Parramatta fans – the vast majority of whom have never been offered $13-14 million to change jobs – made their feelings obvious from the get-go at Commbank Stadium on Sunday.
When Dylan Brown’s image flashed up on the big screen for the pre-match squad announcement, a chorus of boos reverberated around the ground.
Parramatta football manager Mark O’Neill might have declared last week after Brown confirmed that he would be leaving at season’s end to take up an unprecedented 10-year deal at Newcastle, that “no one could begrudge him for accepting this opportunity for him and his family”.
Many Eels supporters would beg to differ, and their mood is unlikely to have improved after a 32-6 spanking from three-time wooden spooners Wests Tigers that left them on the bottom of the points table after two rounds.
The Knights might see Brown as the man to steer them around the field, and hopefully to a premiership, but there was little evidence of that against the Tigers.
The New Zealand international five-eighth seemed content to let Parramatta’s backup half, Ronald Volkman, run the show.
Volkman, a replacement for injured Test star Mitchell Moses, was playing in his seventh top-grade game after joining the Eels on a train-and-trial contract.
Brown’s sole threatening moment before half-time came in the 17th minute, when he popped a nice short ball to back-rower Jack Williams 10 metres out from the line, only for the former Cronulla forward to fumble it.
That was about as close as the Eels, slaughtered 56-18 by Melbourne in last week’s season-opener, came to a highlight during the opening half, which was played in temperatures nudging 37 degrees.
Not surprisingly given the conditions, both teams struggled to control the ball, and it took 27 minutes before the scoreboard operators were called into action.
After camping themselves in prime attacking opportunity, thanks to a series of Eels errors, Tigers halves Jarome Luai and Lachlan Galvin produced a quick spread to the right edge and former Penrith winger Sunia Turuva flashed over out wide.
Nine minutes later, centre Starford Toa burst down the same attacking channel and dived for the corner.
Despite video replays indicating that Toa’s boot may have touched the sideline in Parramatta fullback Isaiah Iongi’s desperate tackle, the bunker approved the try. Centre Adam Doueihi then rubbed salt into the home team’s wounds by converting from touch.
A spectacular length-of-the-field try in the 40th minute gave the Tigers a 16-0 lead at half-time, after fullback Jahream Bula broke clear on a kick return and linked with Doueihi, who kicked infield. Galvin won the race to regather, scoring between the posts.
Two minutes after the break, the Tigers increased their advantage with a bizarre try in which kicks from both Luai and Galvin combined to set up winger Jeral Skelton.
Doueihi’s conversion left the Eels facing a 22-0 deficit.
A second Turuva try in the 68th minute, converted from touch by Doueihi, sent the jubilant Tigers contingent in the crowd into raptures.
Just when it seemed things could not get any worse for the Eels, they did.
Parramatta appeared to have scored their first points through Zac Lomax in the 72nd minute – despite a forward pass by Brown – only to be denied for an obstruction in the lead-up.
Within a minute, the Tigers were celebrating at the other end of the pitch after Turuva completed his hat-trick.
Three minutes from full-time, Brown appeared set to score after a Joe Ofahengaue off-load, only to be dragged down inches short of the line.
The full-time result underlined the respective plights of the Eels and the Tigers since they last met, in the so-called last-round “spoon bowl” last season.
Parramatta won that game 60-26 to finish 2024 in 15th position on the ladder.
Judging by their two performances so far, the Eels might be doing well this year not to slip further down the ladder.