 2020 |
| SR | David Gower | Retired | Pre-season | October 2020 |
| PR | Peni Terepo | Retired | Pre-season | October 2020 |
| FE | Jai Field | Wigan Warriors | Pre-season | October 2020 |
| SR | Andrew Davey | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | Pre-season | October 2020 |
| HK | Rhys Davies | Mount Pritchard Mounties | Pre-season | October 2020 |
| HB | Jaeman Salmon | Penrith Panthers | Pre-season | October 2020 |
| CE | Brad Takairangi | Hull Kingston Rovers | Pre-season | October 2020 |
| HK | Kyle Schneider | Released | Pre-season | October 2020 |
| FB | Watson Heleta | Mount Pritchard Mounties | Pre-season | October 2020 |
| WG | George Jennings | Melbourne Storm | Pre-season | November 2020 |
| PR | Daniel Alvaro | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Pre-season | December 2020 |
| CE | Michael Jennings | Released | Mid-season | May 2021 |

## Pre-season

| Round | Home | Score | Away | Match information | Match information | Match information |
| Round | Home | Score | Away | Date and time (local) | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 6 – 28 | Parramatta Eels | Thursday, 18 February, 6:00 pm | Netstrata Jubilee Stadium | 0 |
| 2 | Penrith Panthers | 16 – 6 | Parramatta Eels | Saturday, 27 February, 7:30 pm | Panthers Stadium | |
| Source: ||||||||||

## Home and away season
### League table

2021 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 815 | 316 | +499 | 44 |
| 2 | Penrith Panthers (P) | 24 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 676 | 286 | +390 | 44 |
| 3 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 775 | 453 | +322 | 42 |
| 4 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 744 | 492 | +252 | 34 |
| 5 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 630 | 489 | +141 | 34 |
| 6 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 566 | 457 | +109 | 32 |
| 7 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 428 | 571 | −143 | 26 |
| 8 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 580 | 583 | −3 | 22 |
| 9 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 520 | 556 | −36 | 22 |
| 10 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 481 | 578 | −97 | 22 |
| 11 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 474 | 616 | −142 | 18 |
| 12 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 453 | 624 | −171 | 18 |
| 13 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 500 | 714 | −214 | 18 |
| 14 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 446 | 695 | −249 | 16 |
| 15 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 460 | 748 | −288 | 16 |
| 16 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 1 | 340 | 710 | −370 | 8 |

### Matches

| Round | Home | Score | Away | Match information | Match information | Match information | Match information |
| Round | Home | Score | Away | Date and time (local) | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | Brisbane Broncos | 16 – 24 | Parramatta Eels | Friday, 12 March, 8:05 pm | Suncorp Stadium | 28,313 |
| 2 | Parramatta Eels | 16 – 12 | Melbourne Storm | Thursday, 18 March, 8:05 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 10,416 |
| 3 | Parramatta Eels | 28 – 4 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Saturday, 27 March, 7:35 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 19,236 |
| 4 | Wests Tigers | 22 – 36 | Parramatta Eels | Monday, 5 April, 4:00 pm | Stadium Australia | 29,056 |
| 5 | Parramatta Eels | 12 – 26 | St George Illawarra Dragons | Sunday, 11 April, 6:15 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 24,384 |
| 6 | Canberra Raiders | 10 – 35 | Parramatta Eels | Saturday, 17 April, 7:35 pm | GIO Stadium | 20,089 |
| 7 | Parramatta Eels | 46 – 6 | Brisbane Broncos | Friday, 23 April, 7:55 pm | TIO Stadium | 12,056 |
| 8 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 10 – 32 | Parramatta Eels | Saturday, 1 May, 5:30 pm | Stadium Australia | 13,273 |
| 9 | Parramatta Eels | 31 – 18 | Sydney Roosters | Friday, 7 May, 7:55 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 25,711 |
| 10 | New Zealand Warriors | 18 – 34 | Parramatta Eels | Sunday, 16 May, 1:50 pm | Suncorp Stadium | 33,175 |
| 11 | Parramatta Eels | 6 – 28 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | Sunday, 23 May, 4:05 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 24,411 |
| 12 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 38 – 20 | Parramatta Eels | Saturday, 29 May, 5:30 pm | Stadium Australia | 20,743 |
| 13 | Newcastle Knights | 4 – 40 | Parramatta Eels | Sunday, 6 June, 4:05 pm | McDonald Jones Stadium | 23,015 |
| 14 | Parramatta Eels | 40 – 12 | Wests Tigers | Sunday, 13 June, 4:05 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 23,417 |
| 15 | Parramatta Eels | 36 – 10 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Sunday, 20 June, 2:00 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 17,276 |
| 16 | Penrith Panthers | 13 – 12 | Parramatta Eels | Friday, 2 July, 7:55 pm | BlueBet Stadium | 0 |
| 17 | Bye Round | Bye Round | Bye Round | Bye Round | Bye Round | Bye Round | Bye Round |
| 18 | Gold Coast Titans | 8 – 26 | Parramatta Eels | Friday, 16 July, 6:00 pm | Cbus Super Stadium | 15,038 |
| 19 | Parramatta Eels | 10 – 12 | Canberra Raiders | Thursday, 22 July, 7:50 pm | Cbus Super Stadium | 2,566 |
| 20 | Sydney Roosters | 28 – 0 | Parramatta Eels | Thursday, 29 July, 7:50 pm | BB Print Stadium | 4,926 |
| 21 | Parramatta Eels | 12 – 40 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Friday, 6 August, 8:05 pm | Cbus Super Stadium | 0 |
| 22 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 56 – 10 | Parramatta Eels | Saturday, 14 August, 7:35 pm | Sunshine Coast Stadium | 3,613 |
| 23 | Parramatta Eels | 32 – 16 | North Queensland Cowboys | Saturday, 21 August, 7:35 pm | Cbus Super Stadium | 3,013 |
| 24 | Melbourne Storm | 10 – 22 | Parramatta Eels | Saturday, 28 August, 7:35 pm | Suncorp Stadium | 10,246 |
| 25 | Parramatta Eels | 6 – 40 | Penrith Panthers | Friday, 3 September, 8:05 pm | Cbus Super Stadium | 8,580 |
| Source: |||||||
Notes: $^a$^ For rounds 16 and 21, matches were played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Finals series
### Bracket

| Qualifying and elimination finals | Qualifying and elimination finals | Qualifying and elimination finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Preliminary finals | Preliminary finals | Preliminary finals | Grand final | Grand final | Grand final |
| 10 September – Sunshine Coast | 10 September – Sunshine Coast | 10 September – Sunshine Coast | | | | | | | | | |
| 1 | Melbourne Storm | 40 | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 12 | 17 September – Mackay | 17 September – Mackay | 17 September – Mackay | | | | |
| | | | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 42 | | | | |
| 11 September – Townsville | 11 September – Townsville | 11 September – Townsville | Sydney Roosters | Sydney Roosters | 6 | 25 September – Brisbane | 25 September – Brisbane | 25 September – Brisbane | | | |
| 5 | Sydney Roosters | 25 | | | | Melbourne Storm | Melbourne Storm | 6 | |
| 8 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | | | | Penrith Panthers | Penrith Panthers | 10 | 3 October – Brisbane | 3 October – Brisbane | 3 October – Brisbane |
| | | | | | | | | | Penrith Panthers | Penrith Panthers | 14 |
| 12 September – Rockhampton | 12 September – Rockhampton | 12 September – Rockhampton | | | | 24 September – Brisbane | 24 September – Brisbane | 24 September – Brisbane | South Sydney Rabbitohs | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 12 |
| 6 | Parramatta Eels | 28 | | | | South Sydney Rabbitohs | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 36 | | |
| 7 | Newcastle Knights | 20 | 18 September – Mackay | 18 September – Mackay | 18 September – Mackay | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 16 | | |
| | | | Penrith Panthers | Penrith Panthers | 8 | | | | | | |
| 11 September – Townsville | 11 September – Townsville | 11 September – Townsville | Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Eels | 6 | | | | | |
| 2 | Penrith Panthers | 10 | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 16 | | | | | | | | |

### Matches

| Round | Home | Score | Away | Match information | Match information | Match information |
| Round | Home | Score | Away | Date and time (local) | Venue | Attendance |
| EF2 | Parramatta Eels | 28 – 20 | Newcastle Knights | Sunday, 12 September, 4:05 pm | Browne Park | 5,087 |
| SF2 | Penrith Panthers | 8 – 6 | Parramatta Eels | Saturday, 18 September, 7:50 pm | BB Print Stadium | 6,011 |
| Source: |||||||