At various stages of the 2016 NRL season, Parramatta made me chuckle. That's because they were simply a joke and while it was mostly thanks to the work of the people who thought they were smart enough to run the club, this also filtered down to the shenanigans of some of Parramatta's players. 

What impressed me about the Eels - specifically their footy team and coaching staff - was that they kept coming, kept showing up and showcased plenty of footy funk that will keep fans engaged and optimistic about their future. Regardless of what went down on the periphery of the football team, on the field the Eels somehow found a way to adapt to their situation, trying their best to soldier on.

Parramatta started the season with Nathan Peats at hooker, Kieran Foran and Corey Norman in the halves with Michael Gordon out the back in the No.1 jersey. 

Parramatta finished the season with Issac de Gois at hooker, Jeff Robson and Clint Gutherson in the halves with Bevan French at fullback.

That should tell you all you need to know about Parramatta's season as that first spine is far better than the second, on paper. It's obviously hard to gauge how good the Eels were as they spent much of the season playing for pride, with no tangible rewards for their toil available to them. Somehow though, they made it work and while I've casted an optimistic gaze over the Roosters and Knights over the last few days, no other club in the bottom-8 will be pushing this season aside, welcoming in the pre-season graft with open arms more than the Eels.

With that in mind, Parramatta now have an exciting young fullback who has gained valuable experience at this level in French. He got his start on the wing but Brad Arthur wisely got him minutes at fullback, with Gordon sliding out to the wing while also offering French plenty of wisdom about playing fullback. 

Robson arrived at Parramatta after the Foran saga and this was a case of right place, right time as Robson had previously cut short his time with the NZ Warriors. It's unlikely that Robson will play on in 2017, a off-field role would suit him though and as a solid job-doing halfback, Robson will be an asset to the Eels in guiding whoever the chose to partner Norman. De Gois re-signed and he's the sort of gritty dummy half with experience that Parramatta need to anchor their pack, while Gutherson played in nearly every backline position before showing he could do a job in the halves.

What we saw this season was that Parramatta have firepower. Whether it's Semi Radradra on the flank, Norman's play-making, Michael Jennings being Michael Jennings or a powerful forward pack that allowed younger guys like Daniel Alvaro, Kenny Edwards, Peni Terepo and Tepai Moeroa to enjoy regular and consistent game time - Parramatta have weapons.

Parramatta fans can look at Foran, Peats, Junior Paulo and Anthony Watmough and wonder what could have been. They are far better off though celebrating the firepower and veteran grit that they have at Parramatta, that will see them rise again. Guys like Beau Scott, Tim Mannah and Danny Wicks were a consistent presence for Parramatta this season and it's not unrealistic to think that the Eels won't bounce back next season and be better, or at least as good as they were this season.