Anniversary games like these are the ones that players really want to win.
Parramatta’s esteemed old guard – the likes of Peter Sterling, Brett Kenny, Mick Cronin and Eric Grothe – can flick on the footy whenever they like at home.
But being there in the flesh on Sunday afternoon at CommBank Stadium, high-fiving the current crop as they ran out against Canterbury, carried a deeper symbolism.
It has been a significant week for the struggling Eels. Most of the 1986 premiership side – the last to win a grand final for Parramatta – were back in Eels heartland, two days after Friday night’s anniversary dinner at Rosehill Racecourse, which drew 650 guests.
At the game, they all wore a 40-year varsity jacket, with just 420 made in a nod to the 4-2 grand final scoreline against the Bulldogs.
While the game looks nothing like it did then, Parramatta’s new brigade showed how much the occasion meant, producing a tenacious 38-20 win after a torrid run.
A pulse has been found at the Eels after their 52-10 disaster against the Titans a week ago.
That day, the Eels faithful booed and sledged their heroes. On Sunday, they cheered those same players and gave it to bemused Dogs fans wondering what had just transpired.
The Eels were never supposed to win this one but found a way, running out victors with six tries to their name. A hallmark of a great sporting competition is jeopardy of result and the NRL is certainly getting that at the moment.
At full-time, the 1986 Eels group rose to applaud. It was gesture of pride, and perhaps a tinge of longing for another premiership they may never see in their lifetime. The 1986 and 2026 squads shared a beer in the sheds afterwards, with coach Jason Ryles commenting on the significance of the afternoon.
“They’re a big part of our culture,” Ryles said of the 1986 team. “There’s no better feeling than seeing the joy that they get out of the current crop performing the way they did. It wasn’t so much the result, but how they did it with grit and resolve. It’s great to have them all back and good to see how much they enjoy each other’s company.”
This was an Eels outfit unrecognisable from the one languishing near the bottom of the ladder, and one that has momentarily scrambled the NRL’s axis by leaping ahead of the normally mighty Melbourne Storm.
“It was a totally different Eels team,” club great Nathan Hindmarsh said on Fox’s coverage.
Junior Paulo led the charge with 169 run metres, including 64 post-contact, to drag Parramatta into the right parts of the field.
“There were some crisis meetings going around [this week], I’m not going to lie,” said Eels forward Dylan Walker after the match. “We had a hard look at ourselves last week.”
Parramatta have made a habit of upsetting heavyweights when least expected. Their problem has never been their ceiling, but their floor. When they’re on, they’re compelling, but when they’re off, they’re unrecognisable.
There’s no better feeling than seeing the joy that they get out of the current crop performing the way they did.
Jason Ryles
Eels five-eighth Ronald Volkman’s fancy footwork in the lead-up to his 28th minute try provided a spark that has been missing. It was the biggest moment of the 23-year-old’s nine-game career – and arguably the match – and showed that sometimes, going yourself will be good enough.
In the absence of Jonah Pezet, it doubled as a timely audition ahead of next season, when the injured No.6 departs for Brisbane.
The Eels aren’t premiership contenders but beat a team that claimed to be after dismantling a Penrith outfit last week who destroyed Parramatta 48-20 three weeks ago. Go figure.
There were certainly wobbles. Loose carries from Charlie Guymer and Luca Moretti hinted at a shift in momentum, but when Walker dived on a loose ball for Parramatta’s fourth in the 57th minute, the result was all but sealed in one of the season’s bigger boilovers.
Marcelo Montoya put in a bid for the worst 14 minutes to a start a match this year when he was penalised for an early tackle before dropping the ball at a play the ball and then slipping off Parramatta’s first try-scorer Josh Addo-Carr.
A 18-4 half-time lead for Parramatta was no guarantee to be enough but calm heads in halfback Mitchell Moses and hooker Ryley Smith ensured Parramatta stayed composed long enough to give their long-suffering fans something to savour.
That came despite another injury blow, with Smith suffering a sternum issue to join the club’s lengthy casualty list. Whether Ryles is laughing or crying is anyone’s guess, but two competition points was a lovely reward for a rotten time of late.
“We had eight players who’ve played under 20 games today,” Ryles said. “For them to get that feeling at the end, we want to keep chasing that.”
After demanding greater defensive resolve, Ryles appreciated Aran Nanva’s superb cover tackle on Connor Tracey – a small act that spoke to a larger shift in intent, even if he knows deep down his group’s depleted roster won’t be strong enough to challenge for a top-four spot.
The Eels’ bid last year to sign Lachlan Galvin never came to fruition and on Sunday the young playmaker found himself on the losing team. Questions will be raised over Canterbury’s potential to go deep into September after handling errors and defensive lapses destroyed what should have been a comfortable win.
Parramatta’s next three games against Manly (away), Warriors (home) and Cowboys (away) will define their season. All three are winnable but the Eels could also get rolled by 30 points in all of them.
Parramatta in 2026 are becoming impossible to trust and impossible to ignore.
Tom Decent is the chief sports writer for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.