# 2019 Parramatta Eels season

The 2019 Parramatta Eels season was the 73rd in the club's history. Coached by Brad Arthur and captained by Clinton Gutherson, they competed in the NRL's 2019 Telstra Premiership.

## Summary

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.
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.
Between round 12 and round 22 of the 2019 season, Parramatta would go on to win eight of their ten 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.
At the end of the 2019 regular season, Parramatta finished fifth on the table. 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. 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.

## Standings

2019 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 631 | 300 | +331 | 42 |
| 2 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 627 | 363 | +264 | 36 |
| 3 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 521 | 417 | +104 | 34 |
| 4 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 524 | 374 | +150 | 32 |
| 5 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 533 | 473 | +60 | 30 |
| 6 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 496 | 446 | +50 | 30 |
| 7 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 514 | 464 | +50 | 26 |
| 8 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 432 | 489 | −57 | 25 |
| 9 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 475 | 486 | −11 | 24 |
| 10 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 413 | 474 | −61 | 24 |
| 11 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 485 | 522 | −37 | 22 |
| 12 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 326 | 477 | −151 | 22 |
| 13 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 1 | 433 | 574 | −141 | 21 |
| 14 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 378 | 500 | −122 | 20 |
| 15 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 427 | 575 | −148 | 18 |
| 16 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 370 | 651 | −281 | 10 |

## Fixtures
### Pre-season

| Round | Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Match Information | Match Information |
| Round | Home | Score | Away | Date and time (Local) | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | Parramatta Eels | 20 – 22 | Canberra Raiders | Friday, 15 February, 7:00 pm | St Marys Leagues Stadium | |
| 2 | Penrith Panthers | 0 – 20 | Parramatta Eels | Saturday, 2 March, 7:00 pm | Panthers Stadium | 6,339 |
| Source: ||||||||||

### Home and away season

| Round | Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Match Information | Match Information | Match Information |
| Round | Home | Score | Away | Date and time (Local) | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | Penrith Panthers | 12 – 20 | Parramatta Eels | Sunday 17 March, 4:05 pm | Panthers Stadium | 12,604 |
| 2 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 16 – 36 | Parramatta Eels | Sunday, 24 March, 4:05 pm | ANZ Stadium | 20,134 |
| 3 | Parramatta Eels | 18 – 32 | Sydney Roosters | Friday, 29 March, 7:55 pm | ANZ Stadium | 13,367 |
| 4 | Parramatta Eels | 24 – 12 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Saturday, 6 April, 7:35 pm | ANZ Stadium | 11,185 |
| 5 | Canberra Raiders | 19 – 0 | Parramatta Eels | Sunday, 14 April, 6:10 pm | GIO Stadium | 16,059 |
| 6 | Parramatta Eels | 51 – 6 | Wests Tigers | Monday, 22 April, 4:00 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 29,047 |
| 7 | Newcastle Knights | 28 – 14 | Parramatta Eels | Sunday, 28 April, 4:05 pm | McDonald Jones Stadium | 19,604 |
| 8 | Parramatta Eels | 32 – 18 | St George Illawarra Dragons | Sunday, 5 May, 4:05 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 25,872 |
| 9 | Melbourne Storm | 64 – 10 | Parramatta Eels | Saturday, 11 May, 7:35 pm | Suncorp Stadium | 41,612 |
| 10 | North Queensland Cowboys | 17 – 10 | Parramatta Eels | Saturday, 18 May, 5:30 pm | 1300SMILES Stadium | 12,493 |
| 11 | Parramatta Eels | 10 – 16 | Penrith Panthers | Thursday, 23 May, 7:50 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 16,228 |
| 12 | Parramatta Eels | 26 – 14 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Friday, 31 May, 7:55 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 21,645 |
| 13 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 42 – 22 | Parramatta Eels | Saturday, 8 June, 5:30 pm | Shark Park | 12,386 |
| 14 | Parramatta Eels | 38 – 10 | Brisbane Broncos | Saturday, 15 June, 7:35 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 16,854 |
| 15 | Parramatta Eels | 22 – 16 | Canberra Raiders | Saturday, 29 June, 7:35 pm | TIO Stadium | 5,391 |
| 16 | Bye Round | Bye Round | Bye Round | Bye Round | Bye Round | Bye Round | Bye Round |
| 17 | Wests Tigers | 18 – 30 | Parramatta Eels | Sunday, 14 July, 4:05 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 24,125 |
| 18 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 36 – 24 | Parramatta Eels | Sunday, 21 July, 4:05 pm | Lottoland | 15,245 |
| 19 | Parramatta Eels | 24 – 22 | New Zealand Warriors | Saturday, 27 July, 3:00 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 17,392 |
| 20 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 4 – 12 | Parramatta Eels | Sunday, 4 August, 4:05 pm | Netstrata Jubilee Stadium | 9,645 |
| 21 | Parramatta Eels | 20 – 14 | Newcastle Knights | Saturday, 10 August, 6:30 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 20,671 |
| 22 | Gold Coast Titans | 12 – 36 | Parramatta Eels | Friday, 16 August, 6:00 pm | Cbus Super Stadium | 10,780 |
| 23 | Parramatta Eels | 6 – 12 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Thursday, 22 August, 7:50 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 18,071 |
| 24 | Brisbane Broncos | 17 – 16 | Parramatta Eels | Friday, 30 August, 7:55 pm | Suncorp Stadium | 33,020 |
| 25 | Parramatta Eels | 32 – 16 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Friday, 6 September, 6:00 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 25,034 |
| Source: |||||||

### Finals series

| Final | Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Match Information | Match Information |
| Final | Home | Score | Away | Date and time (Local) | Venue | Attendance |
| EF | Parramatta Eels | 58 – 0 | Brisbane Broncos | Sunday, 15 September, 4:00 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 29,372 |
| SF | Melbourne Storm | 32 – 0 | Parramatta Eels | Saturday, 21 September, 5:30 pm | AAMI Park | 21,015 |
| Source: ||||||||||

## Players and staff

The playing squad and coaching staff of the Parramatta Eels for the 2019 NRL season as of 28 July 2019.

## Transfers

In:
| Name | From | Transfer window | Date |
| Dylan Brown | Youth | Pre-season | |
| Andrew Davey | Townsville Blackhawks | Pre-season | October 2018 |
| Salesi Fainga'a | Youth | Pre-season | |
| Blake Ferguson | Sydney Roosters | Pre-season | |
| Shaun Lane | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | Pre-season | October 2018 |
| Ethan Parry | Youth | Pre-season | |
| Junior Paulo | Canberra Raiders | Pre-season | |
| Maika Sivo | Penrith Panthers | Pre-season | October 2018 |
| Stefano Utoikamanu | Youth | Pre-season | |
| Matthew McIlwrick | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Mid-season | March 2019 |
| Waqa Blake | Penrith Panthers | Mid-season | June 2019 |
Out:
| Name | To | Transfer window | Date |
| Kirisome Auva'a | Retired | Pre-season | |
| Cameron King | Featherstone Rovers | Pre-season | |
| Suaia Matagi | Huddersfield Giants | Pre-season | |
| Corey Norman | St George Illawarra Dragons | Pre-season | December 2018 |
| Beau Scott | Retired | Pre-season | |
| Tony Williams | Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles | Pre-season | |
| Nathan Davis | Released | Pre-season | |
| Jarryd Hayne | Released | Pre-season | |
| Siosaia Vave | St Marys Saints | Pre-season | |
| Kaysa Pritchard | Retired | Mid-season | June 2019 |
| Bevan French | Wigan Warriors | Mid-season | July 2019 |