2025 NRL Team Previews

Parramatta Eels NRL 2025 Team Preview, Predictions & Player Movement

Jeremy Darke

Editor

Last updated: 07 Feb 2025

Jeremy Darke 07 Feb 2025

Share this article

Parramatta Eels projected to finish 9th in 2025 with 11 wins.
Mitch Moses seen as a top Dally M contender if he remains healthy.
Key player movements include Zac Lomax in, Clint Gutherson out.

Parramatta Eels predicted to finish ninth in the NRL 2025 season. (Photo by Matt Blyth/Getty Images)

Parramatta Eels NRL 2025 Team Previews, Predictions & Player Movement

Parramatta Eels NRL 2025 Team Previews, Predictions & Player Movement
Where the Parramatta Eels finish in 2025: 9
Projected Win total: 11
Best contender for Dally M: Mitch Moses
What’s to like
What’s NOT to like
Parramatta Eels Offseason Player Movement
Parramatta Eels Predicted Starting 17

Where the Parramatta Eels finish in 2025: 9

The Eels finished 2024 in 15th It was a real hard slog with NSW halfback Mitchell Moses playing just 8 games for the club after suffering a fractured foot at the beginning of the season and tore his bicep after his origin heroics.

All the talk in Eel town is the loss of their fearless leader ‘King Gutho’ to the Dragons and although Clint Gutherson is irreplaceable in many aspects, the most important part of 2025 will be the health of Moses.

If the Eels halfback reignites his combination with Dylan Brown and new coach Jason Ryles can lock in on his backline that has seen improvements with the addition of Zac Lomax, the Eels should be back fighting for an NRL Finals berth.

Projected Win total: 11

Parramatta’s 7 wins in 2024 was well below the Pythagorean expectation of 12 wins projected for last season. The miss can be put down to the Mitchell Moses factor.

The Eels are projected for 11 wins this season that would see them on the cusp of the eight which is a fair statement. A lot will ride on the new combinations in defence for the Eels and how they defend, but how much worse can it be than the 29.8 points per game they conceded last season that was the second-most in the NRL.

Best contender for Dally M: Mitch Moses

Anyone that saw the State of Origin in 2024 has to have Mitchell Moses in their top five list of players in the NRL heading into this season.

Moses single-handedly turned the series on its head with 4 try assists and 2 linebreak assists, along with 442 kick metres in NSW game 2 victory. The Parramatta halfback then went on to score the series winning try in the dying stages of game 3 to seal it for his state.

If Moses stays healthy he is likely to be in the Dally M points tally in every match he plays and if there is an improvement in the Eels this season it will be due to the involvement of their No. 7.

What’s to like

One of the most exciting combinations in the NRL this season will be between Mitchell Moses and Zac Lomax. If the Eels are going to win games it will be up to their halfback to get early ball to Lomax in the centres and let him do his thing. The aerial attack is going to be a continuous highlight, with Moses pin-point placement to the former Dragon, their biggest attacking weapon on the line.

Jason Ryles has now taken over in his full season as head coach and coming through as the young Jedi apprentice from master Yoda himself Craig Bellamy, there is a lot of expectation that Ryles can transform the Eels back into a contender.

What’s NOT to like

There is still uncertainty about the Eels and what they can do defensively. They were the second-worst team in the NRL in 2024 in points conceded, linebreaks conceded and made the most missed tackles of any team in the league.

Defence wins championships, but it is also about effort and combinations. The backline of Parramatta will have plenty of new faces and they will need to develop chemistry early otherwise their season may slip out of the grasp before it even begins.

Parramatta Eels Offseason Player Movement

Ins: Zac Lomax (Dragons), Isaiah Iongi (Panthers), Dean Hawkins (Rabbitohs), Joash Papalii (Bulldogs), Jordan Samrani (Bulldogs), Jack Williams (Sharks), Kitione Kautoga (Bulldogs), Josh Addo-Carr (Bulldogs), Ronald Volkman (train and trial)

Outs: Ethan Sanders (Raiders), Blaize Talagi (Panthers), Reagan Campbell-Gillard (Gold Coast Titans), Maika Sivo (Leeds Rhinos), Clint Gutherson (Dragons), Daejarn Asi (Castleford), Ky Rodwell (Wakefield Trinity), Makahesi Makatoa (released), Morgan Harper (North Sydney Bears), Ofahiki Ogden (released), Tevita Taumoepenu (released), Zac Cini (Castleford)