In 1948, Parramatta were winless in their first eleven matches but the signing of former Western Suburbs and Leeds five-eighth Vic Hey as captain-coach helped them to eighth with five wins and a draw.
Hey had been plagued by injury in his first two years at the club and retired as a player after 1949, with the result that Parramatta fell back to ninth in 1950 before winning nine matches in 1951.
[3] Apart from the recruitments of international backrower “Mick” Crocker for a then-record single-season fee in 1954[4] and prized Yass hooker Bill Rayner in 1956, Parramatta was almost completely reliant upon local juniors[5] and not nearly enough quality players could be found for competitiveness; however, there were notable players like hardman prop Roy Fisher, who played a record 170 consecutive grade games between 1954 and 1962.
[7] 1961 saw the acquisition of international back-rowers Ron Lynch from Forbes in country NSW and Brian Hambly from South Sydney,[2] but the blue and golds, despite a promising start under captain-coach Boden with two early victories, won only one more game and returned to their familiar place at the foot of the ladder.
Under coach Ken Kearney, Parramatta ended their run of six consecutive wooden spoons by finishing the 1962 NSWRFL season in fourth place, making the play-offs for the first time and emulating this feat in the lower grades.
With new recruits Ken Thornett (who became known as “The Mayor”) from English club Leeds and talented half-back Bob Bugden from St George, Parramatta had their most successful season since their inception before being eliminated from the finals in the first round by Western Suburbs.
Despite the addition of skilful second-row forward Dick Thornett for 1963, ultimate success would continue to elude Parramatta with the side being knocked out of the 1963 finals by St George.
However, Parramatta again failed to progress in the minor semi, being defeated by St George, and fell back to last position in 1972 despite possessing class players like Bob O'Reilly, Denis Fitzgerald, and Keith Campbell.
A rush in the last six weeks saw them easily win five games to finished equal fifth (sixth on percentages) with Balmain and Western Suburbs[a] and were forced into a play-off for fifth position.
Parramatta, on a roll, achieved a string of elimination play-off victories, defeating Western Suburbs (18–13) and then Balmain (19–8) to qualify for the semi-finals in fifth position.
In a close match Parramatta narrowly defeated the Sea-Eagles with a late try to winger Graeme Atkins (who scored from a Peard bomb) and qualified for the club's first Grand Final.
[10] The next season, 1978, saw both the debut of future champion half-back Peter Sterling and the emergence of former representative player, Denis Fitzgerald, as President/CEO of the club (a position he held until 2009).
After the first minor semi-final ended in a 13–13 draw a replay was required and Parramatta were defeated 17–11, but Manly appeared to have scored the winning try on the seventh tackle.
In 1980, despite the recruitment of veteran Arthur Beetson and the emergence of notable players such as Eric Grothe, Steve Ella and Brett Kenny, Parramatta missed the finals for the first time since 1974.
Parramatta, under coach Jack Gibson, finished third in the competition and began their finals campaign with a major preliminary semi against Newtown Jets whom they narrowly defeated 10–8.
In Parramatta, a large crowd of supporters greeted the team as they arrived back at the Leagues Club (situated adjacent to Cumberland Oval).
Players from this era included current Hull Kingston Rovers coach Justin Morgan, injury-plagued Country Origin representative centre David Woods, Lee Oudenryn (who beat Martin Offiah in a half-time footrace in Great Britain’s 1992 tour match with Parramatta[16]) and former Australian representative Paul Dunn.
Other players of this era who would go on to play with other clubs included utility back Chris Lawler (who went to the Gold Coast Chargers), Garen Casey (Penrith Panthers) and Scott Mahon (North Queensland Cowboys).
This led to Parramatta signing star players Dean Pay, Jason Smith, Jim Dymock and Jarrod McCracken, from 1995 premiers Canterbury Bulldogs, alongside Aaron Raper and Adam Ritson from Cronulla.
Parramatta entered the 1996 season with a squad comprising not only these notable Super League defectors, but also New Zealand international half-back Gary Freeman.
The Eels made a late challenge for final qualification, which included a Round 19 defeat of the Newcastle Knights in front of a home crowd of 21,191 (the largest Parramatta Stadium attendance since 1986).
The appointment of Brian Smith saw a reversal in Parramatta's fortunes with the Club finishing in third place and making the Australian Rugby League semi-finals in 1997 for the first time since 1986.
Canterbury managed to fight their way back into the match and with a minute left on the scoreboard, winger Daryl Halligan kicked a conversion from out on the far touchline to send the game into extra time.
One such story was that The Parramatta players were "Nervous and Stiff" and were dressed in Miami Vice suits at the traditional NRL Grand Final Breakfast.
Midway through the 2009 NRL season the troubled Parramatta Eels club replaced Denis Fitzgerald, then the longest-serving CEO in the competition's history, with Paul Osborne.
In round 24 Parramatta were sitting 8th on the ladder and looked destined to play in the finals for the first time since 2009 and only needed to win one of their last two remaining games against sides lower than them on the table which were Canberra and Newcastle.
In Round 18, Parramatta lost 18–16 to Newcastle with The Eels being denied a last minute try after it was ruled winger Bevan French had put his foot over the sideline.
In Round 6 of the 2019 NRL season, Parramatta played their first game at the new Western Sydney Stadium against the Wests Tigers and ran out 51-6 winners in front of a sold-out crowd.
[59][60] By round 18, the club sat entrenched within the top four of the competition with a six-point gap ahead of the fifth and sixth placed Sydney Roosters and Manly-Warringah.
Although they defeated Penrith and Melbourne twice, the club only managed to win more than three games consecutively on two separate occasions and lost to eventual wooden spooners the Wests Tigers in round 6 of the competition.