Parramatta Eels 24–16 Brisbane Broncos — Preliminary Final, 2001 NRL Finals Series
23 Sep 2001 · Stadium Australia, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW · Attendance: 34,184
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Preliminary Final, 2001 NRL finals series: Parramatta Eels 24–16 Brisbane Broncos, at Stadium Australia, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW on 23 Sep 2001.
Sourcing caveat: No try-scoring minutes were found for this fixture. Brisbane's Ashley Harrison, the starting five-eighth all finals series, was replaced here by Shane Walker wearing #17 in the starting five-eighth slot — an unusual number for a starting position, reported exactly as sourced.
Scorers
| Parramatta Eels | Tries: Moodie; Moodie; Lyon; Marsh Goals: Taylor (4/6 conversions) |
| Brisbane Broncos | Tries: Berrigan; Carlaw; Tuqiri Goals: Lockyer (2/3 conversions) |
Team sheets
| Parramatta Eels | Brisbane Broncos | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brett Hodgson | Fullback | Darren Lockyer (c) | 1 |
| 2 | Luke Burt | Wing | Lote Tuqiri | 2 |
| 3 | Jamie Lyon | Centre | Chris Walker | 3 |
| 4 | David Vaealiki | Centre | Stuart Kelly | 4 |
| 5 | Jason Moodie | Wing | Wendell Sailor | 5 |
| 6 | Michael Buettner | Five-Eighth | Shane Walker | 17 |
| 7 | Jason Taylor | Halfback | Shaun Berrigan | 7 |
| 8 | Nathan Cayless (c) | Prop | Shane Webcke | 8 |
| 9 | Brad Drew | Hooker | Luke Priddis | 9 |
| 10 | Michael Vella | Prop | Petero Civoniceva | 10 |
| 11 | Nathan Hindmarsh | Second Row | Brad Meyers | 11 |
| 12 | Ian Hindmarsh | Second Row | Dane Carlaw | 12 |
| 13 | Daniel Wagon | Lock | Darren Burns | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | PJ Marsh | Michael Coorey | 15 | |
| 15 | Andrew Ryan | Corey Parker | 16 | |
| 17 | David Solomona | Michael De Vere | 19 | |
| 20 | Alex Chan | Michael Ryan | 20 | |
| Brian Smith | Coach | Wayne Bennett | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Bill Harrigan |
Match report
Parramatta, minor premiers all season, confirmed their status as Grand Final favourites with a hard-fought win over a Brisbane side appearing in its third finals match in as many weeks. Jason Moodie's double on the wing was crucial, while skipper Nathan Cayless led from the front. Brisbane's brave finals run ended just short of a Grand Final berth.