EEL S C EO REPORT
Dear Members
J I M SA RA N TI N OS
I am pleased to present my report for the 2020 financial year for the Parramatta Eels Rugby League Club (“Eels or Football Club”). 2020 was an unprecedented year not only for our Football Club but for our community overall. I am immensely proud of how our staff, coaches and players met the enormous challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has presented us. The support we have received from our Members, Corporate partners and fans throughout 2020 was overwhelming and showed the strong connection our Football Club has with key stakeholders. A key contributor to the Eels’ positive performance in 2020 was the support of the new Parramatta Leagues Club (PLC) Board and their management team. Despite the significant disruption to PLC’s business, the support the Eels received throughout the year across a range of different areas showed the importance of a strong and well coordinated working relationship between the two organisations. I would like to make mention of some of the major highlights for 2020 starting with our football program.
“The support we have received from our Members, Corporate partners and fans throughout 2020 was overwhelming and showed the strong connection our Football Club has with key stakeholders.”
Football Program The suspension of the NRL competition in March 2020 was incredibly disruptive to our Club, our people and the game as a whole. Credit must be given to the Australian Rugby League Commission (ALRC) and the NRL through the leadership of Peter V’Landys and Andrew Abdo in working hard to ensure the resumption of the game was achieved promptly and safely. The weeks and months that followed the resumption took a great personal toll on all involved, particularly for our football staff, players and their families who made a number of sacrifices to ensure they complied with the NRL ‘bubble’ requirements. The way Brad, our staff and players responded when the competition resumed was a testament to their character and the resilience the Football Club has developed when faced with adversity. It’s important to also acknowledge the impact on our Canterbury Cup and elite pathways teams who’s competitions were cancelled in 2020. Our staff, players and volunteers handled this disruption with a Club first mentality and a fierce commitment to ensure that our programs are prepared for success in 2021. The NRL team built on its performances in 2019 with some great achievements in 2020 including: • Improving our ladder position from 5th to 3rd and recording our highest regular season finish since 2005; • Spending eight weeks at the top of the ladder and having a 75 per cent win / loss ratio; • Playing finals football in three of the last four years and in consecutive years for the first time since 2006 and 2007; and
8 | PARRAMATTA L EAGUES CLUB LIMITED
