2007 Parramatta Eels season


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 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.

Fixtures

Home and away season

RoundOpponentResultEelsOpponentDateVenueCrowdPosition
011New Zealand New Zealand WarriorsLoss17 March 2007Mt Smart Stadium1414/16
022South Sydney South Sydney RabbitohsLoss25 March 2007Telstra Stadium1414/16
033Wests Tigers Wests TigersWin30 March 2007Parramatta Stadium1313/16
044Canberra Canberra RaidersWin7 April 2007Parramatta Stadium099/16
055Penrith Penrith PanthersWin13 April 2007CUA Stadium066/16
066Bulldogs BulldogsLoss22 April 2007Parramatta Stadium088/16
077Gold Coast Gold Coast TitansLoss29 April 2007Metricon Stadium1111/16
088Sydney Sydney RoostersWin5 May 2007Parramatta Stadium1010/16
099Manly Manly-Warringah Sea EaglesLoss11 May 2007Brookvale Oval1010/16
1010North Queensland North Queensland CowboysWin19 May 2007Parramatta Stadium077/16
1111New Zealand New Zealand WarriorsWin28 May 2007Parramatta Stadium066/16
1212Wests Tigers Wests TigersWin4 June 2007Telstra Stadium044/16
1313Canberra Canberra RaidersLoss9 June 2007Canberra Stadium066/16
1414St George St George Illawarra DragonsWin17 June 2007Parramatta Stadium033/16
1515Sydney Sydney RoostersWin23 June 2007Sydney Football Stadium033/16
1616Bye––––––033/16
1717Newcastle Newcastle KnightsLoss9 July 2007Parramatta Stadium044/16
1818South Sydney South Sydney RabbitohsWin15 July 2007Parramatta Stadium033/16
1919Brisbane Brisbane BroncosWin23 July 2007Suncorp Stadium033/16
2020Manly Manly-Warringah Sea EaglesLoss29 July 2007Parramatta Stadium033/16
2121Bulldogs BulldogsWin3 August 2007Telstra Stadium033/16
2222Cronulla Cronulla SharksLoss11 August 2007Parramatta Stadium033/16
2323Melbourne Melbourne StormLoss17 August 2007Olympic Park Stadium055/16
2424St George St George Illawarra DragonsLoss27 August 2007WIN Stadium066/16
2525Brisbane Brisbane BroncosWin2 September 2007Parramatta Stadium055/16

Finals series

RoundOpponentResultEelsOpponentDateVenueCrowdPosition
26New Zealand New Zealand WarriorsWin7 September 2007Mt Smart Stadium–
27Bulldogs BulldogsWin15 September 2007Telstra Stadium–
28Melbourne Melbourne StormLoss23 September 2007Telstra Dome–

Players and staff

The playing squad and coaching staff of the Parramatta Eels for the 2007 NRL season as of 27 December 2006.

Awards