In truly atrocious conditions, the Parramatta Eels took to the training paddock for their second day of training in 2016. The details for the early morning session were as follows:

Skills and Sprints

In rotational groups the players firstly alternated between short sprints, leg drive and landing, and short/long pass combinations.

After completing these rotations, they transitioned into an attack and defence drill conducted in a half field corridor. The focus of this seemed twofold.

1. The pass and support play in traffic.
2. The speed of the defence line and pressuring the ball carrier.

Opposed Field Work

Both fields were used as the players split into two groups,

Firstly, in teams of about 10, the focus looked to be the kick chase for the team in possession, and re-setting after a kick for the team receiving the ball.

Following this, the smaller groups were playing two hand touch. At this point I had assumed that the focus was on as many players handling the ball as possible and playing what was in front of them. However, after watching an error, it became obvious that Brad Arthur was watching players to ensure that there were no “drop offs” – dropping out of the play when it was still active, basically switching off. The players were left in no doubt about Arthur’s thoughts about their error.

Finally, all players came together for a full field, full teams, opposed game. The focus was more on ball movement than usual hit ups, with the full field width being used frequently.

Livewire – Bevan French excelled in the open play drills today.

Standout Players

Under the conditions, it was difficult to identify players, let alone notice standout performances. However, I will comment on the following players today:

Beau Scott – great line speed in defence

Mitch Cornish – looked very sharp in the halves

Rory O’Brien – surprising speed and agility in the kick chase

Bevan French – suited by open field play

Dark Horse? Rory O’Brien continues to surpass expectations in the pre-season.

Interesting Observation

Tim Mannah did some extras with IDG after the session finished, working on “zip plays”. This involved him working on his tip on/offload skills when in a first receiver position.

I did not observe Foran or Radradra in action today.

Author’s Note

The weather conditions were not at all conducive for quality observations. Watching the first half of the session under an umbrella, and the second half sheltering under the awning of the ammenities shed, visibility was greatly diminished. No doubt the staff were wondering about the sanity of anyone in attendance. A shout out to Anthony who was also game enough to watch the players go through their work today.

Sixties

Credit to the Parramatta Eels for all images used.

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