2002 Parramatta Eels season
The 2002 Parramatta Eels season was the 56th in the club's history. Coached by Brian Smith and captained by Nathan Cayless, they competed in the National Rugby League's 2002 Telstra Premiership.
| 2002 Parramatta Eels season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRL Rank | 6th | |||
| Play-off result | Qualifying Finalists (Lost 14–24 vs Brisbane Broncos, 2nd Qualifying Final) | |||
| World Club Challenge | DNQ | |||
| 2002 record | Wins: 10; draws: 2; losses: 12 | |||
| Points scored | For: 531; against: 440 | |||
| Team information | ||||
| CEO | Denis Fitzgerald | |||
| Coach | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Brian Smith | |||
| Captain | ||||
| Stadium | Parramatta Stadium (Capacity: 20,741) | |||
| Avg. attendance | 14,088 (Home) 14,762 (Home & Away) 19,115 (Finals Series) | |||
| Agg. attendance | 169,062 (Home) 342,842 (Home & Away) 19,115 (Finals Series) | |||
| High attendance | 22,136 (28 March vs Bulldogs RLFC, Round 16) | |||
| Top scorers | ||||
| Tries | Luke Burt (10) | |||
| Goals | Luke Burt (42) | |||
| Points | Luke Burt (114) | |||
| ||||
Summary
Parramatta started the 2002 season with a 64-6 victory over Penrith at Parramatta Stadium. The club would win seven of their first ten games to sit fourth on the competition ladder. However, towards the back end of the year the club would lose six games in a row. The 2002 season ended with Parramatta finishing in sixth place. The side lost in the first week of the finals 24–14 to the Brisbane Broncos at what was then known as Telstra Stadium. However, this loss resulted in the elimination of the club from the 2002 Finals Series as seventh place St. George Illawarra upset the defending premiers, Newcastle.[1]
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  New Zealand Warriors |
24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 688 | 454 | +234 | 38 |
| 2 |  Newcastle Knights |
24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 724 | 498 | +226 | 38 |
| 3 |  Brisbane Broncos |
24 | 16 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 672 | 425 | +247 | 37 |
| 4 |  Sydney Roosters (P) |
24 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 621 | 405 | +216 | 35 |
| 5 |  Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 653 | 597 | +56 | 34 |
| 6 |  Parramatta Eels |
24 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 531 | 440 | +91 | 26 |
| 7 |  St George Illawarra Dragons |
24 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 2 | 632 | 546 | +86 | 25 |
| 8 |  Canberra Raiders |
24 | 10 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 471 | 641 | -170 | 25 |
| 9 |  Northern Eagles |
24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 503 | 740 | -237 | 24 |
| 10 |  Melbourne Storm |
24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 556 | 586 | -30 | 23 |
| 11 |  North Queensland Cowboys |
24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 496 | 803 | -307 | 20 |
| 12 |  Penrith Panthers |
24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 546 | 654 | -108 | 18 |
| 13 |  Wests Tigers |
24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 498 | 642 | -144 | 18 |
| 14 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs |
24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 385 | 817 | -432 | 14 |
| 15 |  Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs |
24 | 20 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 707 | 435 | +272 | 81 |
1 The Bulldogs were deducted 37 premiership points due to gross salary cap breaches.
Awards
- Michael Cronin clubman of the year award: Andrew Ryan[2]
- Ken Thornett Medal (Players' player): Nathan Hindmarsh
- Jack Gibson Award (Coach's award): Luke Burt
- Eric Grothe Rookie of the Year Award: Ashley Graham
References
- "2002 Parramatta Eels season". www.rugbyleagueproject.org.
- "Honour Roll". parraeels.com.au. Parramatta Eels. Archived from the original on 25 February 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2014.