1998 Parramatta Eels season

The 1998 Parramatta Eels season was the 52nd in the club's history. Coached by Brian Smith and captained by Dean Pay they competed in the National Rugby League's 1998 Premiership season.

1998 Parramatta Eels season
NRL Rank4th
Play-off resultPreliminary Finalists (Lost 20–32 vs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, 2nd Preliminary Final)
1998 recordWins: 17; draws: 1; losses: 6
Points scoredFor: 468; against: 349
Team information
CEODenis Fitzgerald
CoachAustralia Brian Smith
Captain
StadiumParramatta Stadium (Capacity: 20,741)
Top scorers
TriesAustralia Stuart Kelly (15)
GoalsAustralia Clinton Schifcofske (78)
PointsAustralia Clinton Schifcofske (176)
← 1997 List of seasons 1999 →

Summary

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Parramatta finished fourth in the newly created 20-team NRL. Parramatta had a highly successful finals series, beating the North Sydney Bears in a Qualifying Final and then backing up to defeat eventual premiers the Brisbane Broncos 15–10 at ANZ Stadium in Brisbane. Due to the win, Parramatta gained a week off before clashing with arch-rivals Canterbury in the Grand Final Qualifier.

The game was poised at 18–2 in favour of Parramatta with 11 minutes to go. However, Canterbury managed a late resurgence scoring three tries in eight minutes to tie the game up at 18–18 with Daryl Halligan kicking two side line conversions which took the game into extra-time. The extra-time period is remembered for the performance of Parramatta player Paul Carige who made three crucial errors. Parramatta would go on to lose 32-20 in extra-time.[1][2]

Standings

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Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1   Brisbane Broncos (P) 24 18 1 5 688 310 +378 37
2   Newcastle Knights 24 18 1 5 562 381 +181 37
3   Melbourne Storm 24 17 1 6 546 372 +174 35
4   Parramatta Eels 24 17 1 6 468 349 +119 35
5   North Sydney Bears 24 17 0 7 663 367 +296 34
6   Sydney City Roosters 24 16 0 8 680 383 +297 32
7   Canberra Raiders 24 15 0 9 564 429 +135 30
8   St. George Dragons 24 13 1 10 486 490 -4 27
9   Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 24 13 0 11 489 411 +78 26
10   Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 24 13 0 11 503 473 +30 26
11   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 24 12 1 11 438 387 +51 25
12   Illawarra Steelers 24 11 1 12 476 539 -63 23
13   Balmain Tigers 24 9 1 14 381 463 -82 19
14   Penrith Panthers 24 8 2 14 525 580 -55 18
15   Auckland Warriors 24 9 0 15 417 518 -101 18
16   North Queensland Cowboys 24 9 0 15 361 556 -195 18
17   Adelaide Rams 24 7 0 17 393 615 -222 14
18   South Sydney Rabbitohs 24 5 0 19 339 560 -221 10
19   Gold Coast Chargers 24 4 0 20 289 654 -365 8
20   Western Suburbs Magpies 24 4 0 20 371 802 -431 8

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ "Top 10 preliminary final heartbreaks". www.nrl.com. 23 September 2015.
  2. ^ "Memorable Match: 1998 Preliminary Final". www.bulldogs.com.au. 12 August 2014.
  3. ^ "Honour Roll". parraeels.com.au. Parramatta Eels. Archived from the original on 25 February 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2014.