Parramatta fear star five-eighth Dylan Brown has ruptured his ACL, after he helped hand Wests Tigers a third straight wooden spoon with a 60-26 drubbing at a sold-out Campbelltown.
The Eels put a positive end on a wretched 2024 on Friday night, avoiding their 15th wooden spoon in the loser-takes-all clash.
But there are fears the win could have a lasting impact into next season, with Brown limping from the field in the second half and set for scans on his left knee.
"They think it might be an ACL, but we're hoping not," interim coach Trent Barrett said.
"Fingers crossed for Dylan, because he has been terrific for us. Hopefully he will be okay, he's a great young player and great bloke."
If scans were to confirm the worst, Brown would likely face a nine-month recovery in an early blow to incoming coach Jason Ryles' tenure.
It would also mean a second straight disrupted year in the halves, with Mitch Moses playing only eight games in 2024.
For the Tigers, they left the Spoon Bowl without any injury concerns but another last-placed finish.
Despite every step the club appeared to take forward in 2024, the joint venture has still ended it as only the second side of the NRL era to claim three straight spoons.
And while there is genuine reason for hope at Concord next year with Jarome Luai's impending arrival, Friday night was proof the club's turn-around is still in its infancy.
The thrashing officially made this the worst defensive season in the club's history, with the Tigers leaking an average of 31.25 points per game.
Tries came in just about every way imaginable for the Eels, with Maika Sivo barging over for two on the left wing and Will Penisini and Clint Gutherson also bagging doubles.
Three tries came while Apisai Koroisau was off the field for a dangerous throw on Gutherson, while Parramatta scored six in total in the second half.
One was via a Bryce Cartwright intercept, and two more through kicks.
Even prop Reagan Campbell-Gillard was able to score one after an errant Tigers pass coming out of their own end, before he later took a kick for goal in a sure sign he is set to leave the club.
Perhaps the most embarrassing try for Benji Marshall's side came when Alex Seyfarth picked up the ball five metres out from his own line, was dragged backwards before getting a pass away - to Eels rival Gutherson.
"We're going to go through a full review and work out where we need to improve," Marshall said.
"But I think it's quite obvious. We let in too many points.
"Our attack got better towards the back end of the season, but we need to find a balance there."
There are green shoots for the Tigers out of this season.
Five-eighth Lachlan Galvin is a certified star in the making, laying on their first two tries on Friday night with a neat grubber kick and bullet cut-out ball.
He will partner Luai in the halves next year, while the Tigers handed out 12 debuts this year and have also signed the likes of Sunia Turuva, Royce Hunt, Jack Bird for 2025.
"People probably look at success now and having overnight success," Marshall said.
"But we're looking at trying to have success for a long period of time. Not just winning one year and going missing for the next three.
"We've got a plan in place that we've been backing since we came in, about the development of our players."
