A big field session was the order of the day at Salesyards this morning. With numerous members of the referees squad in attendance, including Patton, the scene was set for full contact opposed work. Two referees and sideline officials were in action as the likely Eels trial team (Blue) took on their “Green jersey” opponents in what turned out to be an eye opening display. Here’s a run down.

The Goals

From my observation, there’s a definite goal with every opposed session. You will always see them working on defence after a drop out, defence against scrum plays, working the ball off the line, working the ball to points of the field to set for attacks, shapes when attacking the line. Without knowing specific team or individual goals, today I witnessed a focus on working to set points on the field and attack/defence in the quarter.

The opposed session in full swing.

Dargs Steps Up

With Norman to be rested from the trial, Troy Dargan took on the half back responsibilities. Those who witnessed the highlights from the Alice Springs trial would be well aware of what he has to offer. Because the team has now been named, I can now write about this. (Dargan trained in that role yesterday, but I don’t like to reveal team selections prior to the official announcements).

Dargan has made outstanding improvement during this pre-season. His finish to 2016 had not been strong and I had viewed this season, no matter the grade, as make or break for him. However, to his credit he’s adopted a positive mindset to his training and the benefits have been visible during the opposed work. Today, he was confident in directing the play and delivered impressive service to his outside men. I’ll make no predictions about how he’ll perform on Saturday night, given that it will be his first full run on match. For the fans, especially those that never get to see the NYC, it provides the opportunity to form an opinion on what he has to offer.

Nathan Brown

Our Rabbitohs recruit was one of my picks for best on field. His work up the middle created opportunities out wide. This bloke can deliver the impacts and he can ball play. One such move that he was involved with drew in the outside defenders and created a two man overlap for a try. Consider this – the opposition knows what’s coming – the plays are rehearsed. Yet the defenders had to come in to cover certain runners. It was beautiful to watch.

Kaysa Pritchard

With a star performance in the Titan’s trial, Pritchard has given himself the first chance to impress at dummy half. DeGois will be rested this weekend, and King will be doing his best to impress from the Wenty trial. Both King and Pritchard performed strongly today, but with the starting role on Saturday, it looks like Kaysa could be getting the jump in this hotly contested battle.

The backs doing some extras with Joey Grima.

Perfection? No

Following on from yesterday’s work, today featured similar intensity and attitude. The talk and encouragement of each other was again on display and both green and blue teams looked impressive in attack. However, in a sign that it’s still early in the season and that there’s plenty of room for improvement, there were a few moments when either the execution was slightly off or opportunities weren’t fully taken.

To counter that, there were defensive decisions that shut down the attacking plays being staged. This is where a trial is needed. The two teams in the opposed game know each other’s play inside out. I’m sure the coaches are eager for Saturday night to arrive.

The Extras

At the end of the field closest to my vantage point, the backs were drilling their kicking and catching skills. Floaters and spirals were put up, and the fullbacks and wingers concentrated not just on their catching but also the positioning of their feet. Anchoring the foot behind the try line can be the difference between a line drop out and a 20 metre tap. In the context of match momentum, it can be a huge play.

At the same time the forwards worked on their combinations whilst others did some hand/eye coordination with the trampoline apparatus.

As a final comment, when you look at the Wenty and Parra teams for this week, you will notice absences such as Norman, DeGois, Vave, Auva’a, Terepo, Woods, Morris, Folau, Schulte, Smith and Nelson. All of these players are members of the full time squad but are either being rested or are in rehab. There’s plenty of strength and depth still to be added.

Eels forever!

Sixties

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