James Graham’s audacious strategy for Parramatta to beat the Wests Tigers and avoid the NRL wooden spoon

If it’s good enough for the best team in the competition to rest players, then why not the worst? Former NRL star James Graham has put forward a provocative argument that Parramatta should leave star players out of the team to meet St George Illawarra on Saturday so they are fresh and fully fit for the following weekend’s wooden spoon play-off against Wests Tigers.

Minor premiers Melbourne will rest players over the closing fortnight of the regular season as they chase a premiership, while the Eels and Tigers are locked in last place on 16 points with two rounds remaining. The Tigers have the bye in round 26 and will automatically collect two competition points, meaning the spoon will be on the line in the last round regardless of Parramatta’s result against the Dragons.

That’s prompted Graham to think outside the square and suggest the Eels should throw everything at the “Spoonbowl” match. “I wonder if they’ll rest players against the Dragons because that result with have no bearing on what happens,” he told Fox League.

“The Tigers have the bye next week and they’re going to be fresh. If Parra beat the Dragons it doesn’t make any difference – it’s still going to be Spoonbowl – so why wouldn’t you rest your players?”

Eels and Tigers both hoping to avoid the wooden spoon
Asked to expand on his proposal, Graham told Triple M: “I was theorising it. I was looking at it (through Parramatta’s eyes) and thinking ‘here’s our objective – not to win the wooden spoon’. We’ve got this game against the Tigers in two weeks’ time. They have the bye going into that and Parramatta have a game against the Dragons (and) that result will have no bearing on their primary objective.

“If your primary objective is to not win the spoon, then I would suggest (resting players).” The Eels are unlikely to go down that road as they attempt to upset the Dragons’ plans of reaching the top eight for the first time in six years.

Then attention will turn to the wooden spoon match, which is expected to attract a full house at Campbelltown Stadium on September 6. “You can be guaranteed the emotion within that stadium between both sets of fans and players (will be high). What you’re going to see is desperation,” Graham predicted. “To avoid the label of the wooden spoon against two western Sydney teams that have a built-up rivalry…it’s fantastic (how it’s) played out.”