An NRL legend believes the 15th-placed Eels could be challenging for a semi-final berth as early as next season.
Parramatta lost no admirers on Thursday night when going down 16-10 to the Melbourne Storm in what was a gutsy display.
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Despite facing a side with much more experience and talent, the Eels gave Melbourne an almighty fright, with the difference being a late Storm try.
Parramatta impressed last week with a massive upset over Brisbane, and they got very close to collecting two huge scalps in the space of six days.
Despite their position on the ladder, rugby league great Billy Moore has liked what he’s seen from the Eels of late, going as far to say Parramatta could be finals bound next season.
“You can really see the green shoots are there and there are a lot of positives,” Moore said.
“Terrible start to the year but you can now see what (Jason) Ryles is doing and it’s starting to come together.
“Mitch Moses is obviously a breath of fresh air but you can see those young guys coming through.
“It’ll be a big learning year for them (this year) but I reckon the Eels will be around about the semi-finals in 2026.”
This prompted Matty Johns to say: “I think so too.”
The Eels sharply improved since star half and skipper Mitch Moses returned to the line up against Brisbane last week.
Moses, who has played in only nine NRL games this season, admitted the Eels “should have” beaten Melbourne and wants “to win now”.
However, he says the club has a bright outlook given the contributions from some young guns such as Joash Papalii, Charlie Guymer and Ryley Smith and these games at the back end of the season will prove beneficial going forward.
Ryles not happy with just ‘improving’ | 05:15
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“They are getting a lot of confidence, Rylesy is showing them a lot of confidence and putting a lot of confidence in them to be able to go out there and perform,” Moses said.
“We are going into games (thinking) we can compete with anyone at the moment and it’s good lessons for a young kid.”
While they won’t be playoff bound in 2025, the Eels will prove to be a tough matchup for any side over the final six weeks. Just ask Melbourne and Brisbane.
Greg Alexander and Eels legend Nathan Hindmarsh both think Parramatta can play spoiler.
“There’ll be sides not wanting to play Parramatta in their run into the finals if they’re looking to get into the eight or top four,” Alexander said post-game.
“Parramatta have shown they’re certainly no walkover.”
Hindmarsh said on The Late Show with Matty Johns: “Huge improvement again from the Eels. Everyone wrote them off tonight.
“They are going to worry a lot of sides at the back end of the season the Eels.
“That’s what Rylesy will want as well. He doesn’t want them throwing up the white flag and focus on next year, he wants to set some stuff up now so they can start next season on fire.”
