Cool windy conditions greeted the players at Saleyards as the club staged an internal trial match between the Eels NYC team and the Wenty Magpies contracted players. Interested spectators included Eels CEO Bernie Gurr and a number of NRL squad members. Kicking off at 6pm, the trial was staged in thirds of around 27 minutes and played under full match conditions (apart from all penalties being taken as tap kicks ten metres in from the sideline).

The Result

A score line of 30 to 28 in Wenty’s favour is a good indicator of how the match panned out. The teams were evenly matched, though the strengths of the two outfits differed greatly. The Wenty boys were physically larger than the Eels NYC  and dominated their younger opponents during different stages of the match. With a number of 17 and 18 year old players in the NYC team, this should have been expected. However, the NYC boys possessed superior fitness and surged back during the latter periods of each third.

Without a team list it was difficult to identify all try scorers. However, the 20s bookended the match through being the first and last try scorers. The following players looked to have crossed:

Wenty: Tom Field, Jack Miller, Gammidge, Jordan Martin

NYC: Dunster, Keppie, Kaufusi, Valu and Dresler

Players to Impress

Wenty were fielding players who are likely to play Ron Massey Cup, though a couple are worth mentioning. Jordan Martin, who competed in last year’s NRL Rookie TV series, performed exceptionally well on the wing and crossed for an outstanding try. Kenny Edwards’ younger brother, Hoppa, took the field for the Magpies and possesses a sprinkling of his brother’s ball skills. He’s a big unit and will no doubt be tested through some intensive conditioning work in the new year. Centre, James Gammidge, has transitioned from last year’s NYC team and proved a handful for his NYC counterparts.

The Eels rested a few of their star NYC players, including Ray Stone, Denzal Tonise, Dean Matterson, Junior Faingaa, Greg Leleisiauo, Tui Afualo, Dane Aukafolau, Troy Dargan and Mick Doolan. Nonetheless, there were still a number who caught the eye. Johnny Fonua played well in the custodian role and was ably supported by Dunster and a young Fijian winger whom we’ll simply call “T”. Sean Keppie was busy at lock and was rewarded with a powerful try. Two props, Oregon Kaufusi and Steve Dresler, both stepping up from SG Ball, toiled tirelessly up the middle and each crossed for impressive four pointers. They were matched by a strong performance from Jye Challenor. Halfback, Cam Cryer was dangerous through the ruck and set up a try to Kafusi with a clever offload. Both dummy halves impressed, with Reed Mahoney effecting both strong defence and probing darts around the ruck, whilst Tangi Hokai unleashed some powerful bursts and talked plenty during his time on the field.

Overall Impression

Despite a few handling errors that prevented them from dominating both possession and position, the NYC squad look to be in for a positive year. The injection of the players listed earlier will add plenty to the team. The physicality of the match was surprising. I had anticipated something akin to an opposed session and was pleasantly surprised by the intensity. The young NYC players didn’t back down against the physically stronger Wenty team and they played with confidence and purpose. There were a number of SG Ball graduates in the NYC line up and a number of these players were amongst the most impressive on the field. Luke Burt looks to have a great squad on his hands. I managed to have a quick chat with him at training on Tuesday morning and he was still smiling.

As for Wenty, with many of these players trying to challenge for an Intrust Super spot, there was plenty for them to be happy with, both individually and as a squad. Smiles all round I reckon.

Shout Outs

Geoff, Hamish and Joe (Borgie) were in attendance last night and we continue to be impressed with the quality of young blokes that are recruited by the club. After the match, both Steve Dresler and Tangi Hokai came over and thanked us for attending, with Tangi taking the time to speak individually with each of us. Kyle Schneider (Harold Matts captain from 2016 and SG Ball member for 2017) was there with his family and they also took the time for a chat. Each of us spoke individually with other players such as Vave, King and Terepo and Bernie Gurr again coped with me bending his ear.

Anthony Field does a tremendous job with identifying and recruiting our future stars and I’d like to thank him for keeping us up to date with the background of some of the talent on display last night. From our club executive down to our junior reps, these Eels people enhance our fan experience with their approachability and appreciation of supporters. Bring on 2017!

Eels Forever

Sixties

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