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Arthur backing Parramatta Eels to make NRL finals

Brad Arthur believes Parramatta Eels can still qualify for the NRL finals despite a 12-point penalty for breaching the salary cap.

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Brad Arthur believes Parramatta Eels can still qualify for the NRL finals despite a 12-point penalty for breaching the salary cap.

The Eels lost all the points they have earned this season and were hit with a fine of one million Australian dollars - with 250,000 AUD potentially suspended - on Tuesday.

NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg said the Eels had breached the cap in five of the past six years and had a system designed to cheat.

Eels head coach Arthur is refusing to write the season off provided the club can get back under the salary cap.

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"We are very disappointed, players are disappointed but there is still a bit of hope for us," Arthur said.

"There is 15 games to go, we need to win 12 of them. There are still some things we need to do [to meet salary cap requirements] between now and next Friday, but that is in the club's hands. We haven't given up hope.

"At the start of the year we wanted to be playing finals football and nothing has changed.

"We are really committed to trying to do our best to make sure that can still happen after 26 rounds.

"We have 15 games left, we need to win 12. We have won 68 per cent of games at the moment, we need to win 80 per cent of our games. It’s tough but we are prepared for the fight."

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Eels chairman Steve Sharp, deputy chairman Tom Issa, director Peter Serrao, chief executive John Boulous and football manager Daniel Anderson have been issued show-cause notices, needing to show why their registrations should not be cancelled.

The club also face being stripped of the Auckland Nines title they won earlier this year.

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