The 2007 Parramatta Eels Season was the 61st in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2007 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season in 5th position, and came within one match of the grand final only to be knocked out by eventual premiers, Melbourne Storm, who would later be stripped of this title after being found guilty of salary cap breaches.
Summary Under new coach Michael Hagan, Parramatta saw a great performance in season 2007, spending most of the season in third place (behind the Storm and Manly) before a late season form slump, only stopped with a huge 68-22 demolition of defending premiers Brisbane saw them settle for fifth position at the end of the season. In the first week of the finals, they defeated the New Zealand Warriors away, 12–10 to set up a huge clash with arch-rivals Canterbury the following week. In an incident-filled match at ANZ Stadium in front of 50,621, Parramatta ran out 25–6 winners gaining revenge for their infamous preliminary final loss to Canterbury in the 1998 NRL season.
The win booked them a preliminary final clash with Minor Premiers Melbourne Storm. In a gruelling match at Melbourne's Telstra Dome, the Storm eventually won 26–10 ending Parramatta's 2007 season, one win away from their first Grand Final appearance since 2001. Later it was revealed by the NRL that the Melbourne Storm had in fact breached the salary cap that season, and they were stripped of their minor premiership and their title for the 2007 season. Parramatta spent most of the season inside the top four, however a patch of poor form late in the season saw them finish fifth despite a last round 68-22 thrashing of the Brisbane Broncos at home. Late season losses to Newcastle, Cronulla, Melbourne and St. George Illawarra proved costly.
Standings
Fixtures Home and away season
Round Opponent Result Eels Opponent Date Venue Crowd Position011New Zealand New Zealand WarriorsLossMt Smart Stadium1414/16022South Sydney South Sydney RabbitohsLossTelstra Stadium1414/16033Wests Tigers Wests TigersWinParramatta Stadium1313/16044Canberra Canberra RaidersWinParramatta Stadium099/16055Penrith Penrith PanthersWinCUA Stadium066/16066Bulldogs BulldogsLossParramatta Stadium088/16077Gold Coast Gold Coast TitansLossMetricon Stadium1111/16088Sydney Sydney RoostersWinParramatta Stadium1010/16099Manly Manly-Warringah Sea EaglesLossBrookvale Oval1010/161010North Queensland North Queensland CowboysWinParramatta Stadium077/161111New Zealand New Zealand WarriorsWinParramatta Stadium066/161212Wests Tigers Wests TigersWinTelstra Stadium044/161313Canberra Canberra RaidersLossCanberra Stadium066/161414St George St George Illawarra DragonsWinParramatta Stadium033/161515Sydney Sydney RoostersWinSydney Football Stadium033/161616Bye––––––033/161717Newcastle Newcastle KnightsLossParramatta Stadium044/161818South Sydney South Sydney RabbitohsWinParramatta Stadium033/161919Brisbane Brisbane BroncosWinSuncorp Stadium033/162020Manly Manly-Warringah Sea EaglesLossParramatta Stadium033/162121Bulldogs BulldogsWinTelstra Stadium033/162222Cronulla Cronulla SharksLossParramatta Stadium033/162323Melbourne Melbourne StormLossOlympic Park Stadium055/162424St George St George Illawarra DragonsLossWIN Stadium066/162525Brisbane Brisbane BroncosWinParramatta Stadium055/16
Finals series
Round Opponent Result Eels Opponent Date Venue Crowd Position26New Zealand New Zealand WarriorsWinMt Smart Stadium–27Bulldogs BulldogsWinTelstra Stadium–28Melbourne Melbourne StormLossTelstra Dome–
Players and staff The playing squad and coaching staff of the Parramatta Eels for the 2007 NRL season as of 27 December 2006.
Statistics Player Games Tries Goals F. Goals PointsBurt, LukeLuke Burt16160995959/7000154154Inu, KrisnanKrisnan Inu202012123737/4500122122Hayne, JarrydJarryd Hayne2525121200/10004848Grothe, Jr., EricEric Grothe, Jr.23231111000004444Mateo, FeletiFeleti Mateo2525099000003636Smith, BenBen Smith2323088000003232Hindmarsh, NathanNathan Hindmarsh2222077000002828Tahu, TimanaTimana Tahu181807700/10002828Riddell, MarkMark Riddell232305500/10002020Hindmarsh, IanIan Hindmarsh242404400/11101717Smith, TimTim Smith272703311/10001414Cayless, NathanNathan Cayless2222033000001212Reddy, JoelJoel Reddy1010033000001212Wagon, DanielDaniel Wagon2222033000001212Finch, BrettBrett Finch252502200110099Marsh, PJPJ Marsh272702200000088Robinson, ChadChad Robinson202002200000088Cannings, AaronAaron Cannings212101100000044Cordoba, JoshJosh Cordoba252501100000044Moimoi, FuifuiFuifui Moimoi212101100000044Taia, ZebZeb Taia03301100000044Green, BlakeBlake Green06600000000Hauraki, WellerWeller Hauraki05500000000Paulo, JuniorJunior Paulo03300000000Lowrie, ToddTodd Lowrie02200000000Fa'aoso, RichardRichard Fa'aoso011?4000000
Awards Michael Cronin clubman of the year award: Ian Hindmarsh Ken Thornett Medal (Players' player): Nathan Hindmarsh Jack Gibson Award (Coach's award): Luke Burt Eric Grothe Rookie of the Year Award: Krisnan Inu
References