Eels' desperate move amid player shortage

The Parramatta Eels have submitted an application to the NRL in a bid to be granted an exemption to welcome back the players they released from their level-three biosecurity bubble last week.

The Eels released six players to play in the NSW Cup, despite knowing those players wouldn't be allowed back in the bubble while level-three protocols remained in place.

Parramatta are now facing the prospect of not being able to name a 21-man squad for their Magic Round clash with the New Zealand Warriors on Sunday, prompting the submission of their application to the NRL.

Wiremu Greig, Joey Lussick, Michael Oldfield, Jordan Rankin, Ray Stone and Will Penisini were all released to play in the NSW Cup.

The Eels' player shortage then escalated when five-eighth Dylan Brown and centre Marata Niukore were suspended for incidents in the win over the Roosters.

Brown will miss three games for leading with his knees as he slid into Roosters playmaker Drew Hutchison, leaving him with broken ribs and a punctured lung.

And Niukore will be out for two games after laying a shoulder charge on superstar Roosters fullback James Tedesco that caught him high.

Hooker Reed Mahoney (head knock), NSW Blues lock Nathan Brown (hip) and centre Waqa Blake are also no certainties to face the Warriors.

But NRL head of football Graham Annesley suggested that the likelihood of Parramatta getting an exemption was unlikely.

"We didn't want to tell any club that they couldn't play their players in their second-tier competitions. In fact we didn't tell them they couldn't do that. We told them they had to make the choice themselves," Annesley said at his weekly football briefing.

"The first thing that happened when we said we were going to level three was clubs came to us and said, 'Well, what about our players that play in second-tier matches?'

"And so again we went back to our experts … and the expert advice was: 'Look, that's fine if they want to release them to do that. We don't expect this to be for a long time – not like last year. But they have to make that decision. We don't know when we'll go back from level three. But if they want to make that decision they do that in the knowledge that they can't come back and rejoin the main squad'.

"If the biosecurity advice is they shouldn't rejoin the group then it's going to be very difficult."

When asked if there was a possibility that Parramatta could just name their starting 17 on Tuesday, instead of a squad of 21, Annesley didn't rule it out.

"Let's face those hurdles when they come to them," Annesley said.

"At the moment they've made an application. At the moment that application hasn't been considered. It will be later today and then let's see where we land after that."

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