The 2011 Parramatta Eels season is the 65th in the club's history. Coached by

Stephen Kearney Stephen Peter Kearney (born 11 June 1972) is a New Zealand professional rugby league football coach who until 2020 was the head coach of the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL and a former player. A New Zealand national captain and second-row for ...

and captained by

Nathan Hindmarsh Nathan William Hindmarsh (born 7 September 1979) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who captained the Parramatta Eels in the NRL. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australian international representative second-ro ...

, they competed in the

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

2011 Telstra Premiership The 2011 NRL season was the 104th season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the fourteenth and last run by the National Rugby League's partnership committee of the Australian Rugby League and News Ltd. The NRL ...

. The Eels finished the regular season in 14th place, failing to make the finals for the second consecutive year.

Summary

The Parramatta club made several new player signings for the 2011 season. In the forwards, the Eels added former

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

centre

Carl Webb Carl Webb (born 20 March 1981) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a and in the 2000s and 2010s. He played for the Brisbane Broncos, North Queensland Cowboys and the Parramatta Eels in the NRL. Webb ...

and former

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

and

Cronulla Cronulla is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Boasting numerous surf beaches and swimming spots, the suburb attracts both tourists and Greater Sydney residents. Cronulla is located 26 kilometres south of the Sydney ...

as well as one-time

Kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

Reni Maitua Reni Maitua (born 11 June 1982) is a former professional rugby league footballer. An Australian and Samoan International representative player, he previously played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, with whom he won the 2004 NRL Premiers ...

. To bolster the backs after the retirement of Eric Grothe Jr and the departure of

Timana Tahu Timana James Aporo Tahu (born 16 October 1980) is an Australian former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer. He last played for Denver Stampede in the US PRO Rugby competition. A dual-code international representative three-qua ...

, the Eels signed the experienced pair of Chris Walker and Chris Hicks. 2011 can be considered to have been a year of "almost" for Parramatta, with the team losing over half of their matches by four points or less, many of which were conceded after attaining leads over their opponents. The Eels pushed a record four games into

Golden Point The golden point, a sudden death overtime system, is used to resolve drawn football matches. The term is borrowed from soccer's now-defunct golden goal. Rugby league Australia The golden point is used to determine a winner (where applicable, see ...

during the season, however were unable to win any, resulting in a draw against the

St George Illawarra Dragons The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 after a joint- ...

and one-point losses to the

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrith ...

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...

and the

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilita ...

. Throughout the 2011 season, coach Stephen Kearney motioned several reshuffles of the Parramatta side, the most high-profile change being fullback Jarryd Hayne's switch to five-eighth after his ball-playing abilities were considered by several experts including the NSW State of Origin coach Ricky Stuart, as his strongest point. Other switches include the moving of

Luke Burt Luke Kevin Burt (born 6 June 1981) is a professional rugby league coach who was the interim co-coach of the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL, and an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. Burt and Craig Hodges were replaced by Just ...

to fullback, second-rower Ben Smith to right centre, and the resting of five-eighth

Daniel Mortimer Daniel Mortimer (born 13 June 1989) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played as a or for the Leigh Centurions in the Betfred Championship. He previously played for the Parramatta Eels, Gold Coast Titans, Sy ...

. Before the final match of their season, Parramatta had won only five of their 24 games and were in contention for the dreaded wooden spoon. During their final match, the Parramatta side emerged victorious over the

Gold Coast Titans The Gold Coast Titans are a professional rugby league football club, based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australia and New Zealand's national rugby league club competition. The ...

who were also direct contenders for last place. The wooden spoon was awarded to the Gold Coast side, finishing 16th on the NRL ladder with Parramatta finishing in 14th position.

Standings

National Rugby League

National Youth Competition

Fixtures

Pre-season

Home and away season

Players and staff

The playing squad and coaching staff of the Parramatta Eels for the

2011 NRL season The 2011 NRL season was the 104th season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the fourteenth and last run by the National Rugby League's partnership committee of the Australian Rugby League and News Ltd. The NRL ...

as of 29 May 2011.

Awards

The following awards were awarded in the post-season: *Michael Cronin clubman of the year award: Les 'Tex' Brooker *Ken Thornett Medal (Players' player):

Fuifui Moimoi Fuifui Moimoi (born 26 September 1980) is a rugby league footballer who plays as a . He most notably played for the Parramatta Eels in the National Rugby League (NRL) from 2004 to 2014, in addition to playing for Leigh Centurions in the RFL Cha ...

*Jack Gibson Award (Coach's award):

*Eric Grothe Rookie of the Year Award:

Mitchell Allgood Mitchell Allgood (born 27 April 1989) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who last played as a for the London Broncos in the Betfred Championship. He previously played for the Parramatta Eels and the St George Illawarra Drag ...

References

{{NRL 2011 Parramatta Eels seasons Parramatta Eels season