# 2020 Parramatta Eels season

The 2020 Parramatta Eels season was the 74th in the club's history. Coached by Brad Arthur and captained by Clinton Gutherson, they competed in the NRL's 2020 Telstra Premiership.

## Summary

Parramatta started the 2020 season in fine form winning eight of their opening ten matches to sit first on the competition table. At the end of the 2020 regular season, Parramatta finished third, their best end to a season since 2005. In the qualifying final, Parramatta once again had to face Melbourne. After leading 12-0 early on in the game, Parramatta would lose 36-24. The following week in the elimination final, Parramatta went into half-time with a 18-8 lead over South Sydney but a second half capitulation which included Mitchell Moses missing a penalty goal directly in front of the posts which lead to a Souths try saw Parramatta lose 38-24 ending their season.

## Standings

2020 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Penrith Panthers | 20 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 537 | 238 | +299 | 37 |
| 2 | Melbourne Storm (P) | 20 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 534 | 276 | +258 | 32 |
| 3 | Parramatta Eels | 20 | 15 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 392 | 288 | +104 | 30 |
| 4 | Sydney Roosters | 20 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 552 | 322 | +230 | 28 |
| 5 | Canberra Raiders | 20 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 445 | 317 | +128 | 28 |
| 6 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 20 | 12 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 521 | 352 | +169 | 24 |
| 7 | Newcastle Knights | 20 | 11 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 421 | 374 | +47 | 23 |
| 8 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 20 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 480 | 480 | 0 | 20 |
| 9 | Gold Coast Titans | 20 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 346 | 463 | −117 | 18 |
| 10 | New Zealand Warriors | 20 | 8 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 343 | 458 | −115 | 16 |
| 11 | Wests Tigers | 20 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 440 | 505 | −65 | 14 |
| 12 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 20 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 378 | 452 | −74 | 14 |
| 13 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 20 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 375 | 509 | −134 | 14 |
| 14 | North Queensland Cowboys | 20 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 368 | 520 | −152 | 10 |
| 15 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 20 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 282 | 504 | −222 | 6 |
| 16 | Brisbane Broncos | 20 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 268 | 624 | −356 | 6 |

## Fixtures
### NRL Nines

| Match no. | Home | Score | Away | Match information | Match information | Match information | Match information | Match information |
| Match no. | Home | Score | Away | Date and time (local) | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 13 – 10 | Parramatta Eels | Friday, 14 February, 5:20 pm | HBF Park | 10,128 |
| 2 | Parramatta Eels | 15 – 7 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Saturday, 15 February, 12:25 pm | HBF Park | 14,739 |
| QF | Newcastle Knights | 7 – 14 | Parramatta Eels | Saturday, 15 February, 2:40 pm | HBF Park | 14,739 |
| SF | Parramatta Eels | 6 – 8 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Saturday, 15 February, 5:20 pm | HBF Park | 14,739 |
| GF | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | | | HBF Park | 14,739 |
| Source: ||||||||||

### 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 | 24 – 28 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Friday, 21 February, 7:00 pm | Ringrose Park | |
| 2 | Penrith Panthers | 22 – 22 | Parramatta Eels | Saturday, 29 February, 4:00 pm | Bega Recreation Ground | 4,867 |
| 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 | 8 – 2 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Thursday, 12 March, 8:05 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 21,363 |
| 2 | Gold Coast Titans | 6 – 46 | Parramatta Eels | Sunday, 22 March, 6:15 pm | Cbus Super Stadium | 0 |
| 3 | Brisbane Broncos | 6 – 34 | Parramatta Eels | Thursday, 28 May, 7:50 pm | Suncorp Stadium | 0 |
| 4 | Parramatta Eels | 19 – 16 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | Saturday, 6 June, 5:30 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 0 |
| 5 | Parramatta Eels | 16 – 10 | Penrith Panthers | Friday, 12 June, 7:55 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 507 |
| 6 | Sydney Roosters | 24 – 10 | Parramatta Eels | Saturday, 20 June, 7:35 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 579 |
| 7 | Parramatta Eels | 25 – 24 | Canberra Raiders | Saturday, 27 June, 7:35 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 560 |
| 8 | Parramatta Eels | 42 – 4 | North Queensland Cowboys | Friday, 3 July, 7:55 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 6,730 |
| 9 | Newcastle Knights | 4 – 10 | Parramatta Eels | Sunday, 12 July, 4:05 pm | McDonald Jones Stadium | 6,980 |
| 10 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 22 – 18 | Parramatta Eels | Saturday, 18 July, 7:35 pm | Lottoland | 2,021 |
| 11 | Parramatta Eels | 26 – 16 | Wests Tigers | Thursday, 23 July, 7:50 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 6,403 |
| 12 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 16 – 18 | Parramatta Eels | Sunday, 2 August, 2:00 pm | ANZ Stadium | 5,775 |
| 13 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 12 – 14 | Parramatta Eels | Sunday, 9 August, 4:05 pm | Netstrata Jubilee Stadium | 1,714 |
| 14 | Parramatta Eels | 12 – 14 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Friday, 14 August, 7:55 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 6,290 |
| 15 | Parramatta Eels | 14 – 0 | Melbourne Storm | Thursday, 20 August, 7:50 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 6,282 |
| 16 | Parramatta Eels | 0 – 38 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Thursday, 27 August, 7:50 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 7,012 |
| 17 | New Zealand Warriors | 18 – 24 | Parramatta Eels | Sunday, 6 September, 4:05 pm | Central Coast Stadium | 4,577 |
| 18 | Penrith Panthers | 20 – 2 | Parramatta Eels | Friday, 11 September, 7:55 pm | Panthers Stadium | 3,955 |
| 19 | Parramatta Eels | 26 – 12 | Brisbane Broncos | Friday, 18 September, 7:55 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 6,617 |
| 20 | Wests Tigers | 24 – 28 | Parramatta Eels | Saturday, 26 September, 7:35 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 7,359 |
| Source: |||||||
Notes: $^a$^ From round 2 to round 4, all matches were played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

### Finals series

| Round | Home | Score | Away | Match information | Match information | Match information |
| Round | Home | Score | Away | Date and time (local) | Venue | Attendance |
| QF | Melbourne Storm | 36 – 24 | Parramatta Eels | Saturday, 3 October, 7:50 pm | Suncorp Stadium | 16,238 |
| SF | Parramatta Eels | 24 – 38 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Saturday, 10 October, 7:50 pm | Bankwest Stadium | 14,510 |
| Source: |||||||

## Players and staff

The playing squad and coaching staff of the Parramatta Eels for the 2020 NRL season as of 14 August 2020.

## Transfers

In:
| Pos. | Name | From | Transfer window | Date |
| PR | Reagan Campbell-Gillard | Penrith Panthers | Pre-season | September 2019 |
| SR | Ryan Matterson | Wests Tigers | Pre-season | November 2019 |
| PR | Sam Hughes | Youth | Pre-season | November 2019 |
| HK | Kyle Schneider | Youth | Pre-season | November 2019 |
| HK | Rhys Davies | Youth | Pre-season | February 2020 |
| FB | Watson Heleta | Western Suburbs Magpies | Pre-season | February 2020 |
| FE | Jai Field | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Mid-season | May 2020 |
| FB | Jordan Rankin | Huddersfield Giants | Mid-season | June 2020 |
Out:
| Pos. | Name | To | Transfer window | Date |
| SR | Tepai Moeroa | NSW Waratahs (rugby union) | Pre-season | July 2019 |
| SR | Manu Ma’u | Hull F.C. | Pre-season | July 2019 |
| PR | Tim Mannah | Retired | Pre-season | September 2019 |
| HK | Matt McIlwrick | Retired | Pre-season | November 2019 |
| WG | Greg Leleisiuao | Gold Coast Titans | Pre-season | January 2020 |
| SR | Salesi Fainga'a | Western Suburbs Magpies | Pre-season | February 2020 |
| FB | Josh Hoffman | Townsville Blackhawks | Pre-season | February 2020 |
| WG | Ethan Parry | Released | Mid-season | May 2020 |