With the amazing pre-season work of sixtiesboy winding down it came as a wonderful opportunity for me to get an early look at our Holden Cup squad as they ran opposed to our full-time first grade squad on Australia Day. Although the club is yet to officially confirm the final Holden Cup squad it looks like it will consist heavily of returning players from the 2015 campaign complemented by some external recruits and internal development prospects.
At first glance you might be disappointed to read that given our poor finish in the 20s last year but there are a few positive factors at play here. First up is the fact that we had quite a young squad in 2015, as evidenced by the large amount of returning talent. Importantly, among those returning players are a core group of playmakers in Bevan French, Troy Dargan and Michael Doolan. By now most fans of the Blue & Gold are familiar with French but Dargan and Doolan have a storied partnership through the District Representatives program and after getting an early taste of the 20s last year they will now be looking to take ownership of the team.
Secondly and probably the key factor in play is that the club has learned from the mistakes made in the 2015 Holden Cup campaign. After experimenting with a part-time appointment last year the 20s now have a full-time coach in Luke Burt who is drilling his charges within the same paradigm utilised by NRL coach Brad Arthur. Additionally our Holden Cup squad should be the benefactors from a far more cohesive pre-season program that comes with a full-time coach which should place them in good stead to hit the ground running against some tough opponents in the early rounds.
ConTwal Tower – Alex Twal is the central pillar in the forward pack for the Eels.
Onto the events of the training session itself! Red zone packages were definitely the primary focus of the day as both the Holden Cup and NRL squad split into two teams (four teams total) to run goal line drills on two fields simultaneously. On the whole the young’uns acquitted themselves quite well given the discrepancies in size, conditioning and experience – particularly in defence where they displayed both discipline and the ability to relay information under pressure. The ability to consistently produce efforts like that which was exhibited today will decide how well they fare in the regulation season but it was certainly an encouraging effort.
The prevailing expectation coming into 2016 was for Alex Twal, Bevan French and Tyrell Fuimaono to take their games to the next level after training with the full-time squad over the summer. I will get to French shortly but what struck me early on as I watched the opposed sessions was the initiative and intensity of Twal and Fuimaono. They wasted no time taking ownership of the team and were constantly leading huddles and rallying their cohorts as what amounted to an essentially full strength first-grade line-up tested them relentlessly.
There is little question as to the quality they both bring to the team as players given their outstanding junior representative pedigrees but in an age group where lapses in discipline are common their ability to galvanise their team mates when under duress will go a long way to deciding how far the 20s progress this year.
Bevan French is set to benefit from a settled combination in the spine.
That brings us to easily the most hyped member of our Holden Cup squad in Bevan French. The hype around French really solidified when mainstream media reports in 2015 mentioned that the Eels view him as their long term fullback. Among supporters there are some lingering concerns about his size but watching him action you can not help but be impressed, as was the case with his efforts in the opposed session on Tuesday.
French possesses not only elite speed but ‘quickness’ as well – as silly as it sounds. I say quickness because you often see outside backs with fantastic turns of pace that seemingly fail to do much with it. French has quickness because his running lines and footwork are so crisp that he creates extra time through it all. This was evidenced on Tuesday as he put together an impressive piece of play against our first grade left-edge to lay on a try for his winger. French created the chance almost solely through his ability to straighten the attack in the blink of an eye after threatening to breakout to the edge moments earlier. This rapid fire sleight-of-foot led to the creation of the overlap as the edge defenders had to commit to the threat of his running game.
While big things are expected of Bevan this year, and indeed for the fans that get out to our Holden Cup games I do not doubt that he will regularly put on a show for them, this year is still very much about continuing his development rather than counting down to a first grade debut. Consistency is very much the name of the game here, not only for Bevan individually but equally consistency around him as the Eels look to field a far more settled spine. Forging a strong partnership with Troy Dargan and Michael Doolan should ease the pressure on French to constantly come up with the clutch play and allow him to elevate his game.
As mentioned above, Troy Dargan and Michael Doolan will reunite to form the halves pairing for the Eels in 2016. Dargan is mature beyond his age as a halfback and isn’t afraid to tell his team mates where they need to be in attack or defence. His talk throughout the session was excellent and indicated a very sound understanding of what the first-grade squad were planning to throw at them in attack.
Doolan spent a great deal of time in the Holden Cup last year and grew quite visibly through the latter stages of the season. With Dargan and French there to provide a significantly more consistent platform for him to work with (again, mutually beneficial for French in this regard), look for Doolan to threaten heavily in the run game.
Growing Strong – Tyrell of House Fuimaono is in outstanding physical condition and will be a handful for opposition defences at centre.
I am tipping the Eels to field a largely new look backline, which may end up surprising fans, but one player to watch in it is Dane Auckafolau. The younger brother of Eric (who some of you may recall played for us not so long ago before a particularly nasty injury ended his playing career), Dane was a strong performer in our SG Ball squad in 2015 and looks primed to make one of the centre positions his own. Boasting a tall, if rangy, frame that he is still growing into Dane also possesses a nice blend of speed and power.
At hooker I anticipate we will utilise the services of Denzal Tonise and Joey Tramontana. Tonise acquitted himself well in the Holden Cup last year and provides serious versatility with his ability to drop back to lock without compromising the forward pack. Given that the Holden Cup will also be shifting to 8 interchanges Tonise’s positional flexibility may prove to be a sweet boon for Luke Burt.
Tramontana should prove to be a good foil to Tonise. Where Denzal operates as a sledgehammer with his robust frame, Joey brings the guile and craft to the team. Between his reputation as an outstanding trainer and as a consummate professional in his approach to the game I believe Tramontana can provide a great edge from the bench for the young Eels. Facing the first grade squad, Joey displayed plenty of grit in defence throwing himself at the likes of Mannah and Alvaro.
The forward pack is an interesting proposition and definitely the hardest playing group to nail down. Returning veterans in Alex Twal, Tom Amone and Jack Morris will feature in it but that leaves plenty of spots up for grabs. Look for players like Craig and Tom Field, Jamie Stowers, Frank Salu, James Tasipale and a few more to compete for those spots.
The Wrap Up
When all is said and done as a fan I feel like there is a real air of mystery on how our Holden Cup squad will perform this year. We are coming off a decidedly poor season in 2015 but have some talented kids returning to the fold. Luke Burt is a rookie coach but has spent a good deal of time in the NRL coaching contingent and will be applying similar structures and principles to his young charges. As such this first look is the best insight I can provide you at the moment but with a string of trials just around the corner you can stay tuned for a comprehensive insight into both our Holden Cup and NSW Cup Squads!
Forty20
40s the 3 players you concentrated on I thought would be playing a great deal in Wenty but your saying otherwise. Particularly Bevan, if they want him to play NRL next year(?) don’t you consider Wenty would be the more appropriate team to hone his craft?
I think we’ll see Bevan in NSW cup but with young players it isn’t a matter of “We’ll put them there because we need them to be ready” you need to asses where they’re at physically, mentally, and ability wise. I think that’s how we’ll approach these three players in particular. If Bevan proves that he is up to it then he will be playing more NSW cup than NYC same with the other 2 but I imagine that the first few weeks that we’ll be assessing them from NYC to see if they’re capable of making the step up.
Given the depth available at Wenty I expect French, Fuimaono and Twal to start the season in the Holden Cup and play out at least a few rounds before any promotions are contemplated. The NSW Cup is certainly the better proving ground but there are a few considerations in action.
Getting a few NYC games under the belts of these three at the start of the season makes it easier to ensure they are eligible for the finals down the track if we do indeed make the Top 8.
The sanctions against our club for salary cap breaches include the second tier and NYC caps. Promoting players from the Holden Cup to the NSW Cup willy nilly in Round 1 can potentially create pressure down the road when you are reaching for cap space due to injuries and suspensions. I doubt our club want to test the patience of the NRL in this regard!
With that said I do anticipate that French, Fuimaono and Twal will each get a healthy dose of NSW Cup at some point in 2016. Don’t forget that as much as we are focusing on the development of these three with an eye to the NRL, these three players are in turn extremely important to the development of guys like Troy Dargan, Michael Doolan and Dane Auckafolau. They show the standard of training and play that is to be expected of a Holden Cup player looking to take the next step towards their own first grade debut.
If my memory serves me correctly Tom Trojbovic from Manly went between U20’s and NRL a number of times last seson. He probably also played NSW Cup. My point being that it is not mandatory to play NSW Cup exclusively to be elevated to NRL
Thank you for the insight into who is coming through the ranks, sounds professionally organised and like there is hope.
Any feel for the portion of last year’s team versus new talent?
In my projected top seventeen you are looking at around ten returning players with NYC experience along with anywhere between 3-5 players that were with the club either as uncapped depth NYC players in 2015 or graduating SG Ball players taking up various positions in the starting team and bench. A couple of spots will be taken up by external recruits while there is a healthy mix of internal and external talent filling out the depth/development places in the squad.
Cheers 40/20. Great to read up on the boys, and get some insightful comment.
Talk to Forty for just 5 minutes and you get a glimpse into his encyclopaedic knowledge of the junior players on the horizon. A great read.
Quality write up 40s, really enjoyed the read, thanks, look forward for your updates, cheers
Excellent Forty. I’ve gotta say, your assessment of where Bevan French, Alex Twal and Tyrell will start the season is good news for our club. I agree wholeheartedly that the rest of the squad will benefit greatly from their experiences last year and this preseason working with the Big Boys! Rightly you have pointed out that Doolan and Dargan will grow another leg in confidence having these three guys relieving them of the added pressure of calming the troops when under pressure while still having the responsibility to direct them around the paddock.
Although players were/are given an opportunity in NSW cup to see how they aim up against physically mature men, there was a real shortage of troops last year in NSW cup which probably caused elevation into that side to come or continue beyond what would normally be the ideal option.
I also agree with your premise, that all three players should be given the opportunity (even if reluctantly on their part) to refine and shine in the 20’s. This will greatly improve their individual confidence and that of the rest of the team as victories become an expectation and a culture permeating the whole club.
Thanks again Forty, looking forward to your ongoing contributions to this site.
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