Adam O’Brien did not get the farewell result he was hoping for with the Knights as a lethal Eels attack ensured Newcastle would claim the wooden spoon in 2025.
It has not been the easiest year for the Knights, who have now ended their season at the bottom of the ladder and are preparing to welcome a new coach to the helm.
A final match against Parramatta was never going to be an easy one, even if neither team was battling for a spot in the finals, but the Knights were likely not expecting a 66-10 thrashing on Sunday afternoon.
The result marks the fifth time the Knights have finished last on the premiership ladder.
It took just one minute for control to be placed in the hands of the Eels, with Newcastle’s defensive flaws exposed within seconds of Parramatta’s first set.
Dylan Brown was not going to let his departure from the Eels get in the way of his performance – even if it meant his new team would end their season with a loss – as he powered over for the opening try in the first minute of the game.
Mitchell Moses then put on a show as he crossed for a double before the 15th minute.
“There is just no fear in what might go wrong … and they’ve come up with a try,” league great Phil Gould said of the Eels on Nine.
Jermaine McEwen managed to stamp the Knights on the board shortly after, but it came just moments after the club had lost Fletcher Hunt to an ugly head knock.
But the Parramatta Eels were only just getting started in attack.
Ryley Smith and Matt Doorey joined the list of scorers for Parramatta before Moses crossed for his first career hat-trick in the 35th minute.
One last try would have topped off a remarkable first half of football for the Eels; however, Kelma Tuilagi was denied the chance to do exactly that by the Bunker.
“This is not going to stop … this is getting a little bit scary,” Gould said.
To add to Newcastle’s woes, Jack Cogger was ruled out of the match due to category one concussion symptoms, meaning 18th man James Schiller could enter the match.
A double for Josh Addo-Carr and a cruisy try for Junior Paulo were added to the Eels’ tally in the opening 10 minutes of the second half.
Nine caller Mat Thompson laughed that Knights great Andrew Johns, who was also in commentary, was “in the fetal position” watching from the stands.
Not even a try for Greg Marzhew could conceal the thrashing that the Knights were receiving, but Johns’ focus was turned to the key tasks O’Brien’s unnamed successor will need to immediately get to work on.
“Whoever is coaching next year has to work out how and where to get the ball to Bradman Best,” he said.
“He is just a wrecking ball, so powerful … but he doesn’t get enough quality ball.
“The Knights just can not compete with the heavyweight teams to get marquee players in … they have to build from within,” the eighth Immortal continued.
“They need to identify talent and educate them on the style they’re playing in the NRL.”
A hat-trick to Addo-Carr and tries to Tallyn Da Silva and Will Penisini ensured a record win over Newcastle for Parramatta.
Brown scored the last conversion of the match for his final act as an Eels player.
