# 2017 Parramatta Eels season

The 2017 Parramatta Eels season is the 71st in the club's history. Coached by Brad Arthur and co-captained by Tim Mannah and Beau Scott, they are competing in the NRL's 2017 Telstra Premiership.

## Summary

Parramatta started the 2017 season off with victories over Manly and St. George Illawarra before succumbing to four straight losses. In the Easter Monday game against the Wests Tigers, Parramatta trailed the game 16-10 but came back in the second half to win 26-22. At the midway point of the season, Parramatta sat ninth on the table before going on to win nine of their next ten matches to finish fourth and qualify for their first finals series since 2009. The club would go into the finals series without Clinton Gutherson and Bevan French who both suffered season ending injuries.
In week one of the finals, Parramatta narrowly lost 18-16 to Minor Premiers Melbourne in a controversial match at AAMI Park with Melbourne scoring two questionable tries which were not checked by the NRL bunker. With 30 seconds remaining, Melbourne player Will Chambers performed what seemed to be a voluntary tackle which was not penalised by the referee which would have given Parramatta a chance at a penalty goal right in front of the posts to make it 18-18. In week two of the finals, Parramatta hosted North Queensland who had only qualified for the finals due to St. George Illawarra failing to win their final regular season match. North Queensland were also depleted by injuries with star players Johnathan Thurston and Matthew Scott being ruled out. Parramatta held a 10-6 lead at half-time but suffered a second half capitulation losing 24-16 which ended their season.

## Squad information

* This section lists players who were in Parramatta's first grade squad at any point during the 2017 season
* Asterisks indicates player left mid-season
* Caret symbol indicates player joined mid-season
* Hash symbol indicates player retired mid-season
| Nat. | Name | Position | Joined | Signed from |
| | Daniel Alvaro | PR | 2015 | Youth |
| | Kirisome Auva'a | CE | 2017 | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| | Nathan Brown | PR / SR / LK | 2017 | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| | Troy Dargan | HB | 2017 | Youth |
| | Nathan Davis^ | FB / CE / WG | 2017 | Gold Coast Titans |
| | Isaac De Gois | HK | 2014 | Cronulla Sharks |
| | Kenny Edwards | SR / LK | 2013 | Southport Tigers |
| | Bureta Faraimo* | WG | 2014 | Mackay Cutters |
| | Jamal Fogarty* | HB | 2017 | Burleigh Bears |
| | John Folau | WG / CE | 2015 | Youth |
| | Bevan French | FB | 2016 | Youth |
| | 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 |
| | Josh Hoffman | FB / CE / WG / FE | 2017 | Gold Coast Titans |
| | George Jennings | CE / WG | 2017 | Penrith Panthers |
| | Michael Jennings | CE | 2016 | Sydney Roosters |
| | Cameron King | HK | 2016 | North Queensland Cowboys |
| | Manu Ma'u | SR | 2014 | Wentworthville Magpies |
| | Tim Mannah | PR | 2009 | Youth |
| | Suaia Matagi | PR | 2017 | Penrith Panthers |
| | Tepai Moeroa | SR | 2014 | Youth |
| | Jack Morris | SR | 2017 | Youth |
| | Mitchell Moses^ | HB | 2017 | Wests Tigers |
| | Cody Nelson | SR / FE | 2015 | Gold Coast Titans |
| | Marata Niukore | SR / CE | 2017 | New Zealand Warriors |
| | Corey Norman | FE / FB | 2014 | Brisbane Broncos |
| | Rory O'Brien | PR | 2016 | St George Illawarra Dragons |
| | Frank Pritchard | SR | 2017 | Hull FC |
| | 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 |
| | Will Smith | FE / FB / CE | 2017 | Penrith Panthers |
| | Brad Takairangi | SR / CE | 2015 | Gold Coast Titans |
| | Kelepi Tanginoa* | SR / LK | 2016 | North Queensland Cowboys |
| | Peni Terepo | PR / SR / LK | 2013 | Youth |
| | Honeti Tuha | WG | 2016 | Newcastle Knights |
| | Alex Twal* | PR | 2016 | Youth |
| | Joseph Ualesi | SR / LK | 2013 | Youth |
| | Siosaia Vave | PR | 2017 | Manly Sea Eagles |
| | Matthew Woods | LK / SR | 2016 | Wests Tigers |
| Source: ||||||

## Transfers

In:
| Pos. | Name | From | Transfer window | Date |
| PR | Siosaia Vave | Manly Sea Eagles | Pre-season | August 2016 |
| PR | Nathan Brown | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Pre-season | September 2016 |
| CE | George Jennings | Penrith Panthers | Pre-season | September 2016 |
| FB | Josh Hoffman | Gold Coast Titans | Pre-season | October 2016 |
| CE | Kirisome Auva'a | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Pre-season | November 2016 |
| FE | Will Smith | Penrith Panthers | Pre-season | November 2016 |
| HB | Jamal Fogarty | Burleigh Bears | Pre-season | November 2016 |
| SR | Marata Niukore | New Zealand Warriors | Pre-season | November 2016 |
| SR | Jack Morris | Youth | Pre-season | November 2016 |
| PR | Suaia Matagi | Penrith Panthers | Pre-season | November 2016 |
| SR | Frank Pritchard | Hull FC | Pre-season | November 2016 |
| FB | Nathan Davis | Gold Coast Titans | Mid-season | March 2017 |
| FE | Mitchell Moses | Wests Tigers | Mid-season | May 2017 |
Out:
| Pos. | Name | To | Transfer window | Date |
| SR | Anthony Watmough | Retired | Pre-season | May 2016 |
| FB | Michael Gordon | Sydney Roosters | Pre-season | June 2016 |
| CE | Tyrell Fuimaono | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Pre-season | August 2016 |
| HB | Luke Kelly | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Pre-season | October 2016 |
| HB | Mitch Cornish | Sydney Roosters | Pre-season | October 2016 |
| PR | Danny Wicks | Retired | Pre-season | November 2016 |
| WG | Vai Toutai | Released | Pre-season | January 2017 |
| PR | James Hasson | Salford Red Devils | Mid-season | May 2017 |
| HB | Jamal Fogarty | Gold Coast Titans | Mid-season | June 2017 |
| PR | Alex Twal | Wests Tigers | Mid-season | June 2017 |
| WG | Bureta Faraimo | New Zealand Warriors | Mid-season | June 2017 |
| SR | Kelepi Tanginoa | Manly Sea Eagles | Mid-season | June 2017 |

## Auckland Nines
### Pool table

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| Parramatta Eels | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 66 | 23 | +43 | 6 |
| Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 50 | 48 | +2 | 4 |
| St George Illawarra Dragons | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 45 | 65 | −20 | 2 |
| New Zealand Warriors | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 46 | −25 | 0 |

### Bracket

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final | Final |
| Penrith Panthers | Penrith Panthers | 16 | | | | | | |
| Manly Sea Eagles | Manly Sea Eagles | 12 | | | | | | |
| Manly Sea Eagles | Manly Sea Eagles | 12 | Penrith Panthers | Penrith Panthers | 13 | | | |
| | | | Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Eels | 0 | | | |
| Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Eels | 14 | Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Eels | 0 | | | |
| Gold Coast Titans | Gold Coast Titans | 0 | | | | | | |
| Gold Coast Titans | Gold Coast Titans | 0 | | | | Penrith Panthers | Penrith Panthers | 8 |
| | | | | | | Sydney Roosters | Sydney Roosters | 10 |
| Brisbane Broncos | Brisbane Broncos | 14 | | | | | | | Sydney Roosters | Sydney Roosters | 10 |
| Sydney Roosters | Sydney Roosters | 15 | | | | | | |
| Sydney Roosters | Sydney Roosters | 15 | Sydney Roosters | Sydney Roosters | 21 | | | |
| | | | Melbourne Storm | Melbourne Storm | 16 | | | |
| North Queensland Cowboys | North Queensland Cowboys | 12 | Melbourne Storm | Melbourne Storm | 16 | | | |
| Melbourne Storm | Melbourne Storm | 25 | | | | | | |

### Matches

| 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 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 11 – 32 | Parramatta Eels | Saturday, 4 February, 12:50 PM | Eden Park | 22,000 |
| 2 | New Zealand Warriors | 0 – 17 | Parramatta Eels | Saturday, 4 February, 5:10 PM | Eden Park | 22,000 |
| 3 | Manly Sea Eagles | 12 – 17 | Parramatta Eels | Sunday, 5 February, 11:25 AM | Eden Park | 22,000 |
| QF | Parramatta Eels | 17 – 0 | Gold Coast Titans | Sunday, 5 February, 2:20 PM | Eden Park | 22,000 |
| SF | Penrith Panthers | 13 – 0 | Parramatta Eels | Sunday, 5 February, 4:40 PM | Eden Park | 22,000 |
| GF | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | | | Eden Park | 22,000 |
| 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 | 18 – 30 | Gold Coast Titans | Saturday, 11 February, 7:30 PM | ANZAC Oval | 2,207 |
| 2 | Penrith Panthers | 18 – 6 | Parramatta Eels | Saturday, 18 February, 7:10 PM | Penrith Stadium | |
| Source: ||||||||||

## Home and away season
### League table

2017 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Melbourne Storm (P) | 24 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 633 | 336 | +297 | 44 |
| 2 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 500 | 428 | +72 | 38 |
| 3 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 597 | 433 | +164 | 36 |
| 4 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 496 | 457 | +39 | 36 |
| 5 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 476 | 407 | +69 | 34 |
| 6 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 552 | 512 | +40 | 32 |
| 7 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 504 | 459 | +45 | 30 |
| 8 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 467 | 443 | +24 | 30 |
| 9 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 533 | 450 | +83 | 28 |
| 10 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 558 | 497 | +61 | 26 |
| 11 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 360 | 455 | −95 | 24 |
| 12 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 464 | 564 | −100 | 22 |
| 13 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 444 | 575 | −131 | 18 |
| 14 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 413 | 571 | −158 | 18 |
| 15 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 448 | 638 | −190 | 18 |
| 16 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 428 | 648 | −220 | 14 |

### Result by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| Ground | A | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | H | – | H | A | – | A | H | A | H | H | A | H |
| Result | W | W | L | L | L | L | W | W | W | L | L | W | W | L | W | B | W | W | B | W | W | W | L | W | W | W |
| Position | 4 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 |

### Matches

| Round | Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Match Information | Match Information |
| Round | Home | Score | Away | Date and time (Local) | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 12 – 20 | Parramatta Eels | Sunday, 5 March, 4:00 PM | Lottoland | 11,318 |
| 2 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 16 – 34 | Parramatta Eels | Sunday, 12 March, 6:30 PM | WIN Stadium | 16,023 |
| 3 | Gold Coast Titans | 26 – 14 | Parramatta Eels | Friday, 17 March, 8:05 PM | Cbus Super Stadium | 11,612 |
| 4 | Parramatta Eels | 6 – 20 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Saturday, 25 March, 7:00 PM | ANZ Stadium | 17,003 |
| 5 | Canberra Raiders | 30 – 18 | Parramatta Eels | Saturday, 1 April, 5:30 PM | GIO Stadium | 17,653 |
| 6 | New Zealand Warriors | 22 – 10 | Parramatta Eels | Sunday, 9 April, 1:30 PM | Mt Smart Stadium | 13,526 |
| 7 | Parramatta Eels | 26 – 22 | Wests Tigers | Monday, 17 April, 3:30 PM | ANZ Stadium | 28,249 |
| 8 | Parramatta Eels | 18 – 12 | Penrith Panthers | Saturday, 22 April, 3:00 PM | ANZ Stadium | 14,070 |
| 9 | North Queensland Cowboys | 6 – 26 | Parramatta Eels | Friday, 28 April, 8:05 PM | 1300SMILES Stadium | 10,594 |
| 10 | Sydney Roosters | 48 – 10 | Parramatta Eels | Sunday, 14 May, 3:00 PM | Allianz Stadium | 10,467 |
| 11 | Parramatta Eels | 16 – 22 | Canberra Raiders | Saturday, 20 May, 7:30 PM | ANZ Stadium | 10,074 |
| 12 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 16 – 22 | Parramatta Eels | Friday, 26 May, 7:50 PM | ANZ Stadium | 14,218 |
| 13 | Parramatta Eels | 32 – 24 | New Zealand Warriors | Friday, 2 June, 7:50 PM | ANZ Stadium | 9,489 |
| 14 | Parramatta Eels | 6 – 32 | North Queensland Cowboys | Saturday, 10 June, 7:30 PM | TIO Stadium | 11,968 |
| 15 | Parramatta Eels | 24 – 10 | St George-Illawarra Dragons | Sunday, 18 June, 4:00 PM | ANZ Stadium | 13,559 |
| Bye Round ||||||||
| 17 | Parramatta Eels | 13 – 12 (gp) | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Thursday, 29 June, 7:50 PM | ANZ Stadium | 14,061 |
| 18 | Melbourne Storm | 6 – 22 | Parramatta Eels | Saturday, 8 July, 7:30 PM | AAMI Park | 13,593 |
| Bye Round ||||||||
| 20 | Wests Tigers | 16 – 17 | Parramatta Eels | Sunday, 23 July, 4:00 PM | ANZ Stadium | 30,901 |
| 21 | Parramatta Eels | 28 – 14 | Brisbane Broncos | Friday, 28 July, 7:50 PM | ANZ Stadium | 12,182 |
| 22 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 4 – 20 | Parramatta Eels | Thursday, 3 August, 7:50 PM | ANZ Stadium | 12,137 |
| 23 | Parramatta Eels | 10 – 29 | Newcastle Knights | Friday, 11 August, 6:00 PM | ANZ Stadium | 13,141 |
| 24 | Parramatta Eels | 30 – 8 | Gold Coast Titans | Thursday, 17 August, 7:50 PM | ANZ Stadium | 6,826 |
| 25 | Brisbane Broncos | 34 – 52 | Parramatta Eels | Thursday, 24 August, 7:50 PM | Suncorp Stadium | 29,058 |
| 26 | Parramatta Eels | 22 – 16 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Friday, 1 September, 7:50 PM | ANZ Stadium | 21,533 |
| Source: ||||||||||

## 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 |
| 9 September – Melbourne | 9 September – Melbourne | 9 September – Melbourne | | | | | | | | | |
| 1 | Melbourne Storm | 18 | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Parramatta Eels | 16 | 16 September – Sydney | 16 September – Sydney | 16 September – Sydney | | | | |
| | | | Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Eels | 16 | | | | |
| 10 September – Sydney | 10 September – Sydney | 10 September – Sydney | North Queensland Cowboys | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 22 September – Melbourne | 22 September – Melbourne | 22 September – Melbourne | | | |
| 5 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 14 | | | | Melbourne Storm | Melbourne Storm | 30 | |
| 8 | North Queensland Cowboys | 15 | | | | Brisbane Broncos | Brisbane Broncos | 0 | 1 October – Sydney | 1 October – Sydney | 1 October – Sydney |
| | | | | | | | | | Melbourne Storm | Melbourne Storm | 34 |
| 9 September – Sydney | 9 September – Sydney | 9 September – Sydney | | | | 23 September – Sydney | 23 September – Sydney | 23 September – Sydney | North Queensland Cowboys | North Queensland Cowboys | 6 |
| 6 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 10 | | | | Sydney Roosters | Sydney Roosters | 16 | | |
| 7 | Penrith Panthers | 22 | 15 September – Brisbane | 15 September – Brisbane | 15 September – Brisbane | North Queensland Cowboys | North Queensland Cowboys | 29 | | |
| | | | Brisbane Broncos | Brisbane Broncos | 13 | | | | | | |
| 8 September – Sydney | 8 September – Sydney | 8 September – Sydney | Penrith Panthers | Penrith Panthers | 6 | | | | | |
| 2 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Brisbane Broncos | 22 | | | | | | | | |

### Matches

| Final | Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Match Information | Match Information |
| Final | Home | Score | Away | Date and time (Local) | Venue | Attendance |
| QF1 | Melbourne Storm | 18 – 16 | Parramatta Eels | Saturday, 9 September, 4:10 PM | AAMI Park | 22,626 |
| SF1 | Parramatta Eels | 16 – 24 | North Queensland Cowboys | Saturday, 16 September, 7:40 PM | ANZ Stadium | 41,287 |
| Source: ||||||||||

## Representative call-ups
### Domestic

| Player | Team | Call-up | Date |
| Bevan French | Indigenous All Stars | 2017 All Stars Match | February 2017 |
| Tepai Moeroa | World All Stars | 2017 All Stars Match | February 2017 |
| Clinton Gutherson | NSW City | 2017 City vs Country Origin | May 2017 |
| David Gower | NSW City | 2017 City vs Country Origin | May 2017 |
| Daniel Alvaro | NSW Country | 2017 City vs Country Origin | May 2017 |

### International

| Player | Country | Call-up | Date |
| Marata Niukore | Cook Islands | 2017 Pacific Rugby League Tests | May 2017 |
| Suaia Matagi | Samoa | 2017 Pacific Rugby League Tests | May 2017 |
| Suaia Matagi | Samoa | 2017 Rugby League World Cup | October 2017 |
| Kaysa Pritchard | Samoa | 2017 Pacific Rugby League Tests | May 2017 |
| Siosaia Vave | Tonga | 2017 Pacific Rugby League Tests | May 2017 |
| Michael Jennings | Tonga | 2017 Rugby League World Cup | October 2017 |
| Manu Ma'u | Tonga | 2017 Rugby League World Cup | October 2017 |
| Peni Terepo | Tonga | 2017 Rugby League World Cup | October 2017 |
| Brad Takairangi | New Zealand | 2017 Rugby League World Cup | October 2017 |
| Daniel Alvaro | Italy | 2017 Rugby League World Cup | October 2017 |
| Nathan Brown | Italy | 2017 Rugby League World Cup | October 2017 |
| Frank Pritchard | Samoa | 2017 Rugby League World Cup | October 2017 |
| Salesi Fainga'a (NYC player) | Fiji | 2017 Rugby League World Cup | October 2017 |
| Anthony Layoun (NYC player) | Lebanon | 2017 Rugby League World Cup | October 2017 |
| Tim Mannah | Lebanon | 2017 Rugby League World Cup | October 2017 |
| Mitchell Moses | Lebanon | 2017 Rugby League World Cup | October 2017 |