Parramatta’s 2022 Roster – Decisions To Be Made
sixtiesJuly 28, 2021 Canterbury Cup,
NRL,
Opinion 1 Comment
The 2021 Premiership is heading to the pointy end of the season, but behind the scenes, clubs are working diligently to shape their rosters for next season.
As far as the Eels are concerned, the majority of the squad are locked in with 23 players under contract for next season.
Those players are as follows: Jake Arthur, Waqa Blake, Dylan Brown, Nathan Brown, Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Bryce Cartwright (to be confirmed soon), Haze Dunster, Wiremu Greig, Clint Gutherson, Keegan Hipgrave, David Hollis, Oregon Kaufusi, Shaun Lane, Reed Mahoney, Ryan Matterson, Mitch Moses, Marata Niukore, Tom Opacic, Isaiah Papali’i, Junior Paulo, Will Penisini, Hayze Perham, and Maika Sivo.
The following players, on either NRL or Development contracts, are yet to either put pen to paper or have any deal confirmed: Blake Ferguson, Sam Hughes, Joey Lussick, Michael Oldfield, Jordan Rankin, Will Smith, Ray Stone, Sam Loizou, Sean Russell, Solomone Naiduki, Nathaniel Roache
With around seven NRL spots still remaining, the Eels need to make crucial decisions about retention to determine what recruitment they will undertake.
Finalising Retention
From the list above,
Sean Russell and
Will Smith are in the box seat to be retained. Will has proven to be a reliable bench option for BA during his time at the Eels and his contract does little damage to the salary cap. Sean enjoyed a successful NRL debut this season and as a local junior and player of the future, it would come as a massive shock were he not upgraded.
Samuel Loizou
Samuel Loizou has fluctuated between Flegg and NSW Cup this year as he battled an early season injury. Sam is the youngest of the local juniors in the full time squad and has progressed through Eels pathways alongside Jake Arthur, Will Penisini and Sean Russell. Again, I’d be very surprised were he not locked in to a 2022 contract.
Solomone Naiduki was also on a Development deal this year and, like Loizou, has moved between Flegg and NSW Cup. In his last match, against Mounties, he was one of the best on field. Whether the club is looking to upgrade him remains to be seen.
From the remainder of the list, I’d suggest that either
Joey Lussick or
Nathaniel Roache would be retained.
The decision around Lussick might come down to whether he is offered a contract from another club. Lussick’s form in both NSW Cup and NRL was solid enough to suggest that he would attract interest from other teams. Should this happen, another club might prove more attractive with regard to opportunities to play first grade.
Nathaniel Roache was signed to a Development contract for 2021 due to his history of injuries. Unfortunately for Roache, his well-deserved top grade debut for Parra resulted in a knee injury which has sidelined him for an already extended period. This could prove to be an obstacle to earning another deal, but his future might also depend on what eventuates with Lussick.
Ray Stone has almost become the forgotten Eel. Once again, injuries have played havoc with the tough forward’s season. Although featuring as an NRL bench player in four of the first ten rounds, injury and shut downs mean that he hasn’t taken the field since round 11 of the NSW Cup. Many Eels supporters would hope that he is retained, despite the minimal places available.
Elie El-Zakhem
There’s also the question of upgrades from NSW Cup. The decision for such players could involve Development Contracts. Most of those in contention are forwards such as
Makahesi Makatoa, Elie El-Zakhem, Charbel Tasipale, Ky Rodwell, Tasi James and Kurt Dillon.
Charbel and Tasi were each awarded with an NRL preseason coming into 2021. I rated Charbel as the most improved during the preseason, and he and Tasi have spent time in both Flegg and NSW Cup this year.
Makahesi, Elie, Ky and Kurt have formed the nucleus of an imposing Eels pack in the NSW Cup, one which has laid the platform for the team to be placed second on the table when the competition was shut down.
The claims of Makahesi and Elie are difficult to ignore. Given that both are yet to make their NRL debut, they might be ideally placed for a Development contract.
Big Maka has an unbelievable motor and leads the NSW Cup for runs, run metres, post contact metres and decoy runs. His tackle efficiency is a ridiculous 94.2%. Elie is the leading defender in NSW Cup and sits in the top ten in the competition for post contact metres. He’s one of the Eels leading try scorers with seven tries and has the most offloads for the team.
The advantage of offering contracts to any of the players listed above is that they are known commodities for what they offer both on and off the field. There’s also a financial incentive as it’s unlikely that any would command a big salary.
As an aside, not earning a top 30 spot, or a Development contract, does not mean the end of a player’s future with the Eels. Having full control of the NSW Cup side means that Parra can keep players in the system via second tier deals.
Taking Development contracts out of the equation, I’m prepared to say that close to 27 places in next year’s top 30 will go to current full time squad members.
In most seasons that number would be considered to be far too many. It’s always beneficial to introduce fresh faces to any team as it helps the team to continue to evolve and adds a shot of energy to the start of every preseason. In this instance, the club have developed a strong group of players outside of their top 17 and it’s unlikely that better options could be found elsewhere to fill the lower end of the roster.
Recruitment
With external top 30 recruitment likely to be limited to two or three places, the next focus falls on what positions the club would be looking to fill.
If the club is looking for depth players who are NRL standard, then the Eels would need to consider recruiting a five-eighth, an outside back or utility back and a back rower.
Ray Stone
