Can Eels avoid the wooden spoon in 2019?

They’ve added some new faces to their squad in 2019, but the pressure is still going to be on Parramatta as they look to avoid back-to-back wooden spoons. Junior Paulo, Blake Ferguson and Shaun Lane are the major additions to the Eels, while the likes of Corey Norman (St George Illawarra) and Jarryd Hayne (unsigned) are the biggest exits. Norman’s departure is set to shake-up the Eels’ playmaking combination with the likes of Dylan Brown and Jaeman Salmon options to partner Mitchell Moses, who will be under a lot of pressure to perform for both the team and his own future given he’s off-contract at
the end of the season. Ferguson adds plenty of class and experience to the backline, while the club will be glad to have Clint Gutherson fit for the season opener after he missed the first five rounds last year due to an ACL injury.Up front, the returning Paulo adds plenty of power to the Eels’ forward pack which struggled for go-forward in 2018. Lane has also proven to be an attacking threat on the edge after his best ever season at Manly. Overall, it’s a pretty familiar-looking line-up for the Eels in 2019, so the heat will be on Brad Arthur — who’s also off-contract at the end of the season — to breathe some life into the team as they look to recapture the form that took them finals football in 2017.

Parramatta Eels: 2019 Round 1 predicted team

Parramatta Eels: 2019 Round 1 predicted Team: Clint Gutherson, Blake Ferguson, Brad Takairangi, Michael Jennings, George Jennings, Jaeman Salmon, Mitch Moses,
Daniel Alvaro, Reed Mahoney, Junior Paulo, Shaun Lane, Manu Ma'u, Nathan Brown, Will Smith, Tepai Moeroa, Marata Niukore, Tim Mannah

Blake Ferguson expected to be fine for trials

Blake Ferguson is expected to overcome a nasty cut to his foot and return to peak fitness in time for the Eels trial games against the Raiders and Panthers. Despite being hospitalised by the mishap, Ferguson is expected to make a full recovery heading into the February trials and the 2019 Telstra Premiership. The former Test and NSW Origin winger cut his foot on Christmas Day and when it didn't respond to initial treatment doctors took a closer look and found a large splinter inside the wound. That was removed but the 28-year-old was still experiencing swelling and pain due to an infection. He checked himself into St George Hospital a couple of days before New Year so the foot could again be checked to ensure there were no other remnants of the splinter left behind. 

Brad Arthur to be first coach sacked after Shane Flanagan

There’s no doubt the Parramatta coach is a brilliant man-manager.Throughout all the troubles the Eels have had during his five-year tenure, he’s somehow held on to the support of his players.But, of course, in the cut-throat world of first-grade coaching results are the bottom-line.And aside from his side’s exciting run to the semi-finals in
2017, he has failed to guide the Blue and Golds to September footy.A salary cap scandal robbed him of the opportunity in 2016, but last year’s wooden spoon, in which they picked up just six wins has him squarely on the chopping block.Arthur needs his men to get off to a flyer, and it doesn’t look as though they have the cattle — having lost two of their out-and-out stars in Corey Norman and Jarryd Hayne.

NRL hooker launches hilarious last-ditch shot at new contract

Cameron King has taken an unconventional path as he bids to remain in the NRL next year. The 27-year-old is without a deal after leaving Parramatta at the end of the 2018 season. Searching for a fourth club following stints with St George Illawarra and North Queensland prior to a three-year stay at the Eels, King decided on Tuesday afternoon that it was time to use Twitter his agent:

He had announced his departure from Parramatta in September after 11 games in each of the past two seasons. “(Brad Arthur) gave me a chance when my career was at standstill and for that I’ll be forever grateful,” King wrote. “Wasn’t how I saw my time finishing here but unfortunately that’s the way it goes sometimes, which hurts. “Not too sure what the next chapter looks like which is scary/exciting but I’m thankful to have been involved with the Parramatta Eels.”

Parramatta Eels NRL 2019 Draw

Teams they play twice: Panthers, Bulldogs, Sharks, Raiders, Wests Tigers, Knights, Dragons, Broncos, Sea Eagles.

Teams they play once: Roosters, Storm, Cowboys, Rabbitohs, Warriors, Titans.

Day-by-day breakdown: Thursday - two, Friday - Five, Saturday - Eight, Sunday - Eight, Monday – One.

Five-day turnarounds: 2 (Rd 3, Rd 11).

Kick-off: When you’re the wooden spooners, every game is a tough game but for Parramatta, the early schedule is favourable in that they don’t leave Sydney’s west in the first four rounds - away to Penrith first up before three straight ANZ Stadium fixtures against the Dogs, Roosters and Sharks.

Eels confirm 'a few issues' holding up contract talks with Jarryd Hayne

Parramatta could start their NRL pre-season without star Jarryd Hayne as contract negotiations look set to continue into the summer. Barely a month has passed since the grand final, but the Eels will be one of the first clubs to begin preparations for the 2019 campaign next Thursday. Whether Hayne will join them is under a cloud, with Parramatta CEO Bernie Gurr suggesting the parties are unlikely to strike a deal by next week.

"I don't think it's imminent in the next few days. It wouldn't be in the next few days," Burr said on Thursday. "We're still talking to Jarryd. We've obviously expressed our desire, and let that be known publicly that we'd like Jarryd to stay at our club. "But there's a few issues to work through before we cross that bridge." Gurr's comments come just days after the former NFL convert was linked with a possible move to St George Illawarra. Pressed on whether the club would like Hayne's future to be sorted out before day one of pre-season, Gurr said: "Obviously we would.

NRL contract on Moses's mind at Eels

Mitchell Moses is determined to prove his worth to Parramatta and admits he will begin pre-season training with a contract on his mind as he enters the final year of his NRL deal at the Eels. Signed by Parramatta midway through the 2017 campaign from Wests Tigers, Moses was an instant hit when he took the Eels to their first finals series in eight years. But by his own admission 2018 was a bad year.

"I've just got back into training. It's nothing too full on but I'm at that stage of my career where I need to do something," Moses told AAP. "I've got one more year left on my contract and I've got to put myself in a good position next year to be playing good footy, and this is where it starts. "I don't look into (speculation about being shopped around) at all. I'm contracted next year and all the other stuff is up to my management. "My job is to play footy. That's my job and I'm contracted next year, so that's where I will be." Moses flew to Lebanon for a one-week getaway after Parramatta's year ended at the conclusion of the regular season but he then opted out of a trip to the United States to give himself his longest pre-season since he was a teenager.

Parramatta Eels' woes over new stadium deal

Parramatta home games will likely be marked with venue "TBC" when the NRL season draw is released next week, following a stalling of negotiations between the club and representatives of the new Western Sydney Stadium. The Eels are expected to open the new $300-million venue next April, but believe an offer put forward by the stadium's operating group VenuesLive is "unacceptable" after months of negotiations. A reasonable stadium deal has been a key sticking point for the Eels, who believe they have been financially hurt while playing out of ANZ Stadium for the past two seasons in an agreement reached by their previous management.

The club went as far as to seek the advice of a consultancy firm, who believe the offer made to the Eels is well below the benchmarks of other clubs across multiple sports with different stadiums across Australia. The deal is also crucial for the future of the club, given they have built much of their 2019 marketing around a return home to Parramatta and the contract could be in place for as long as 25 years. "Anywhere that long we want to make sure we get it right," Eels chief executive Bernie Gurr told AAP. "We want to be fair and reasonable. Historically we haven't had great deals. Our deal at ANZ is not ideal and we just need to get a fair and reasonable outcome because this is the prime aspect of our business. "The proposed deal we've been offered is not where we need it to be to get the financial outcomes we need.

New legal stoush in Jarryd Hayne's rape case

A legal stoush is brewing between Jarryd Hayne and his US rape accuser over whether the NRL star should be forced to fly to California for a potential grilling by her lawyers. Hayne wants to be deposed in Australia ahead of their civil trial in San Jose, California, but the alleged victim, known in court filings by the initials JV, argues Hayne should be in California for the high-stakes questioning. Lawyers for both sides have indicated a judge may have to decide the matter. “Defendant contends that the appropriate forum for defendant’s deposition is in Australia,” lawyers for both sides, in a joint US District Court filing to update the case, wrote.

“If the parties cannot agree on a location for this deposition, the parties will submit this discovery dispute to the Magistrate Judge.” JV claims she was a virgin and heavily intoxicated when she met Hayne at a San Jose bar with friends in 2015 while he was playing in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers. She alleges having “minimal interaction” with Hayne at the bar and taking an Uber with him to his apartment where he sexually assaulted her. Hayne has strongly rejected her rape claim and said they “willingly engaged in sexual interaction that did not include sexual intercourse”. Police investigated and decided not to charge Hayne, but JV pushed ahead by filing a civil lawsuit in California seeking monetary damages. The matter is still more than a year from being decided, with a jury trial scheduled to take place on January 27, 2020. Depositions with San Jose Police Department Officers Brandon Scholton and Steven Biebel are scheduled to take place next week.