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86-574: The Rugby League World Sevens , usually referred to as the World Sevens and sometimes as the World Cup Sevens , was a pre-season rugby league sevens tournament made up over the years primarily of New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL), Australian Rugby League (ARL) and mostly recently National Rugby League (NRL) teams, along with teams representing NSW Country and nations including Tonga, France, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Russia, Fiji,

172-709: A 1933 match between Australia and England at Roundhay Park in Leeds. This match was also attended by English royalty. The first rugby league sevens tournament was played in Australia in 1961. The major tournament was the World Sevens played prior to the beginning of the National Rugby League season in Sydney , Australia. That tournament has been suspended but sevens is played around the world at different levels from junior teams to international ones. Sevens

258-510: A bit of a bagging in the press today saying we're a typical Pommy side and can't tackle ... and the other thing was that they say 'Oh, Penrith 's got the easy draw again because they're playing Wigan'". In the event, Wigan breezed past Penrith 22–8 in the quarter-final and a Denis Betts try in extra time won the semi-final against Manly. Scorer of six tries before the game, Martin Offiah , the Man of

344-564: A dominant regular season, where they scored a total of 839 points and lost only 4 matches, but were defeated by the Newcastle Knights 30–24. The week leading up to the grand final itself is also remembered for The infamous 2001 grand final breakfast where coach Brian Smith and the Parramatta players attended wearing as Newcastle player Mark Hughes described "Miami Vice black suits". Another Newcastle player Ben Kennedy reflected on

430-401: A new 30,000-seat stadium. The final home game played at Parramatta Stadium was against The St. George in front of 13,553 spectators. Parramatta went on to beat St. George 30–18. Parramatta's final game of 2016 saw them travel to New Zealand to play The Auckland Warriors. Parramatta won the match 40–18 with Bevan French scoring 3 tries. At the end of the season, Parramatta finished in 14th place on

516-493: A six-game losing streak against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks . This horror start to the season, and a win rate of less than 25% over almost two seasons with the club, coach Stephen Kearney was forced to resign and Assistant Coach Brad Arthur would become caretaker. The team responded to this producing 3 wins from 4 games, including competition front-runners Melbourne Storm and Brisbane Broncos to give

602-431: 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

688-550: A tap kick restart is taken by the non-scoring side. The World Sevens , the world's premier sevens event while it operated, had two 7 minute halves up to and including the semi-finals with extra time played in the event of tie at the end normal time. The final was longer with two 10-minute halves. In 2004, the World Sevens tackle limit was reduced from 6 to 4. Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in

774-833: Is a possibility that the Sevens derivative could be replaced by a nines tournament should there be enough support from the rugby league authorities entering teams. In 2014, the National Rugby League held the first edition of the Auckland Nines , contested between National Rugby League teams only. ^   a:  First title for Wests Tigers but one previous win for Balmain Tigers, a merged partner in Wests Tigers Rugby league sevens As well as being played by club sides, rugby league sevens

860-521: Is at liberty to adopt a modified version of international rugby league rules for their own domestic competitions; as a result the rules of rugby league sevens can vary too, even before changes implemented by competition organisers. Matches have two halves of seven minutes. Unlimited substitutions are allowed from a squad totalling 12 players. In sevens, smaller scrums , formed from the three forwards on each team, are formed. All kicks for goal should be drop kicks in sevens. After points have been scored

946-575: Is considered to be a good tool to increase the skills of players and to help emerging rugby league nations. Sevens is played on a standard rugby league playing field as defined in Section 1 of the International Laws of the Game . Teams are composed of three forwards, one half and three backs. Sevens follows the rules of 13-a-side rugby league with exceptions. Each rugby league nation

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1032-603: Is considered to have value in growing rugby league nations to a higher skill level and the exposure to new audiences globally of the sport via broadcast coverage. The other motivation for this potential change was voiced by Tas Baiteri, International Development Officer for the Rugby League International Federation , who stated: "We would be looking at just having nations in the World Sevens. By having an Australian team means that it will not interrupt preparations for any NRL clubs". One reason for

1118-519: Is particularly popular with social teams, formed in the workplace or from the patrons of a public house for example, as it is often difficult in these places to form a full squad of 13 players and four substitutes of regular players. Some tournaments prefer to play rugby league nines (rugby league with nine players on each side) to distinguish it from rugby union sevens . The game of rugby sevens dates back to its invention by Ned Haig in Melrose in

1204-466: Is regarded as "the one that got away" with Manly winning 13-10 despite the Eels crossing for two tries to Manly's one. A dropped pass by winger Neville Glover with the line wide open in the dying moments of the game ultimately costing the Eels a chance to win the game. Had Glover scored the score would have been tied at 13-all giving goal kicking Five-eighth John Peard a sideline conversion attempt to win

1290-753: The Australian Rugby League by picking up high-profile players such as Dean Pay , Jason Smith , Jim Dymock and Jarrod McCracken from the 1995 premiership-winning side, the Sydney Bulldogs . In 1997, the Eels remained in the ARL's competition and made the finals for the first time in 11 seasons by finishing third in the Australian Rugby League competition. Parramatta continued into the NRL era which began in 1998, surviving

1376-565: The Gold Coast Titans (a team that Parramatta had never beaten before), 27–2 at SFS and Canterbury-Bankstown , 22–12 in front of a record-breaking non-grand final crowd of 74,549 at ANZ stadium, the Eels qualified for their first grand final since 2001. On 4 October 2009, Parramatta Eels played the deciding game of NRL , against the Melbourne Storm at ANZ Stadium in front of a crowd of 82,538. The Melbourne Storm defeated

1462-624: The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in 1982 and 1983. In 1984 the team once again reached the Grand Final, but lost in a low-scoring game to the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 6–4. In 1986, the club took out their third minor premiership while also reaching the grand final, beating Canterbury 4–2 in the second lowest-scoring decider in history. This win proved to be most notably among the victories in

1548-471: The Scottish Borders in 1883, just over a decade before the schism in rugby football in 1895, which led to the creation of rugby league and rugby union . However, rugby sevens did not spread outside Scotland before the 1920s. That said, the larger part of Scotland's rugby league players have come from Borders backgrounds. The record rugby league sevens attendance remains the 80,000 that attended

1634-587: The Souths Logan Magpies from the Queensland Wizard Cup and the Gold Coast Titans , who entered the NRL in 2007, were two well known clubs that participated. In 2008, it emerged that the World Sevens could make a comeback by 2010. The competitors in the revived competition would be international sides rather than the assorted mix of clubs, nations and other representative sides of the past. A competition between only national sides

1720-411: The Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their home ground was Cumberland Oval. After the 1981 grand final win fans damaged Cumberland Oval which was later replaced by Parramatta stadium on the same site. As of 2019, Parramatta's home ground stadium has been rebuilt and they now play as

1806-519: The 1995 tournament's opening day being held at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, and the 1996 tournament's opening day taking place at Parramatta Stadium . Wigan played in the rain-soaked 1992 World Sevens as they opted to fulfil a promise made by their club's chairman, Maurice Lindsay , to appear despite having commitments in the Challenge Cup . After a win in extra time against Cronulla in

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1892-525: The 19th century with the formation of the Parramatta Rugby Club in 1879. With the advent of a Sydney District competition in 1900, the Parramatta club merged with Western Suburbs and played some of its matches at Cumberland Oval . On a local level, rugby league began to be played in 1910 when a district competition was formed. Other clubs in the Parramatta district also emerged; over the ensuing decades, clubs established in suburbs throughout

1978-480: The 2011 season, coach Stephen Kearney motioned several reshuffles of the Parramatta side, the most high-profile change being fullback Jarryd Hayne's switch to five-eighth after his ball-playing abilities were considered by several experts including the NSW State of Origin coach Ricky Stuart, as his strongest point. Other switches include the moving of Luke Burt to fullback, second-rower Ben Smith to right centre, and

2064-470: The 2011 season. In the forwards, the Eels added former Queensland centre Carl Webb and former Bulldogs and Cronulla as well as one-time Kangaroo Reni Maitua . To bolster the backs after the retirement of Eric Grothe Jr and the departure of Timana Tahu , the Eels signed the experienced pair of Chris Walker and Chris Hicks . The 2011 season was to be considered a year of "almosts" for Parramatta, with

2150-416: The 2013 season. Another wooden spoon followed at the end of 2013, with the club suffering their second biggest loss ever (4–64 to Melbourne in round 24), and conceding three other scores of 50 or more. On 12 September 2013, it was announced Ricky Stuart would leave Parramatta to take up the head coaching role at Canberra for the 2014 season. Parramatta were determined to continue their rebuilding process in

2236-415: The 2018 season, Parramatta were predicted by many before the season to finish in the top 8 and challenge for the premiership. Those predictions were matched in the opening round of the season as Parramatta lead Penrith 14–0 early on but after a second half capitulation lost the game 24–14. In Round 2, Parramatta were humiliated 54–0 by Manly at Brookvale Oval . Parramatta went on to lose the opening 6 games of

2322-553: The Eels 23–16, ending what critics called "the Parramatta Fairytale" and winning the NRL Premiership . Such was the euphoria at the time with Parramatta making an incredible run to the 2009 grand final that the then NSW Premier Nathan Rees pledged that if Parramatta were to win the premiership he would rename two of the new trains due to be rolled out across The Sydney network the following year. The names of

2408-619: The Eels as $ 151 outsiders to win the NRL Premiership. Though beginning in Round 19, upset victories against the Melbourne Storm and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs set the platform for an unexpected 10 wins from the next 11 games, which propelled the Eels into the Top 8 and consequently, premiership contention. This unanticipated winning streak was directly attributed by many sporting experts including Rugby League legend Andrew Johns to

2494-456: The NRL ladder, the club finishing in 14th position. The 2012 season saw the retirement of Parramatta legends Luke Burt and Nathan Hindmarsh . It would also mark the first time since 1972 that the team would succumb to the dreaded wooden spoon. Parramatta struggled all year, securing just their first win of the season in Round 5 against defending premiers Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles before ending

2580-770: The NRL. 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 Eels would not be able to accrue any further competition points until they fall under the salary cap, which they were reported to be $ 500,000 over as of 3 May 2016. 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, after over 2 months of club officials contesting

2666-582: The Parramatta Leagues Club board was sacked by the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority, and an administrator appointed. This effectively also removed the Parramatta board as the seven directors on both boards were the same people. Max Donnelly, of Ferrier Hodgson was appointed as administrator. At the time of the 12-point deduction, Parramatta were sitting 5th on the ladder but then found themselves at 14th position. Prior to

Rugby League World Sevens - Misplaced Pages Continue

2752-452: The Parramatta club were picked at the beginning of the year by many leading betting agencies to take out the premiership for 2010 following their surge of form which took them to the grand final in 2009. But, after a relatively poor start to the season, and then a 4-game winning streak, the Parramatta side once again returned to the inconsistent form of past seasons. This inconsistent form, recognised by all Rugby League fans, saw them miss out on

2838-573: The Series, scored four more in the final played against the Brisbane Broncos (the former club of Wigan's new recruit for 1992, Gene Miles ), a game Wigan won 18–6. 1993 saw Wigan not defending their title. Eastern Suburbs defeated Manly Warringah in the final. The Sea Eagles would go on to win both the 1994 and 1995 World Sevens defeating St George and Fiji respectively. Manly's wins actually could have been potentially embarrassing for

2924-454: The Top 8 in 2010. After a season of unrelenting disappointment which saw five-eighth Daniel Mortimer dropped to reserve grade, centre Timana Tahu being suspended for an on-field confrontation against the Newcastle Knights and reports of player rifts, Daniel Anderson was sacked unceremoniously as Parramatta coach and replaced by New Zealand World Cup-winning coach Stephen Kearney . The Parramatta club made several new player signings for

3010-582: The US and England. When the National Rugby League was formed in Australasia in 1998 the World Sevens competition was dropped, but it returned in 2003 when Parramatta successfully defended their title from the last time in 1997. The World Sevens format saw entrants divided into eight pools. The top team in each pool progressed into the quarter-finals. Until 2004, second placed teams from each pool would play each other, as would third placed teams. In 2004, when

3096-723: The World Sevens. Some NRL clubs withdrew their top players. Steve Folkes , the Bulldogs coach, attacked the event, arguing that it put his players at risk of injury. Other clubs including the Wests Tigers, Parramatta and Manly continued to support the event by fielding strong sides. ARL chairman Colin Love threatened to change the rules to make it compulsory for all clubs to have their top players participate, and stated that any club which refused to do so could be hit with sanctions that involved them not being invited to participate in

3182-650: The Year and was crowned the best and fairest player in the game, winning the Dally M Medal for 2009. After a 7-game winning streak, the Eels succumbed to a heavy defeat by the minor premiers St George-Illawarra Dragons , however they returned to Kogarah in Week 1 of the 2009 NRL Finals Series and defeated the Dragons 25–12 featuring an impressive late game try by Dally M medal winner Jarryd Hayne . Following successive wins against

3268-602: The area. Pressure in the area for a local club to participate in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership began in the mid-1930s with a formal proposal put to the NSWRL in 1936 by local rugby league identities such as Jack Argent and Jack Scullin . The proposal was rejected by all clubs except Western Suburbs who, despite having the most to lose from the entrance of a Parramatta side (with much of their territory being lost to Parramatta), voted for

3354-489: The cap. It was acknowledged that this change was made due to the demoralising nature of the Storm punishment and having to witness a team running out week after week with nothing to play for. The aftermath ended with Parramatta hooker Nathan Peats being squeezed out of the club, so the club would be just under the salary cap and start playing for competition points for the remainder of the season. Though this did very little for

3440-415: The club came close to pulling off upset wins against top of the table St George only for the club to concede two tries in 5 minutes to lose 20–18 and South Sydney after leading 20–6 late into the game only for The Rabbitohs to score late tries and win 26–20. In Round 18, Parramatta lost 18–16 to Newcastle with The Eels being denied a last minute try after it was ruled winger Bevan French had put his foot over

3526-406: The club doing so poorly in the early years was due to a lack of resources and a weak playing roster. Where other teams fielded test and representative players, Parramatta fielded mainly amateur players or park footballers. The only players of note during this dark period were Billy Rayner and Brian Hambly . In 1962, Parramatta made the finals for the first time; this achievement was repeated for

Rugby League World Sevens - Misplaced Pages Continue

3612-541: The club finally reached the grand final, in their thirtieth season. However, they lost narrowly to a Manly-Warringah side that they had defeated just two weeks earlier. Both clubs had been admitted into the NSWRFL in 1947, and Parramatta were in their first grand final while Manly were in their eighth premiership decider (having qualified for their first in 1951 ) and were bidding for their third premiership after wins in 1972 and 1973 . Unfortunately for Parramatta, this game

3698-504: The club mid-season due to numerous personal problems and off field issues. The 2017 season saw a major turnaround for the club with Parramatta finishing fourth on the table and making the finals for the first time since 2009. Some of the highlights throughout the year were the club winning nine out of their final ten matches and defeating Brisbane twice including a 52–34 win at Suncorp Stadium and eventual premiers Melbourne. Parramatta then went on to play premiership favorites Melbourne in

3784-487: The clubs history, ending Canterbury's two year premiership winning streak. The fourth premiership victory capped off a strong period for the club, between 1975 and 1986, the club had only missed the finals once and played in seven grand finals, winning four. From 1987 to 1996, the Parramatta club failed to make the finals. With the advent of the Super League war in the mid-1990s, Parramatta capitalised on staying with

3870-399: The co-tenants at Western Sydney Stadium , which sits on the same site that was once Parramatta Stadium . It took thirty years for the club to make the grand final, which they did in 1976 and 1977, losing on both occasions. However, this period foreshadowed their most successful period in the early 1980s, when they won four premierships and qualified for five grand finals in six seasons. This

3956-428: The coming weeks. Between Round 12 and Round 22 of the 2019 season, Parramatta would go on to win 8 of their 10 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 5th on the table and qualified for the finals. In the elimination final against Brisbane, Parramatta won

4042-593: The competition was known as the Cougar Bourbon World Sevens , this format changed, when only the top placed teams played for the major prize. Each match played up to and including the semi-finals had two 7-minute halves with extra time played in the event of tie at the end normal time. The final is longer with two 10-minute halves. In 2004, the tackle limit was reduced from 6 to 4. The World Sevens were held at Parramatta Stadium from 1988 to 1991 and Sydney Football Stadium from 1992 to 2004, with

4128-599: The entrance of the new club. The advent of World War II put the establishment of the club on hold and a Parramatta district club was not proposed again until 1946 when the club was successfully admitted into the Premiership. Parramatta saw very little success in their early years, despite narrowly missing out on finals qualification in 1949 under the guidance of former Western Suburbs and Leeds five-eighth Vic Hey . Between 1952 and 1961 , they finished last eight times and won only 35 of 180 matches. The reasons behind

4214-633: The fans some hope for the rest of the season. However this was short lived and following a 38-6 thumping to the South Sydney Rabbitohs in Round 25 of the Telstra Premiership were officially unable to avoid the wooden spoon. Whilst Parramatta's problems in 2012 were largely attributed to their relatively poor defence, numerous pundits blamed them on the recurring absences of star fullback Jarryd Hayne . Even whilst producing higher per-match statistics than any other fullback in

4300-417: The first qualifying final, going into the second half Parramatta had stunned everyone by leading the match and it took Melbourne the last play of the game to hold on and win 18–16. The following week, Parramatta played against North Queensland in the sudden death elimination final. Parramatta led 10–6 at halftime but went on to lose the match 24–16 in what would be one of the biggest upsets of the season. For

4386-404: The following year's competition. The competition's standing was further weakened by news that Channel 9 would only be broadcasting a limited highlights television programme in areas of New South Wales and Queensland , despite having rights to show the event live. Ultimately, the fact that the 2004 tournament drew 15,000 fewer fans than the previous year led to the tournament being axed. In

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4472-518: The game (8 tries, 14 try-assists), Hayne only managed to complete 10 games from the season's 24, due to both injury and State of Origin duty . Throughout the season many of the Parramatta players came under scrutiny and were dropped to the NSW Cup , including high-profile recruit Chris Sandow , who at the time was touted as overweight and unfit, and veteran Luke Burt . As a result, players Matt Ryan, Jake Mullaney and Nathan Smith were called up to

4558-434: The game saying "They came into the game under a sh*tload of pressure but for us, it was just a good time and a heap of fun. Parra were sh*tting themselves and we were just having a good time". Andrew Johns also reportedly could tell how nervous the Parramatta players were and knew they had a chance at making an upset. In 2005, Parramatta finished as minor premiers in the regular season and came up against North Queensland in

4644-402: The game. The following year, Parramatta captured their first minor premiership before qualifying for the grand final for the second year running. Against St. George , the match was drawn 9-9, forcing a replay the following weekend. In this match, Parramatta lost 22–0. The Eels made the finals in both 1978 and 1979, but missed the finals in 1980 for the first time since 1974. The early 1980s

4730-474: The group stage and to Western Suburbs 48–0 in the plate quarter-finals. Nathan Hindmarsh was deemed Player of the Series as Parramatta stormed to victory in the 2003 competition. Parramatta beat Canberra in their quarter-final, followed by South Sydney in the semi-final. The final pitted England against a Parramatta side that flew to the lead, scoring five tries before half-time to England's one by Keith Senior . The match finished 42–18. The Plate final

4816-493: The hiatus following the 2004 event was reluctance of NRL clubs to use so many of their first team players. With proposed entrants in future competitions being national teams, the need for the tournament to be hosted in Sydney each year has been debated with some arguing that the World Sevens should be used as a tool to spread the sport further by hosting in a succession of locations globally. According to Rugby League Review, there

4902-413: The ladder but had they not been stripped of the 12 competition points they would have played in the finals. The 2016 season was also difficult for Parramatta as to become salary cap compliant the club needed to release players such as Nathan Peats and Junior Paulo to be able to play for points. Star recruit Kieran Foran who signed only months earlier on a $ 1 million a year contract also walked out on

4988-453: The ladder but lost the match controversially 21–18 in front of 50,000 fans. In round 24 Parramatta were sitting 8th on the ladder and looked destined to play in the finals for the first time since 2009 and only needed to win one of their last two remaining games against sides lower than them on the table which were Canberra and Newcastle. Parramatta lost both matches and missed out on the finals series by two competition points. The 2015 season

5074-493: The match 26–10. This was their 5th preliminary final loss in nine years. In 2009, under new coach Daniel Anderson , the Eels had an indifferent start to the season which saw the release of star halfback Brett Finch . After 18 rounds and incredibly inconsistent form, the Parramatta Eels had won only 5 games and were sitting third-last and were in direct contention for the dreaded 2009 NRL Wooden Spoon. TAB SportsBet had

5160-451: 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

5246-445: The match and with a minute left on the scoreboard, winger Daryl Halligan kicked a conversion from out on the far touchline to send the game into extra time. Canterbury won in extra time 32–20. The loss was hard to take for Parramatta as they had beaten eventual premiers Brisbane twice during the season. In 1999, Parramatta led Melbourne 16–0 at halftime in the preliminary final only to lose 18–16 at full time. Melbourne went on to win

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5332-497: The new trains were to be "The Hayne Train" and "The Fuifui Moimoi Express". They were to be painted blue and gold, and run along the western line of the railway network. On 22 April 2010, the Melbourne Storm were stripped of the premiership as a result of long-term gross salary cap breaches disclosed by the NRL. However, the premiership for 2009 was not handed over to the Parramatta Eels, instead remaining vacant. In 2010,

5418-490: The off-season after receiving the wooden spoon two years running. The club did this by releasing the aforementioned twelve players and signing more in key areas to help them achieve success in the 2014 season. Parramatta also recruited a new coach in Brad Arthur , formerly an Assistant Coach at the club, as Ricky Stuart reneged on the final two years of his contract. This was in order to return to his hometown of Canberra,

5504-545: The opening match hinted at a strong challenge for the title, a poor performance and loss to the Gold Coast Seagulls saw Wigan's challenge seeming likely to fail. The group stage ended with each team in Wigan's group having won one game, but by virtue of "most tries scored" they proceeded to the quarter-finals, despite their chances being largely written off. John Monie , the Wigan coach, told his team, "We've copped

5590-417: The preliminary final. In a game that Parramatta were expected to win, North Queensland defied the odds and won the match 29–0. In 2006, Parramatta finished 8th in the regular season and faced Melbourne in the first week of the finals losing 12–6 and thus being eliminated from the competition. In 2007, Parramatta again made the preliminary final and once more the opponent was Melbourne. Parramatta went on to lose

5676-483: The preliminary penalties, Parramatta were handed their punishment with the addition of their for/against points tally accumulated from rounds 1-9 being deducted. The main point of interest in this episode was the manner of the punishment when compared to the Melbourne Storm salary cap breach in 2010, while the Melbourne Storm were not allowed to play for points for the whole season the Parramatta Eels were permitted to play for points as soon as they fell back in line with

5762-410: The premiership the following week. In the 2000 NRL season , Parramatta finished 7th and won both their sudden death finals matches to take on Brisbane in the preliminary final. In a game that they were not expected to win, Parramatta came close but lost the match against a much stronger Brisbane side. This was their 3rd preliminary final loss in a row. The Eels reached the 2001 NRL Grand final after

5848-463: The reduction in teams at the end of the twentieth century. In the 1998 NRL season Parramatta finished 4th and defeated North Sydney in the first week of the finals 25–12. The following week Parramatta traveled to Brisbane in the major semi final and won the match 15-10 earning the week off. In the 1998 preliminary final Parramatta were leading arch rivals Canterbury 18–2 with less than 10 minutes to play only for Canterbury to fight their way back into

5934-459: The resting of five-eighth Daniel Mortimer . Before the final match of their season, Parramatta had won only five of their 24 games and were in contention for the dreaded wooden spoon. During their final match, the Parramatta side emerged victorious over the Gold Coast Titans who were also direct contenders for last place. The wooden spoon was awarded to the Gold Coast side, finishing 16th on

6020-521: The season before eventually winning their first game of the season defeating Manly 44–10 in Round 7. In Round 8, Parramatta defeated Wests 24–22 to make it back to back victories for the club. The Eels then went on to lose the next 5 games in a row before eventually winning their third game of the season defeating North Queensland 20–14 in Darwin in which Jarryd Hayne returned from injury scoring two tries. The following weeks were filled with disappointment as

6106-403: The sideline. The following week, Parramatta defeated arch rivals Canterbury 14–8 in what the media dubbed the "Spoon Bowl". There were hopes that Parramatta could avoid the wooden spoon as going into the second last game of the season the club sat above North Queensland on the table due to for and against. In what was the retiring Jonathan Thurston's final home game, both clubs needed a win to avoid

6192-406: The spectacular run of form of star fullback Jarryd Hayne . Winning the award for man-of-the-match in every game from Round 19–24, and again in the first week of the finals, Hayne was described as "the best player in any code of football in Australia" by premiership-winning coach Phil Gould. Following his astonishing string of 7-man-of-the-match performances, Hayne won the award for Dally M Fullback of

6278-487: 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

6364-514: The start of the 2016 NRL season, the Parramatta Eels 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 the Eels and no points were deducted. However, it was revealed in March that third-party payments had been made by several companies to several players, which is strictly prohibited in

6450-566: The team he played for during his youth. Before the 2014 season started, Brad Arthur and Parramatta implemented a new recruitment policy and made strong signings including future NSW hooker Nathan Peats , promising star Corey Norman and William Hopoate who was a 2011 premiership winner and NSW representative before leaving rugby league to join a two-year Mormon mission. The 2014 season started off in great style as Parramatta won four out of their first six matches. Parramatta then went into their Easter Monday clash at Stadium Australia sitting 5th on

6536-544: The team losing over half of their matches by four points or fewer, many of which were conceded after attaining leads over their opponents. Parramatta pushed a record four games into Golden Point during the season, however were unable to win any, resulting in a draw against the St. George Illawarra Dragons and one-point losses to the Penrith Panthers , Sydney Roosters and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs . Throughout

6622-422: The three following seasons under coach Ken Kearney . Around this time the club managed to finally attract better players such as Ken Thornett , Dick Thornett and Bob O'Reilly . However, the club slid back down the ladder in the following years, collecting the wooden spoon in 1970 and 1972. The club's first major success came in 1975 when they defeated Manly-Warringah in the pre-season cup final. In 1976 ,

6708-437: The top squad and have impressed in their roles of Second-Row, Fullback and Hooker respectively, making a suitable replacement for injured stars Jarryd Hayne and Matt Keating . Towards the end of the season Ricky Stuart was announced as the new coach for the Parramatta Eels from 2013. In June 2013, head coach Ricky Stuart told twelve Parramatta players via an overhead projector that their services would not be required beyond

6794-453: The tournaments organisers. During these two years the Sevens major sponsor was Coca-Cola who put up the A$ 100,000 winners purse. At the time of their wins, Manly Warringah's major sponsor was Coke's major rival Pepsi . In 1995, Canada became the first side in World Sevens not to score a point throughout the tournament. The Canadians lost to the Newcastle Knights 52–0 and New Zealand 56–0 in

6880-409: The troubled club finishing the NRL season 13th on the ladder winning only six of their last 14 matches. Their first match played after the points deduction was against South Sydney at Parramatta Stadium, Parramatta lost the match 22–20 in a close game. 2016 would also prove to be the final year that Parramatta would play at Parramatta Stadium as it was due to be demolished at seasons end to make way for

6966-521: The wooden spoon. North Queensland won the match 44–6. In the final game of the season, Parramatta were defeated 44–10 by the Sydney Roosters ensuring that the club finished last and claimed their 14th wooden spoon and the Roosters claiming the minor premiership. Before the match, the Roosters needed to defeat Parramatta by 27 points to overtake Melbourne and finish first on the table. Before

7052-567: The years since the tournament was indefinitely suspended in 2004 other tournaments have provided continued international rugby league sevens events. Actor Russell Crowe hosts the Orara Valley Axemen Sevens Tournament at Coffs Harbour on the New South Wales north coast. This tournament is participated in by teams representing countries of the world, local clubs and a few clubs from Brisbane. In 2005

7138-440: Was a golden era for the club and yielded their only premiership titles. In 2016, a salary cap breach saw them stripped of their 2016 Auckland Nines premiership. The club plays in the NRL, the premier rugby league football competition in Australia. Parramatta sides are also fielded in lower grades and junior competitions run by the New South Wales Rugby League . The playing of rugby union and rugby league in Parramatta lie in

7224-527: Was a year to forget for Parramatta as they finished 12th on the table. The highlights being in round 1 when Parramatta defeated Manly 42–12 and Semi Radradra scoring 24 tries in 18 matches. The discovery by the NRL in 2016 of salary cap breaches, over a period of four years, resulted in it stripping the Parramatta club of the twelve competition points the club has accrued so far in the 2016 NRL season. In addition to being fined $ 1 million, Parramatta also had its 2016 NRL Auckland Nines title revoked. On 19 July 2016

7310-475: Was the most successful period for Parramatta, who earned five grand final appearances and four premierships from 1981 to 1986. Under the influence of coach Jack Gibson and with a team including names such as Ray Price , Peter Sterling , Eric Grothe, Sr. , Steve Ella , Mick Cronin , and Brett Kenny the club captured three consecutive premierships from 1981 to 1983, beating the Newtown Jets in 1981 and

7396-453: Was won by the Bulldogs who beat New Zealand and the Bowl final was won by North Queensland who beat Fiji . In 2004, the Wests Tigers took the title, winning 18–7 in the final and ending Parramatta's campaign for a third consecutive title. The Wests Tigers' first title as a merged entity gained them A$ 100,000 in prize money. The lead-up to the 2004 tournament was disrupted by setbacks for

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