The Parramatta Eels could be in for another rough season in 2024 and miss finals for the second straight year, according to The Daily Telegraph’s Michael Carayannis.
The 2022 NRL Grand Finalists joined just a handful of teams to miss out on finals a year after making the decider the year prior, finishing in 10th spot last season.
Parramatta has struggled to keep a hold of its fringe stars in recent years, committing a significant amount of money to the halves pairing of Mitchell Moses and Dylan Brown, meaning players like Reed Mahoney and Marata Niukore were shown the door.
Despite having a deep forward pack, the Eels' inexperienced and rather shallow backline, along with selection headache at hooker could spell disaster for the blue and gold in 2024.
“They’re too power-based, if they don’t win that power battle in the middle of the field there’s not much else going on for them,” Carayannis told SEN 1170 Breakfast.
“They’re still looking for a strike outside back with some speed, I don’t know if they’ll find one.
“Their dummy half is problematic, the Josh Hodgson experiment didn’t work after they let go of Reed Mahoney, I think there’s a real deficiency there.
“I think Joey Lussick will probably start, Brendan Hands did a decent job filling in but they’re not top-choice hookers.
“That’s a bit of a problem for them.
“I’ve got them missing them missing the eight again, which will mount more pressure on Brad Arthur.
“I don’t think he can afford to miss the eight two years in a row to guarantee that he’ll be coach there beyond this year.
“I’ve got them missing the eight and probably a bit of drama happening at Parramatta.”
Parramatta will kick start its season on Saturday, March 9th against crosstown rivals the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs at CommBank Stadium.