Eels play it cool over Townsville heat

George Clarke | September 19, 2022

After putting the perception that they are big-game chokers to bed, Parramatta must now overcome North Queensland and the elements in Townsville to reach a NRL grand final.

The Eels’ big win over Canberra on Friday propelled them into their first preliminary final in Brad Arthur’s nine-season reign.

Parramatta will take a charter flight to Townsville on Thursday before Friday’s meeting with the Cowboys at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.

The Eels are expected to be met by 29C temperatures in the day with the mercury set to stay at around 23C come kick-off on Friday.

“The humidity…” said back-rower Shaun Lane with a grin on his face. “What, is it hot up there?”

Lane’s cheeky response hides a brutal reality: the Cowboys have never lost a finals game played in Townsville in September.

Some would suggest that arriving early and acclimatising would give the Eels a better chance.

But five-eighth Dylan Brown, who hasn’t played in Townsville across his four-season NRL career, said it could have a reverse effect.

“I think the more time you spend there the more drained you probably get,” he said.

“Once you get into the stadium, you switch your focus and you’re there to play footy.”

Parramatta haven’t won a game in Townsville since 2017 with captain Clint Gutherson the sole survivor from the team which Arthur is expected to name on Tuesday.

The Eels often take a game to Darwin so have some sense of what they are facing.

But earlier this season they made the mistake of playing, of all teams, the Cowboys there and suffered a 35-4 thumping.

“I haven’t played there for nearly four years,” prop Reagan Campbell-Gillard said.

“Both teams have to play in the same conditions.

“It was 36C (in Darwin) and we were in that game for 60 minutes and then we had some disruption within our team.

“We train in the heat, our facilities are based in the west so we’re pretty used to the hot weather. You can’t use that as an excuse.”