The Cumberland Throw

Eels Pre-Season Training – November 14, 2018: Set For Set

Wet conditions greeted visitors to Old Saleyards this morning in today’s pre-season field session. The temperature was relatively cool but the drizzle would have kept the humidity quite high for a solid two hours of training.

Both fields were in action as the squad alternated between skills and conditioning. Lachlan Wilmot began the session by leading the players through their stretches and warm ups. It was then over to the coaches for the first of the skills drills.

From there, the remainder of the session alternated between the fields, moving from sets of skill drills with the coaches to the conditioning sets with Adrian Jimenez and then back again. There were four sets of drills and four sets of conditioning runs.

Skills

These were conducted on the number 2 field (alongside the brick facilities building). This was our vantage point for the day, a welcome location given the drizzling conditions.

Schneider delivers from dummy half.

Separating into smaller groups, the players drilled their ruck shapes. These are the standard shapes that all teams work on for hitting up the ball off the ruck. The coaches were spread out around the groups so all players were able to get immediate feedback when necessary.

The remainder of the skill drills were like mini opposed sessions with Mick Potter in the refs shirt. Those basic ruck shapes were run at organised defence lines. On occasions, the contact was a little heavier than I would have expected.

Again, we witnessed the players communicating about their positioning, the ref’s position, their movement back into the line and so on. It goes without saying that this is not just an essential after the defensive issues from 2018, but there are also new recruits and promoted players to consider.

Defensive shapes and decisions vary according to field position. Therefore the set starts would sometimes commence in kick return mode or sometimes just outside the 20 metres in an attacking position.

Whilst it seemed like there was probably more emphasis on the defence in these drills, it didn’t mean that there wasn’t a standout attacking moment.

Haze Dunster was put into a try scoring opportunity with only Gutho to beat. A combination of Gutherson’s defensive decision and an error from a support player made it look like the likely try had been shut down. However, Dunster took the King on and produced a clever pass to ice the four pointer.

Conditioning

This was done on the number 1 field (outside the demountables).

Up and down!

Rugby league type conditioning was the feature – up and down in a line on the field, up and back over 10 metre intervals, hitting the ground – it was consistent and energy sapping. The players would have completed around 6 or 7 kilometres throughout the morning.

There was very little recovery time between sets, and there was plenty of talk. Background noise was blasted out but we could still hear the staff barking at the players, and Gutho demanding effort from his team mates.

In one of the conditioning activities the running mirrored defensive line movements. The players would hit the ground, rise to their feet then take an angled run back to a specific position.

It wasn’t really possible to identify standouts in the conditioning work as the majority of the squad stayed in a line in their runs. On the rare occasion that a player could break ahead from the lines, it wasn’t unsurprising who that player was!

Other Observations

In the first couple of reports I’ve highlighted the impressive efforts of the younger players. It’s fair to say that their energy is a tremendous inclusion in a team needing some impetus after a disappointing 2018 season.

So what is there to report about the squad in general this early in the pre-season?

Polar and Evans

The most obvious is the size. There’s some bigger units in the young forwards (see Stefano and Oregon) but players like Danny Alvaro, Tim Mannah and Manu Ma’u all appear to be carrying more kilograms – in a good way.

Alvaro in particular looks very big. I’d estimate that he’d be at least 6-8 kg heavier than last season. We all know that Junior Paulo was recruited to add power to the pack (though he’s definitely a much smaller version than the player who returned to the Raiders after last year’s World Cup), and unheralded recruit Andrew Davey is not lacking in size. I’d guarantee that most supporters would be surprised by the bigger dimensions of the group.

As the pre-season continues, I’ll look to identify something specific about the squad or particular players.

Eels forever!

Sixties

 

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36 thoughts on “Eels Pre-Season Training – November 14, 2018: Set For Set

  1. colin hussey

    Once again a good report sixties.

    Have been taking an interest in the photo’s on the eels web page, and gee its hard to pick a vast number of the players, as they are all from the lower grades, and not having seen any matches in those grades for 2 seasons now, has me wondering, come back to what I said in a previous blog, would love to see the names on the back of the jumpers.

    The other area I think of note is the size of some of the players, certainly you mention Polar who does look heavier, don’t know if its the loss of hair or not but Tepai looks to be bigger in the upper body, even French seems to have added some muscle and a bit of size as well.

    Certainly to the other side of the equation is Jnr, who looks much fitter than when he was here before, makes for what I believe a good pack of forwards next year, especially if the hunger returns.

    1. sixties Post author

      Junior is probably just a few kg above his playing weight – not many. Let me know if you need any help identifying the players Colin.

      1. colin hussey

        Mate, I’ll go through the eels gallery pics tonight again and pick them out. In some cases much depends on the angle of the pics as well. I notice Jnr is wearing a bucket hat most of the time, and a couple of pics show him ok condition was but there’s one or two that do not look like him.

        Will be good when the eels get their player/team profiles page updated.

  2. Eelit

    Polar looks enormous in that photo. From what you’ve seen so far sixties has his fitness dropped off due to his increase in size? If he maintains his work ethic with that size he will be in for a huge year

    1. sixties Post author

      His work ethic has remained. He had started to build up his size towards the end of the season. Blokes like Polar and Mannah always have their fitness ready to tackle a pre-season – very professional in attitude.

  3. rowdy roddy

    Alvaro certainly looks to be channeling the “brick with eyes”? I would even venture to say it is quite normal for big men to add a few kilos in their mid to early 20’s just as Glen Lazarus did when he went from ~115kg to ~125kg overnight in one off-season.
    Schneider appears to be getting plenty of opportunity and encouragement from our coaching staff too. It would be foolish to hold him back if he performs well in the contact sessions during preseason. I would like to see him fast tracked from Joysee Fligg to ISP early in 2019.

    1. Billy

      Have to agree with you there Rowdy. I have now watched 4 sessions this year and the young rake looks very comfortable and confident.
      His big for a hooker. Service has been outstanding so is his endurance.
      I think allot will depend how he handles the physicality.

      Its been very interesting watching the boys train. Young Dylan Brown is something special, I have no doubt he will make his debut next year.

      Another impressive young fella has been Haze Dunster, Haze is hot property if you ask me, Nearly as fit as Guth with speed to burn and great footwork.

      Of the remaining group, I have been impressed with Gutho’s leadership at training. Constantly barking encouragement to the players and leading the way with the fitness drills.
      Surprisingly Norman, Moses, Mannah and Alvaro have also been fantastic. The trip away to Armidale for team bonding seems to be working. Time will tell but very encouraging signs so far.

    2. sixties Post author

      I reckon that Alvaro wouldn’t be far away from 115kg. Stefano sits around 115kg. Schneider hasn’t played at Flegg level yet, but it was only an injury last year that prevented that. I’d expect him to start in Flegg, with a view to adding a few kg to his frame before elevation to ISP. He’s a very composed player, so that will stand him in good stead as he looks to progress. The thing about the young blokes doing a pre-season is the learning curve is nothing like what they’ve experienced in the past. So if they don’t debut until 2020, they will have two pre-seasons behind them.
      No comment on your accent there Rowdy!

      1. rowdy roddy

        Just trying to make the young Kiwis in the club feel a little more at home?
        You orta hear my yank accent, the girls at home roll around in stitches.

        1. colin hussey

          Interesting with the yank accent Rowdy, I couldn’t do it now but, back in the mid sixties I met a few yanks on R&R in the Cross, that was my era and my marbles didn’t fall so I stayed in Oz. Met some good blokes as well and they knew about our lottery system and that got me close to a half a dozen at different times until I moved from Sydney.

          At the top of the cross where there are 6 roads running from William St, there used to be a traffic cop directing the traffic flow, I missed his direction and he spotted me and told me to pull over, I had 3 yanks in the car with me, & when I got out of the car to be confronted by the cop, I put on what I thought was a good yank accent, and said put up the bull that I was still learning NSW road rules as not that long out from the States and showing these guys around while on R&R.

          The cop bought, and told me to move on, I get back in the car and the 3 yanks burst out laughing, they reckoned I did their accent justice.

          Wouldn’t try it again though.

  4. MattL

    Thx 60s. It’s good to feel that little bit of excitement building again. As they say, there’s always next year.
    Kaffusi looks huge in the pics and if Bevs legs can catch up to the size of his arms he’ll be one to watch.

    1. colin hussey

      MattL, this is not a racist comment or to put down our Aboriginal friends, I worked with many of them when living in the NW of NSW.

      If you look at the legs of most Aboriginals, especially their lower legs they are thinner than you will generally find on white people, more especially around the ankles. It is very much a weak part of their bodies for many players.

      I also commented that in the pics on the eels web site Bev does look bigger in his upper body, hopefully with leg strengthening and no lose of speed and his other abilities which we saw more so pre this last season, he could very well be a vital member of the team. I really hope he has a top season and stays at the eels.

        1. colin hussey

          So true, whatever the disease the eels had this year it seriously was contagious especially for the backs. He’s a far better player than his form this year showed, I suspect and have said so for a while that he was tentative as a consequence of his injury that put him out, made him very much under confident with his abilities.

          1. sixties Post author

            Confidence – lack thereof – was disastrous. For Bevan, I saw that in his decision making. It was as if he second guessed his best instincts, and it became a mixture of hesitancy and poor decision making – he’d swing between poor involvement, overplaying his hand and flirting with sidelines in crucial periods. It was a strange mix.

          2. colin hussey

            I believe with the likes of Adrian and Potter involved, they can get into his head and point him back to where he was in previous years.

            At his young age its easy to look at getting away and starting afresh elsewhere, doesn’t always work, same with his desire for the #1 spot, if he can be made realise his value as a player and to the team can be better in another spot, showing him replays of his earlier form could be mind and game changing,

            A similar situation with the Horses with Oates who wants to play 2nd row but his value as a player to the team and himself is on the wing.

          3. MattL

            I’m looking forward to seeing how he goes with a little more bulk & confidence. He’s really not that different in size to Addo-Carr who killed it this year.
            I imagine that Gutho will start back in the centres as we’re a little light in that position.

    1. sixties Post author

      He’s certainly got the size to be a success on the wing. Getting a full NRL pre-season will be a huge benefit for him after a few years of learning the game in the lower grades

      1. rowdy roddy

        Is Maika Sivo the bloke Freddy Fittler and Joey Johns foumd working in a resort hotel in Fiji and took hima cross the park to see if he could catch, run or tackle?

        1. sixties Post author

          I could be wrong but I don’t believe he is. Sivo has been in Australia for about 4 years, having played in CRL and Ron Massey & ISP. He had a union background in Fiji, not unlike Semi.

  5. Milo

    Like it Sixties; to me its v simple the forwards have to lay platform and the halves lead the team around. Seems simple but it is……if we can stay focused and limit errors and discipline from this season, there is already a few more wins and some.

    1. sixties Post author

      I’ve got a few thoughts about the approach to the season in 2019. I’ll be consolidating my opinion over the next few weeks of pre-season and posting that topic in early January.

      1. Anonymous

        ok, will be interesting viewing mate; also the refs display will have an impact on HOW GAMES are played. There will be another crackdown of some type i assume…..

  6. Anonymous

    Its looking a bit like 2016 to me , siege mentality , best difference there is flood of new talent to embrace it from word go ,maybe this could be the catalyst of new culture .

    1. Leo toohey

      If these kids start out in this culture from word go its embedded .salmon,reedy ,oregan ,stefano ,browny get the real picture from the get go and the rest are playing for their lives ,add to that 5 new recruits , fergo,lane ,junior ,sivo,davey and my optimisim is rising for a cleansing season !!

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