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Heavily backed and expected to roll the under-strength Penrith Panthers on Monday night football, the hapless Parramatta Eels crumbled without a whimper in one of the darkest nights in the club’s proud history.
The Sydney Roosters might have put 50 points on them in Round 4 but at least there was some effort and even the most hardy of Eels fans will tell you the Roosters were simply a class or two above them.
But last night was something different altogether.
Penrith were missing stars right across the paddock and fielded a makeshift 17. Usual starters like Lachlan Coote, Josh Mansour, Blake Austin, Wes Naiqama, James Roberts, Cameron Ciraldo and Brad Tighe were all out.
Parramatta had this one in the bag.
But nobody told the Panthers how this story was suppose to unfold.
Most experts had Parramatta winning and winning handsomely. Instead, the thousands of Eels fans that trekked to Centrebet Stadium were left to wallow for another week.
There might have been bigger defeats in the past but the 44-12 demolition at the hands of the Panthers is easily one of their worst losses since their inception in 1947.
The question isn’t how does coach Ricky Stuart get his team out of this mess, because nobody has that answer.
The question is how the hell has this club fallen so far?
So far, in fact, you have to compare this Parramatta side to some of the worst rugby league sides since the birth of the National Rugby League in 1998.
You can argue it isn’t fair comparing different teams from other eras.
Other sides might have lost more games on a more regular basis and may not have had superstars like Jarryd Hayne in their squad, but in this modern age you are expected to be a whole lot better than what was expected of sides from the past.
Are they worst than the 1999 Western Suburbs Magpies?
The Magpies won only three matches in ‘99 and gave up a whopping 944 points.
Parramatta, man to man, are a better team than that Wests side but that was a different time. The NRL in 1999 wasn’t the even playing field it is today.
The point is, the gap between the Magpies and the premier sides of that year compared to the distance between the Eels and the top sides of 2013 is the exactly the same – possibly even worse.
South Sydney Rabbitohs of 2003 recorded only three wins for the season too and conceded 758 points.
It’s a fait accompli Parramatta will win more than three games this year and they definitely won’t concede anywhere near the aforementioned teams. But the fact still remains the Eels are just as bad as any other side the NRL has seen since 1998.
Coach Stuart didn’t have much to say post-match. But what he did say would send shudders down the spines of all Parramatta fans.
“It’s embarrassing when your two best players are an 18 and 19 year old both learning how to play the game or play at first grade level.”
For Eels fans you could say the only way is up.
When the ascent begins however is anyone’s guess.
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