Parramatta Eels 30–16 Newcastle Knights — Qualifying Final, 1999 NRL Finals Series
4 Sep 1999 · Parramatta Stadium, Parramatta, NSW · Attendance: 22,053
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Qualifying Final, 1999 NRL finals series: Parramatta Eels 30–16 Newcastle Knights, at Parramatta Stadium, Parramatta, NSW on 4 Sep 1999.
Sourcing caveat: Try-scoring minutes were not found for this fixture. Clinton Schifcofske's kicking is sourced only as a combined 7/7 total (14 points); with 4 tries scored, only 4 conversion attempts were possible, so at least 3 of the 7 successful kicks were penalty goals — but the exact conversion/penalty split within the 7 cannot be uniquely deduced from the tries alone (more than one split is arithmetically possible), so it is recorded honestly as a combined total rather than asserted as a specific split. Jersey numbers as sourced include some apparent squad-number oddities (Luke Burt at #17, Adam MacDougall at #19) — recorded exactly as reported by Rugby League Project rather than corrected to positional numbering.
Scorers
| Parramatta Eels | Tries: Cayless; Grothe; Schifcofske; Smith Goals: Schifcofske combined for 7 successful kicks worth 14 points — the conversion/penalty-goal split could not be confirmed and is not asserted |
| Newcastle Knights | Tries: Albert; Butterfield; Gidley Goals: Johns (2/3 conversions) |
Team sheets
| Parramatta Eels | Newcastle Knights | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clinton Schifcofske | Fullback | Robbie O'Davis | 1 |
| 2 | Daniel Wagon | Wing | Darren Albert | 2 |
| 3 | David Kidwell | Centre | Matthew Gidley | 3 |
| 17 | Luke Burt | Centre | Mark Hughes | 5 |
| 5 | Eric Grothe | Wing | Adam MacDougall | 19 |
| 6 | Jim Dymock | Five-Eighth | Matthew Johns | 6 |
| 7 | David Penna | Halfback | Andrew Johns | 7 |
| 8 | Dean Pay (c) | Prop | Tony Butterfield (c) | 8 |
| 9 | Dean Schifilliti | Hooker | Danny Buderus | 9 |
| 10 | Michael Vella | Prop | Clinton O'Brien | 10 |
| 11 | Nathan Hindmarsh | Second Row | Peter Shiels | 11 |
| 12 | Jarrod McCracken | Second Row | Sean Rudder | 12 |
| 13 | Jason Smith | Lock | Bill Peden | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 4 | Stuart Kelly | Glenn Grief | 14 | |
| 14 | Dennis Moran | David Lomax | 15 | |
| 15 | Mark Tookey | Daniel Smailes | 16 | |
| 20 | Nathan Cayless | Steve Simpson | 17 | |
| Brian Smith | Coach | Warren Ryan | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Steve Clark |
Match report
Parramatta's attacking backline, led by Eric Grothe and Clinton Schifcofske, ran in four tries to overpower a Newcastle side featuring Andrew and Matthew Johns. The 2nd-seeded Eels' win earned them a clean bye straight through to the Preliminary Final.