It was a surprisingly intensive skills session on the fields of Old Salesyards today. Plenty of sharply executed ball work was on show as the Eels continued to hone their combinations. One of TCT’s trusted correspondents was in attendance this morning, and thanks to his feedback, I can present our latest training report.
Use That Ball!
There was extensive drilling that occurred during this session. Worth noting was the small group opposed work. This involved the attack attempting to isolate one defender, and the defence communicating so that the inside man shut down any opportunities by closing spaces. In a standout session, Kenny Edwards executed a number of clever plays that were difficult for the defence to read. The drills also involved movement off the ground into position and plenty of up and back defensive line running.
Kenny was on fire today.
Finding The Rhythm
A comment passed on from my correspondent was that it looked as if there had been no off-season break. The ball work was crisp in its execution, something that augers well for the season ahead, considering both how early in the season it is and the number of new squad members. The coaching staff were pleased with how rapidly the players have become familiar with each other during these drills.
Harmony
Undoubtedly it’s early in the pre-season, but the spirit and harmony which was so evident during the 2016 season has clearly carried forward into this training. Considering the competition for places, it’s brilliant to see players in similar positions urging each other on. This speaks volumes of the harmony and unity of purpose. They’re all on the same page.
I’ve written many times in the past about the talk out on the field. It’s an indicator of the spirit and resolve in the playing group. Throw in an air of excitement around the place and it’s a positive start for the 2017 roster. The coaching staff couldn’t be happier – with both the new recruits and the old hands.
Standouts
It’s probably unfair to single out individuals after such a positive session, but that’s part of our role for the readers. Kenny Edwards has already been mentioned and he was outstanding. The other nods go to Gutho and Normz. My correspondent was really impressed with Gutho’s ball work – his efforts continuing to vindicate BA’s faith in his talents.
Normz is all class. We’re really impressed with his work on the training paddock.
I was also asked to mention the impressive training performances of our 3 dummy halves – IDG, Pritchard and King. I don’t envy our coaching staff and the tough decisions they will face every week.
Once again TCT is grateful to our network of contributors for supplying content for our site. If I can’t be personally in attendance, being in receipt of these details is the next best thing. As always, we trust that you enjoyed this feedback.
Eels Forever!
Sixties
Images courtesy of the Parramatta Eels
Thanks Sixties and crew
I smurfin love these.
It will be a big year for all us eels fans if we can keep Norman on the field and Kenny out of press conferences.
Looking forward to a few shots of the new recruits, particularly Vave and Brown.
Thanks again.
Kenny out of press conferences! Funny stuff.
Hi TCT just want to say thanks for putting these blogs up. i loved reading sixties blogs on another website and have been following the TCT to read them this off season. it really gets me amped for the upcoming season. Thanks TCT for another enjoyable and informative read.
The Eels training videos fit nicely alongside these reports.
Thanks for the post Sixties and to your correspondent. As a central coastie, it is hard to get down there till hols, so the updates and information about the team is superb to read.
Do we know if the team will have another central coast training camp….? Forresters beach has some good views…and hills.
Again, a great read. Thanks guys.
Hi everyone and thanks for the positive comments. I do get the opportunity to watch quite a bit of training during holidays and I’m fortunate to be welcomed there. However, we’re also lucky to have a couple of other welcomed correspondents who can pass on feedback at other times. When this happens, and if there’s anything significant enough to report, I’ll compile something through their feedback. On other occasions I might save it up for a weekly report.
Remember, if you drop by to training yourself, we are privileged guests. Sometimes the players or staff might call out gday before they start or after they finish their work. Sometimes they might come over and shake your hand and have a quick chat, though don’t have that expectation as it is not an open training session. They have special days for that. Whilst the boys are at work they are expected to be focussed, so we need to be observers only, and that’s it. I don’t want to give the wrong impression if I mention players or staff speaking to us. Some of us are regular faces and the website is known by them, so they might say hello. On other days they might not. We wait for talk to be initiated by them and because they value their fans it might happen. But it might not. I never go to watch the blokes train with any expectation of interaction. It’s their workplace. They’re at work to prepare professionally for their jobs.
As said, there aren’t any locked gates so we can observe them at work. The “rules” for us are simple – we are expected to stay behind fenced areas and certainly can’t venture into the players area.