2021 Parramatta Eels season
NRL Rank	6th
Play-off result	Semi-finalists (Lost 8–6 vs Penrith Panthers, 2nd Semi Final)
World Club Challenge	DNQ
2021 record	Wins: 15; draws: 0; losses: 9
Points scored	For: 566; against: 457
Team information
CEO	Jim Sarantinos
Coach	Brad Arthur
Captain	Clinton Gutherson
Stadium	Bankwest Stadium (Capacity: 30,000) TIO Stadium (Capacity: 12,500) Cbus Super Stadium (Capacity: 27,400)
Avg. attendance	14,772 (Home) 15,825 (Home & Away) 5,549 (Finals Series)
Agg. attendance	162,490 (Home) 363,977 (Home & Away) 11,098 (Finals Series)
High attendance	25,711 (7 May vs Sydney Roosters, Round 9)
Top scorers
Tries	Maika Sivo (17)
Goals	Mitchell Moses (66)
Points	Mitchell Moses (146)
< 2020 List of seasons 2022 >

The 2021 Parramatta Eels season was the 75th in the club's history. Coached by Brad Arthur and captained by Clinton Gutherson, they competed in the NRL's 2021 Telstra Premiership.^[1]

Summary

Similar to the 2020, Parramatta started the 2021 season in good form winning nine of the opening ten games. Towards the back end of the season however, Parramatta once again displayed inconsistent form and were hit with heavy losses against South Sydney and Manly. They also suffered an embarrassing 28-0 loss against an understrength Sydney Roosters side in round 20. In round 24, Parramatta produced the biggest upset of the season defeating Melbourne 22-10 who were on a 19-game winning streak. Parramatta would finish the regular season in sixth place. In the elimination final, they defeated Newcastle 28-20. The following week, they played Penrith in what would turn out to be the lowest scoring game of the season. Parramatta would lose the match in controversial circumstances 8-6.^[2][3][4]

Squad information

The playing squad and coaching staff of the Parramatta Eels for the 2021 NRL season.^[5]

Transfers

In: Nat. Pos. Name From Transfer window Date Ref. CE Tom Opacic North Queensland Cowboys Pre-season October 2020 [6] LK Isaiah Papali'i New Zealand Warriors Pre-season October 2020 [6] HK Joey Lussick Salford Red Devils Pre-season October 2020 [6] CE Michael Oldfield Canberra Raiders Pre-season November 2020 [7] LK Keegan Hipgrave Gold Coast Titans Pre-season November 2020 [7] HK Nathaniel Roache New Zealand Warriors Pre-season November 2020 [7] SR Bryce Cartwright Gold Coast Titans Pre-season November 2020 [8] PR Wiremu Greig North Queensland Cowboys Mid-season March 2021 [9] CE Hayze Perham New Zealand Warriors Mid-season April 2021 [10] Out: Nat. Pos. Name To Transfer window Date Ref. PR Stefano Utoikamanu Wests Tigers Pre-season January 2020 [11][12] PR Kane Evans New Zealand Warriors Pre-season August 2020 [13][12] SR David Gower Retired Pre-season October 2020 [12] PR Peni Terepo Retired Pre-season October 2020 [12] FE Jai Field Wigan Warriors Pre-season October 2020 [12] SR Andrew Davey Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Pre-season October 2020 [12][14] HK Rhys Davies Mount Pritchard Mounties Pre-season October 2020 [12] HB Jaeman Salmon Penrith Panthers Pre-season October 2020 [12] CE Brad Takairangi Hull Kingston Rovers Pre-season October 2020 [12] HK Kyle Schneider Released Pre-season October 2020 [12] FB Watson Heleta Mount Pritchard Mounties Pre-season October 2020 [12] WG George Jennings Melbourne Storm Pre-season November 2020 [15] PR Daniel Alvaro St. George Illawarra Dragons Pre-season December 2020 [16] CE Michael Jennings Released Mid-season May 2021 [17] Pre-season[edit] Round Home Score Away Match information Date and time (local) Venue Attendance 1 St George Illawarra Dragons 6 – 28 Parramatta Eels Thursday, 18 February, 6:00 pm Netstrata Jubilee Stadium 0 2 Penrith Panthers 16 – 6 Parramatta Eels Saturday, 27 February, 7:30 pm Panthers Stadium Source:[18][19] Home and away season[edit] Main article: 2021 NRL season League table[edit] 2021 NRL season v t e Pos Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts 1 Melbourne Storm 24 21 0 3 1 815 316 +499 44 2 Penrith Panthers (P) 24 21 0 3 1 676 286 +390 44 3 South Sydney Rabbitohs 24 20 0 4 1 775 453 +322 42 4 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 24 16 0 8 1 744 492 +252 34 5 Sydney Roosters 24 16 0 8 1 630 489 +141 34 6 Parramatta Eels 24 15 0 9 1 566 457 +109 32 7 Newcastle Knights 24 12 0 12 1 428 571 −143 26 8 Gold Coast Titans 24 10 0 14 1 580 583 −3 22 9 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 24 10 0 14 1 520 556 −36 22 10 Canberra Raiders 24 10 0 14 1 481 578 −97 22 11 St. George Illawarra Dragons 24 8 0 16 1 474 616 −142 18 12 New Zealand Warriors 24 8 0 16 1 453 624 −171 18 13 Wests Tigers 24 8 0 16 1 500 714 −214 18 14 Brisbane Broncos 24 7 0 17 1 446 695 −249 16 15 North Queensland Cowboys 24 7 0 17 1 460 748 −288 16 16 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 24 3 0 21 1 340 710 −370 8 Matches[edit] Main article: 2021 NRL season results Round Home Score Away Match information Date and time (local) Venue Attendance 1 Brisbane Broncos 16 – 24 Parramatta Eels Friday, 12 March, 8:05 pm Suncorp Stadium 28,313 2 Parramatta Eels 16 – 12 Melbourne Storm Thursday, 18 March, 8:05 pm Bankwest Stadium 10,416 3 Parramatta Eels 28 – 4 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Saturday, 27 March, 7:35 pm Bankwest Stadium 19,236 4 Wests Tigers 22 – 36 Parramatta Eels Monday, 5 April, 4:00 pm Stadium Australia 29,056 5 Parramatta Eels 12 – 26 St George Illawarra Dragons Sunday, 11 April, 6:15 pm Bankwest Stadium 24,384 6 Canberra Raiders 10 – 35 Parramatta Eels Saturday, 17 April, 7:35 pm GIO Stadium 20,089 7 Parramatta Eels 46 – 6 Brisbane Broncos Friday, 23 April, 7:55 pm TIO Stadium 12,056 8 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 10 – 32 Parramatta Eels Saturday, 1 May, 5:30 pm Stadium Australia 13,273 9 Parramatta Eels 31 – 18 Sydney Roosters Friday, 7 May, 7:55 pm Bankwest Stadium 25,711 10 New Zealand Warriors 18 – 34 Parramatta Eels Sunday, 16 May, 1:50 pm Suncorp Stadium 33,175 11 Parramatta Eels 6 – 28 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Sunday, 23 May, 4:05 pm Bankwest Stadium 24,411 12 South Sydney Rabbitohs 38 – 20 Parramatta Eels Saturday, 29 May, 5:30 pm Stadium Australia 20,743 13 Newcastle Knights 4 – 40 Parramatta Eels Sunday, 6 June, 4:05 pm McDonald Jones Stadium 23,015 14 Parramatta Eels 40 – 12 Wests Tigers Sunday, 13 June, 4:05 pm Bankwest Stadium 23,417 15 Parramatta Eels 36 – 10 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Sunday, 20 June, 2:00 pm Bankwest Stadium 17,276 16 Penrith Panthers 13 – 12 Parramatta Eels Friday, 2 July, 7:55 pm BlueBet Stadium 0a 17 Bye Round 18 Gold Coast Titans 8 – 26 Parramatta Eels Friday, 16 July, 6:00 pm Cbus Super Stadium 15,038 19 Parramatta Eels 10 – 12 Canberra Raiders Thursday, 22 July, 7:50 pm Cbus Super Stadium 2,566 20 Sydney Roosters 28 – 0 Parramatta Eels Thursday, 29 July, 7:50 pm BB Print Stadium 4,926 21 Parramatta Eels 12 – 40 South Sydney Rabbitohs Friday, 6 August, 8:05 pm Cbus Super Stadium 0a 22 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 56 – 10 Parramatta Eels Saturday, 14 August, 7:35 pm Sunshine Coast Stadium 3,613 23 Parramatta Eels 32 – 16 North Queensland Cowboys Saturday, 21 August, 7:35 pm Cbus Super Stadium 3,013 24 Melbourne Storm 10 – 22 Parramatta Eels Saturday, 28 August, 7:35 pm Suncorp Stadium 10,246 25 Parramatta Eels 6 – 40 Penrith Panthers Friday, 3 September, 8:05 pm Cbus Super Stadium 8,580 Source:[20] Notes: a^ For rounds 16 and 21, matches were played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Finals series[edit] Main article: 2021 NRL finals series Bracket[edit] Qualifying and elimination finals Semi-finals Preliminary finals Grand Final 10 September – Sunshine Coast 1 Melbourne Storm 40 4 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 12 17 September – Mackay Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 42 11 September – Townsville Sydney Roosters 6 25 September – Brisbane 5 Sydney Roosters 25 Melbourne Storm 6 8 Gold Coast Titans 24 Penrith Panthers 10 3 October – Brisbane Penrith Panthers 14 12 September – Rockhampton 24 September – Brisbane South Sydney Rabbitohs 12 6 Parramatta Eels 28 South Sydney Rabbitohs 36 7 Newcastle Knights 20 18 September – Mackay Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 16 Penrith Panthers 8 11 September – Townsville Parramatta Eels 6 2 Penrith Panthers 10 3 South Sydney Rabbitohs 16 Matches[edit] Round Home Score Away Match information Date and time (local) Venue Attendance EF2 Parramatta Eels 28 – 20 Newcastle Knights Sunday, 12 September, 4:05 pm Browne Park 5,087 SF2 Penrith Panthers 8 – 6 Parramatta Eels Saturday, 18 September, 7:50 pm BB Print Stadium 6,011 Source:[20] References[edit] ^ "NRL 2021 - Parramatta Eels - Rugby League Project". ^ "Parramatta Eels defeat Newcastle Knights 28-20 in NRL elimination final". ABC News. 12 September 2021. ^ "Eels star's season could be over as 'shocking' high shot earns a HUGE suspension". www.foxsports.com.au. 15 August 2021. ^ "Awful Eels go from bad to worse as little Bunny breaks a BIG record in rout: Big Hits". www.foxsports.com.au. 6 August 2021. ^ "Teams". ^ a b c "Eels announce three new signings". 21 October 2020. ^ a b c "Parramatta Eels add four players to its 2021 NRL squad". 7 November 2020. ^ "Parramatta Eels sign Bryce Cartwright". 26 November 2020. ^ "Cowboys rocked as another man signs south". ^ "Warriors release Hayze Perham to join new NRL club". www.zerotackle.com. 20 April 2021. ^ "Wests Tigers sign Stefano Utoikamanu". 29 January 2020. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Eleven players to depart Parramatta Eels". 12 October 2020. ^ "Dogs defy Warriors for Elliott coup after Evans, Aitken sign on". 12 August 2020. ^ "Sea Eagles sign forward Andrew Davey". 12 October 2020. ^ "Storm adds to 2021 squad". 5 November 2020. ^ "Transfer Centre: Panthers lure promising Eels utility as Roosters lock down young stars". 22 December 2020. ^ "Club Statement: Michael Jennings". 4 May 2021. ^ "Dragons v Eels". ^ "Panthers v Eels". ^ a b "NRL 2021 – Parramatta Eels". Rugby League Project. 30 March 2021.