NRL 2022: How Parramatta Eels pulled off incredible form reversal in 120 hours

From 6pm last Monday to 6pm on Saturday, Brad Arthur pulled off a coaching masterclass. See the incredible numbers behind Parramatta’s turnaround.

Since 2019, no team has lost more games to bottom four sides than Parramatta. Picture: Getty Images.

This was the 120-hour rugby league miracle.

Parramatta coach Brad Arthur has revealed how and why his Eels incredibly reversed an alarming loss to lowly Canterbury to an exhilarating victory over the Sydney Roosters in just six days.

From 6pm last Monday to 6pm on Saturday, Arthur somehow cajoled his shattered players into a team that sparkled against the fancied Roosters.

This was a coaching masterclass.

A demoralising 34-4 loss to Canterbury to a thrilling 26-16 win over Sydney Roosters on Saturday evening, which included five first half tries. And it was all done with some breathtaking razzle dazzle.

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The Eels were on fire against the Roosters. Picture: Brett Hemmings/Getty Images

Parramatta threw out a safety first approach with Maika Sivo scoring what could be rugby league’s try of the year with the ball passing through 12 players.

The Eels registered 20 offloads, 245 passes, 207 runs and 644 post contact metres. Junior Paulo and Reagan Campbell-Gillard ran for more than 200 metres while Ryan Matterson logged five offloads.

Against Canterbury, Parramatta completed at 72 per cent, committed 13 errors, made just three line breaks and averaged 43.7 run metres each set.

Then, less than a week later against the Roosters, Parramatta completed at 85 per cent, committed just five errors, made six line breaks and enjoyed 47.9 run metres each set.

Arthur said his side must display the same amount of respect for every team in the NRL.

“It’s about having the respect for any opposition we play. It doesn’t matter … we might subconsciously think that we’re better than the opposition that we’re playing,” Arthur said.

“We’re not going out of our way to be disrespectful. We’re doing all the right things at training with our preparation. It’s not physical, it’s a mindset. It’s not like we’re not mentally tough enough but it’s a mentality about the style of football we want to play. We have to show ourselves respect as well.

“Maybe in the back of your mind, like we got some early penalties and cheap possession last week and then our first touch at their tryline we scored, even though it was disallowed, it just looked too easy.

It was a far cry from last week against the Bulldogs. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

“Sometimes when it comes easy like that, we think we can try and score at will, every play. Sometimes we get excited and we want to do that and we want to do this.

“Our style of footy shouldn’t change regardless of who we play. That’s the thing. We’re choosing when to play a certain style of footy and that’s something we have to get on top of.

“We’ve got our way that we play and that works for us. It mightn’t work all the time but we’re more of a chance of it working when we play our style. We have to be prepared, disciplined and mentally stronger to do that all the time. We have to do the hard work first and play the long game.”

Parramatta has shown yet again they can match and topple the premiership heavyweights but continue their struggle with consistency.

Arthur said last Tuesday’s video review was brutal.

“We had our normal review on Tuesday, it was honest and I was pretty direct,” Arthur said.

“I smacked them across the head with it and then they moved on. We did a light walk through on Tuesday and had our main session on Wednesday. It was a short turnaround. We didn’t change what we normally do.

After the game, Eels captain Clint Gutherson told the media: “We were pretty disappointed with how we went last week, it was pretty embarrassing to be honest.”

Now comes the challenge of result stability with Parramatta to play Souths at Accor Stadium on July 2.

Eels put on razzle dazzle

It’s hard to believe this is the same Parramatta that was belted by the battling Bulldogs on the Queen’s Birthday.

Five days after their worst performance of the year, King Gutho and his Eels teammates turned it around with their best 40 minutes in years to leave the Roosters languishing in ninth spot.

CommBank Stadium was absolutely rocking as the Eels morphed into the Harlem Globetrotters with five simply stunning first-half tries as their backrowers ripped the Roosters to shreds.

Shaun Lane had the game of his life with a couple of audacious offloads to set up tries for Dylan Brown and Gutherson, while fellow backrower Isaiah Papali’i scored a slashing four-pointer after a freakish flick by Ryan Matterson.

It was fitting that DJ Havana Brown played a set at half-time, but unlike her 2011 smash hit We Run the Night, it was the Eels and Maika Sivo who in fact ran this particular Saturday night.

Isaiah Papali'i celebrates atry against the Roosters. Picture: Brett Hemmings/Getty Images

It’s been 10 months since his last try in the NRL, but the big Fijian was back at the ground he loves to score the try of the season that saw every Eel bar Gutherson, Oregon Kaufusi and Marata Niukore touch the ball as the Steeden sizzled from sideline to sideline.

They weren’t able to maintain the attacking brilliance after the break, but it was a vast improvement from what they dished up earlier in the week with the starting props combining for more than 400 metres after plenty of criticism.

While the Eels bounced back, the Roosters’ season is starting to look shaky. They’ve dropped three games in a row and have conceded at least 20 points in five of their past six games.

The Bondi Wall has fallen and there won’t be any quick fixes with the defending premiers waiting in the wings after rep round.

DISCIPLINE DRAMA

The only people who wouldn’t have enjoyed Saturday’s game were Origin coaches Brad Fittler and Billy Slater. And, of course, Roosters fans.

While there were no serious injuries to their Origin stars, both coaches will be sweating on the match review charges to see if they’ll be forced into some changes for next week’s game in Perth.

NSW prop Reagan Campbell-Gillard was placed on report for a crusher tackle on Billy Smith, while Queensland enforcer Lindsay Collins was lucky to stay on the field after his lifting tackle on Waqa Blake.

A potential ban for Collins is the last thing the Maroons need after workhorse lock Reuben Cotter was ruled out for the next few weeks with a hamstring strain.

Campbell-Gillard said there was no intent in the tackle on Smith that has him facing a nervous wait before the Blues team is announced on Sunday.

The prop would be free to play in game two of the State of Origin series next Sunday if he’s hit with a grade one charge, but anything more than that would see him rubbed out of the must-win match in Perth.

Junior Paulo was outstanding for the Eels. Picture: Brett Hemmings/Getty Images

Speaking after the game, Campbell-Gillard said it was an accident and that he immediately apologised to Smith on the field.

“There was absolutely no malice or force,” he told the NCA Newswire.

“I had no intent on going after his head. I was committed to a tackle and I had no room to clear it. I apologised and he said he was all sweet.

“I was already committed to the tackle and he kind of fell into it. It wasn’t like I wrapped him up and had force to go down.”

According to his coach, Campbell-Gillard has nothing to worry about.

“There’s nothing in that. He’s fine. It’s just a penalty. Not even a penalty,” Brad Arthur said.

SUPER SUAALII

We’re quickly running out of superlatives to describe Joseph Suaalii.

A week after the teenage sensation produced a couple of huge defensive plays against the Storm, he showed off his amazing attack with two fantastic finishes to push his case for a remarkable Origin debut.

Suaalii opened the scoring on Saturday with an acrobatic dive to cross in the right corner and then doubled up to start the second half when he regathered his own chip kick to cut the margin to 10 points.

He continues to play beyond his years and he easily outplayed fellow winger Daniel Tupou who might be under a bit of pressure to retain his spot in the NSW side.

BROTHERS GRIM

There were scary scenes on Saturday night with the Butcher brothers both taken from the field following separate sickening head knocks.

Nat Butcher was knocked out trying to tackle Campbell-Gillard in the first half and was quickly ruled out of the game by the Bunker.

The game was then stopped for several minutes in the second half when Egan Butcher collected Ryan Matterson’s hip as he tried to tackle him near halfway.

Egan was taken from the field in a medicab but the early reports are that he was up and about in the sheds.

BROWN’S LAST GAME?

Dumped Eels forward Nathan Brown played the entire 80 minutes for Parramatta in their 31-20 loss to North Sydney in the NSW Cup in what could be his last game in a blue and gold jersey.

Brown was dropped this week and told he was free to look for a new club even though he’s contracted until the end of 2023.

Nathan Brown played 80 minutes in the Eels’ loss to Norths in NSW Cup. Picture: Brett Hemmings/Getty Images

It’s a massive falling out for a guy who played State of Origin two years ago but now can’t even crack Parramatta’s 17.

To his credit, Brown ran hard and tackled harder on Saturday night in a typically industrious performance in the middle that shows he still has something to offer for a team contending for the title.

He even popped a terrific late offload to set Mitch Rein up for a try in the first half, but it wasn’t enough as a spectacular Sandon Smith try proved the difference for the Bears who stay in the top four.

Brown has about six weeks to sort out a move before the August 1 deadline, and he’ll have plenty of time with the NRL set for a short break over the rep period next week.

Eels’ horror record revealed

-Nick Walshaw

Parramatta has officially taken on the unwanted crown as the No.1 team for losing games it is expected to win – and, worryingly, the trend is getting worse.

Despite being among the best backed teams in TAB premiership betting, the Eels’ hopes of ending that longest of NRL title droughts has suddenly become a hot discussion topic following shock losses to Canterbury and Wests Tigers.

Since 2019, the Eels have lost six times to sides who were in the bottom four at the time of playing.

According to Fox Sports Lab, that record is the worst of any NRL side that, at the same time, sat inside the top eight.

In 2020, the Eels also dropped a game against Manly, who would go on to finish bottom four — taking their overall tally to seven — and also lost to St George Illawarra, who finished 12th.

For comparison, Melbourne have lost just once to a bottom four side over the same period, while reigning premiers Penrith have dropped just two games.

Worse for Parramatta coach Brad Arthur, numbers crunched by the TAB reveal his side has already lost five times this year as the betting favourite, which is up from four last year and three in 2020.

Since 2019, no team has lost more games to bottom four sides than Parramatta. Picture: Getty Images.

Those upsets have come against Cronulla, Wests Tigers, North Queensland, the Roosters and Bulldogs.

Against the Tigers, Parramatta were $1.07 favourites. Then against Canterbury last start, they were $1.10.

Both results sit within the three biggest betting upsets suffered by the club since 2000.

On the flip side, however, the Eels have beaten both Melbourne and Penrith as underdogs to arrive at Saturday’s home clash against the Roosters still sitting in sixth spot.

Quizzed on rugby league’s most erratic team, revered Australian performance psychologist Phil Jauncey suggested the Eels were a side that, at times, appeared too focused on the idea of winning and losing rather than would should be every side’s main goal — execution.

Based out of Queensland, Jauncey has spent 30 years working with some of the nation’s most successful sporting sides including the Brisbane Broncos, Australian cricket team, Queensland Origin side, Brisbane Lions and countless Olympians.

So what advice would he give to the Eels?

“Watching from afar, it appears when Parramatta play a team they’re expected to beat, everything becomes about winning and losing,” Jauncey said.

“It’s all about ‘we should win this’ or ‘we have to win this’.

Wests Tigers produced a stunning upset in Round 6, with Jackson Hastings kicking a field goal in the dying seconds. Picture: NRL Images

“But the focus shouldn’t be on winning. The focus should be on executing.

“Having worked with the likes of Wayne Bennett, John Buchanan and Leigh Matthews, when they did a review after games you couldn’t tell if the side had won or lost.

“It was all about ‘how did we execute?’.

“But with Parramatta, they’re thinking ‘we can’t lose’.”

Jauncey likened the Eels’ erratic form, which is increasingly being discussed, to that of sides with a hoodoo ground or opponent.

“Because the players think, ‘we have to win’,” he said.

“They focus on the aim, forgetting about what you have to do to get there.

“So instead of going out to win games, Parramatta should be concentrating on how they execute when they do the most damage to opponents.”

Parramatta were embarrassed by the Bulldogs in Round 14, losing to the wooden spoon favourites 34-4. Picture: Getty Images.

Conversely, Jauncey also suggested similar traits could be seen in the Bulldogs’ improved form since coach Trent Barrett walked away from the club.

Over the first half of the 2022 season, all the talk at Canterbury centred around the club’s need to win games for Barrett, who was under mounting pressure to keep his job.

“And so the players start focusing on winning,” Jauncey said.

“But then (when Barrett departs) the players just go back to executing.

“This is why younger teams do well, like with those Baby Broncos a few years ago. That group wasn’t worried about winning because nobody expected them to, so they just went out and executed.

“It’s also why you often see teams, like Penrith, win its second grand final appearance.

“First time into a decider, you’re worried about losing.

“By the second one, however, you’re only focused on executing … and you succeed.”

While the Eels may have already been written off, or at least seriously questioned, as premiership contenders by many experts, they remain well backed among punters.

Parramatta are one of the most backed teams to win the competition in 2022, but their erratic form has seen many write them off. Picture: Getty Images.

“The Eels haven’t been the most trustworthy side to follow for punters this season,” TAB executive Rohan Welsh conceded.

“Winning when you shouldn’t is one thing, but losing to sides they should be putting up big scores against is another.

“Yet despite all this they’re still one of the best supported teams in the competition.

“Already this weekend, they’re holding 65 per cent of the market against the Roosters who they’ve already lost to this year.

“They’re also the third best backed side in the TAB premiership market — behind Penrith and Melbourne – while for the grand final quinella, Penrith versus Parramatta is the second-best option.”

Still, the Eels erratic form is the worst of any top eight team since 2019.

Measured from round six onwards, when the NRL ladder has started to take shape each year, the Eels have lost six times to teams who were in the bottom four at the time of playing.

Next worst is the Roosters (5), followed by St George Illawarra, Cronulla, Manly and South Sydney, all on four games.

Originally published as NRL 2022: How Parramatta Eels pulled off incredible form reversal in 120 hours