An early morning start provided little respite from the hot conditions at Old Saleyards today. Approximately 90 minutes of conditioning and ball work was on the agenda, and in a gut-busting effort, the players left little in the tank.
The conditioning work was undertaken close to our vantage point, and the majority of the opposed was at the far end of the field. I attempted to track the progress of players not previously covered in depth in my reports, a challenging task when the play was close to 100 metres away.
It was difficult to fault the effort of the squad during this session. It felt like the team were gearing up for a particularly big week
Conditioning
It appeared as if the intent of today’s conditioning was to simulate the fatigue experienced in an NRL match. On each occasion that the players transitioned into their ball work, there was plenty of reminders about body language, both from the staff and the playing group.
The players have to play strong and they have to look strong to the opposition.
As per previous opposed sessions, the conditioning continued at intervals throughout the morning. The challenge would be for the players to perform immediately after physically demanding work.
Nathan Brown looked sharp.
A combination of tackle bags and sprints over varying distances tested the players endurance. I attempted to identify standouts via finding a leading group. This was ultimately a difficult task as the groups literally completed the drill in unison – an indicator of the uniformity of effort.
Forced to single out players, I’d be likely to nominate Edwards, Moeroa and Brown, primarily because their proximity to our position. Corey Norman really pushed his group which included Jarryd Hayne, Brad Takairangi and Josh Hoffman.
It would be little surprise that I would praise workhorses such as Mannah, Alvaro, Ma’u, King, Stone and Mahoney. Michael Jennings, himself a late starter to pre-season, appears to have rapidly caught up with conditioning. Every sprint surged his group back near the lead.
On the talk front, Hoffman became one of the most vocal, urging the entire squad, and Hayne later joined Mannah in encouraging a strong finish at the conclusion of the session.
Ball/Skills Work
This was a mixture of structured contact and less structured two hand touch.
The two hand touch was rapid fire and to my eye, added to the fatigue factor. It was not completely ad-lib as quick play-the-balls would push the defence onto the back foot before the ball movement opened the field up.
Reed Mahoney’s elusiveness was a constant menace for the defence, and he was rewarded with a long distance solo try. It was one of the few occasions that a clean break was registered.
During this type of hit out, the players are playing what’s in front of them and improvisation with cut-outs and tip-ons might be seen. For mine, there was a bit of dropped ball during this component, though the real test would come in the contact section.
Contact! Alvaro gets brought down in a solid tackle.
With the kilometres and fatigue building up, BA would have been looking for effort and execution in the contact game. This is what the players delivered.
Both sets of forwards kept their defence tight, with few opportunities through the centre. The scramble defence was also effective in closing down half chances.
(Please note – the attack does have to work hard to penetrate the defence, especially given the players’ familiarity with calls and plays. When they are working on defence, they will defend multiple sets.)
Matagi took it up a notch today.
I thought that all of the middle forwards worked solidly in their hit ups. Nathan Brown and Suaia Matagi seemed to find a little bit extra in their charges.
Anyone doubting whether Jarryd Hayne still possessed the acceleration of years gone by would have had such concerns allayed watching him fairly cruise around his opponent for a solo try. Impressively, he looked as if there were still a couple of gears up his sleeve.
Author’s Note
Danny Alvaro, Kane Evans and Jaeman Salmon stopped for a chat after training this morning. Danny was full of praise for this pre-season and his sentiments were echoed by Jaeman who spoke of the sports science behind their work.
Even though they have spent an extended period in rehab, Evans and Salmon are both incredibly buoyant and enthusiastic about their work and being at a new club. I’d also add that a common denominator with all of the players we’ve spoken to has been the complete absence of cliched footy responses.
This will be my only training report of the week, with the squad embarking on a camp for the next three days.
For anyone looking to get a footy fix, don’t forget there’s the upcoming junior rep and under 20 trials this week at Terry Lamb Reserve. Check the Eels official site for details.
Eels forever!
Sixties
Great reporting Sixties
Thanks mate.
Thanks again 60’s for a good report.
I am wondering if a prime reason for the players to be looking to the season proper perhaps a real match might be somewhat more pleasant than the rigors of pre season training.
I looked at the eels gallery of todays session, and I see all those in the pics look in top condition, Matagi looks a bit leaner maybe as a result of the fatty tissues being turned to a bit of muscle.
Talking of muscle French looks more solid and a bit heavier, validating the reports that has BA looking at him for the 1 spot.
I’ve had it said to me more than once that the harder it gets, the more the players say, “bring it on”. They know that the hard work will have its rewards.
Thanks 60’s. Good reading again and i was i Sydney today and it was steaming by 9 am. I guess most Sydney based clubs being in the heat cop it. Good to see they are keeping it going.
How has Norms and Moses been going being this their first pre season?
Moses only returned to training just before Christmas. From what I observe, they combine with each other much more than halves who take a side and operate from there.
Thanks mate, much appreciated. I’ve noticed that you have reported concerns over dropped ball more than once, but I’m guessing it’s the nature of the two hand footy and pushing passes and the like, pushing the tricky stuff?
I reported the dropped passes once before, and in my opinion it was a bit scrappy on that occasion. Today, the dropped ball was during the improvised play, so not unexpected. The structured work was tight.
I’ll not reveal anything I shouldn’t, but I will give an honest opinion.
Nice work Sixties – interested to know if you think the squad look fitter as a whole at this time compared to last year? From the looks of it, there are individuals like Polar who look incredibly lean – just wondering if you think all the boys look in better shape overall? I know that in the first few games last year fitness seemed to be a concern for a few of the boys
Absolutely they look fitter. There is a science to the work that has been planned, yet it’s also got the football element. TRex is already leaner, as is Jarryd. If you look at the photos of Gutho, he looks stronger.
Thanks Sixties. Your brilliant updates blow me away. So much appreciated.
Cheers mate. I’ll get back to it next week.
Cheers Sixties. In the last couple of preseasons the “contact room” seemed to feature a lot. Have you heard or seen much of it this year?
Hi Matt. Two seasons ago, the club filmed a lot of pre-season training and yes, the contact room did seem prominent. Most of the vision they provide is now of the field work. I’ve been in the contact room but never when the players were training. I’m pretty sure it’s still part of their work.
Sixty,
It will be interesting to see when T-rex is back in the full time squad during the contact sessions if he is back to his Manly days where he is running hard and running on to the ball compared to at the dogs where he was getting the ball flat footed and going for a “bump” I really hope BA can sit down with Tony and show him the Manly highlights and say to him “mate this is want I want from you”.
I reckon there’s a simple answer to that. If TRex doesn’t show that form, he won’t get a shot. He’s desperate to prove that he’s not a spent force, so I’m tipping he’ll fire up.
Thanks 60s. Much appreciated.
Im a pretty big C King fan. I was very impressed with his work when given an opportunity last season. I note that you mention his work often. Ive also noticed there has been little talk of K Prichard lately. How do you think both are performing?
Thanks.
Kaysa hasn’t been involved in some of the recent opposed or contact work. Hence little mention recently. I assume he has been doing some rehab. I should mention that I’ve seen players move in and out of that group within a week. They might have a minor strain and have their work modified for a day or two. I sometimes think that the rehab group have it tougher than the normal training group does. Anyone watching Gutho would believe that!
60’s is the rehab anything to do with his season ending, (all but for the few minutes in last game) injury, or precautionary?
I have no idea to be honest Colin. He has been out in the leading runners quite frequently during pre-season conditioning and I hadn’t thought twice about him not being in recent contact work. I only see players on the field and not in the gym. It was picked up by Gazzamatta that I hadn’t mentioned Pritchard in the last week, but I really hadn’t been concerned.
They appear to vary workloads according to player needs. I will literally see a player in the rehab group for a day or two and then he’ll be back in the main group. It’s no big deal. It’s not unusual for a player to not be in a field session on any given day for a multitude of reasons. Sometimes I don’t even realise it until the session is over (there are over 30 there).
Also, I don’t really want to get involved in discussing player injuries, esp if I have no knowledge or if there isn’t even an injury as such. I don’t work for the club, so it’s not my place. I’ve also witnessed players recovering at different rates to what’s expected, so if I speculate, ( I don’t include how fit they look or how hard they work as speculation that’s more commendation of their work ethic) people might assume that I know something but I could be well off the mark. It’s best left to the club to make official statements.
Thanks for the reply mate, and all points good and understandable, I guess its a concern in some ways for Kaysa who is a player I believe has a future, and like Cameron both have had their careers very much disrupted by injuries and would not like to see either of them have their careers cut short as a consequence of injury.
I guess it may be as simple as a regular check up with the doctors regarding the rehab scenario.