The Cumberland Throw

Eels Pre-Season Training – November 26, 2018: Pushing Limits

The team’s down on the scoreboard.

The opposition has had repeat sets on your line. They earn another drop out.

How do you handle it?

The ball finally comes your way. You get to the kick.

How good is your chase?

There’s no question about what a high performance side would do.

They’ll work harder.

They’ll find something extra.

They won’t let the opposition see fatigue.

They’ll be ready for any loose ball.

They’ll chase in a strong line.

How does an NRL team prepare to be a high performance side? That was the challenge put to the players today because that’s what the team will need to become going into next season. That has to be the goal, because anything less will see a repeat of 2018.

As the team hit the pain barrier this morning, Adrian Jimenez found football analogies to drive the players harder. He made it relevant to this team. Every run was given a purpose. The reason for punishing their legs and their lungs stated clearly.

He exhorted them to push through the pain, and I believe he got them to dig deeper than maybe they believed that they could.

The players hitting the deck.

And I swear, as the players were finishing exhaustive shuttle runs, hitting the deck every 20 metres, some of the players yelled out for more.

This is the unspectacular, tough slog of a preseason. It was tough yards, and plenty of it.

Aside from the conditioning there was some full field two hand touch and repeated red zone opposed sets. The Red and Blue teams each received about 15 minutes of attacking possession from contrived situations in the quarter. Conversely, it could be said that they were each given 15 minutes of repeat sets to defend.

Unlike the Friday session, this was not match-like conditions, but rather repeated attacking sets. You don’t get a true sense of halves controlling the game from such drills, but you do get to see skill, combinations and attitude.

Individual Observations

Corey Norman

* Moses and Norman ran together in the Red team. They were joined by Gutho and Mahoney in the spine. I didn’t read too much into the team, with Smith and Hoffman in the centres and Dunster and George Jennings on the wings. Michael Jennings, who had returned to training last week, was in the Blue team today. Ferguson is yet to appear.

* The highlight of the spine was the work of Mahoney. His pass selection was spot on, and he seemed to hit the right forward in a number of plays close to the line.

* Salmon and Brown were at 6 and 7 for the Blue team, with French and Stone completing key roles. Stone is very much the fill-in at dummy half, with more time spent as a middle forward in opposed sessions. However, his passing off the ground has improved dramatically and his defence is quality. He is still learning the craft of the position.

* The forwards continue to function well as a unit. There’s been good passing exchanges, second phase footy and clever lines run.

* Stefano Utoikamanu again caught my attention with his carries. It’s only training but he imposes his presence in virtually every contact drill.

* Kane Evans hit the line powerfully in a continuation of his solid work on Friday.

* Bevan French scored a clever individual try and was very vocal working with Salmon and Brown

Final Thoughts

There’s been very good feedback from Saturday’s whole club training session. I mentioned in last Friday’s report that some players had spoken about it, and it seemed like something that they were looking forward to.

It was a massive gathering

So what do NRL players get from an event like that?

They don’t need the conditioning delivered on the day, but what they gain is much more important.

This session provided the full time footballers with an opportunity to be leaders within the club. Whether they realise it or not, these blokes represent the pinnacle that younger players are aiming to reach. They had the chance to share what that means, even if it was just by training alongside others on Saturday.

Look out Normz. She’ll get to wear the gloves too!

The young players there are in the same colours. Undertaking the same drills. Mixing and talking with the NRL stars. The pathway becomes a shared journey, and the young players become Parra aspirational.

What a terrific initiative from the club. It was no small undertaking, given there were close to 300 players and staff gathered for this event. It’s taking the days of three grades training together to an entirely new level.

This was another step forward in making the club a unified organisation. One Parra!

Eels forever!

Sixties

 

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24 thoughts on “Eels Pre-Season Training – November 26, 2018: Pushing Limits

  1. Paul

    Thanks for the insight. You have mentioned over multiple training blogs that ray stone and reed mahoney have been the dummy halves for each side but no mention of kaysa pritchard. Is he currently injured or not yet back at training.

    1. sixties Post author

      He’s there, finishing his rehab from the 2018 season. I’ll leave it to the club to give details on injuries or rehab duration. I really don’t like offering opinions on injuries.
      The other thing is, during a pre-season or during a season proper, a player can be in the rehab group for any number of reasons. Sometimes during a season they will even play that week, it simply becomes a personalised training for them, perhaps to maybe overcome a niggling injury or to vary their work. They might be on the bikes one day and then running with the group the next.

    2. Billy

      I might add to this. Stone has only had a few sessions at dummy half as young Schneider hurt his leg last week. Stone has been training predominantly as a middle.

  2. The rev aka Snedden

    Hey brother sixties good read.
    I was really impressed with the whole club training together. It’s something that should have been done yrs ago but no time like the present.
    Go to see. I think other teams will be envy of our training ” together ” as a ” team ” .
    All for 1 n all for the love of our club.
    Good to see the fit guys helping the others keep up.

    #Eelsforlife#

  3. Milo

    That’s a terrific insight into the depths of the players and also trainer sixties.
    It’s terrific reading such posts and gaining an insight into the various training methods.
    Do you know if the players etc use a pool for recovery etc? I know they have ice baths etc but with the site at salesyards I gather they’d use a pool nearby…or not.
    I recall the old parra pool being removed and some debate abt a new one.

    1. sixties Post author

      In past pre-seasons, the players would do a recovery at the pool on a certain day per week. I’d have to check about what happens now.

  4. Steve

    I hope they see sense and promote Mahoney to the top 30. Clearly if they don’t, they will be going with Pritchard as the top hooker, with Smith and Stone as back ups which in my view would be a clear mistake.
    Mahoney would be wasted in ISP and we probably won’t have the huge injury toll to allow him to play.

      1. colin hussey

        I noticed the eels team gallery has now got 31 players listed with Mahoney still there but the latest addition in what I have seen is with Dylan Brown being added to the backs.

  5. Brindmarsh

    Great write up, as usual. I’ve got tomorrow (Wed) off work and am keen to get down and watch the boys train. Any idea what time they’re likely to be out on the paddock?

    1. Paul taylor

      Hey sixty

      I want to catch s trainjng session soon . What days and approx times . Not sure where the ground is matex

      Another fantastic read mate

      1. sixties Post author

        Hi Paul,
        We never put any times up because we aren’t representatives of the club and these aren’t open sessions. Times for field sessions can also be changed on the day. We often find out a time at the previous session. Sometimes we get down there and it’s been moved or started early or late. It’s done for the team, so it’s no drama. I’ll email you when I have the next time. You can see from reports that these field sessions aren’t held every day.
        Saleyards is Gladstone St Parramatta.

  6. colin hussey

    Nice report sixties, seems to be more combinations of players this week, and some variations in play, I am very much impressed with the push direction training by Jimenez, its different yet the same as he brings challenges that are enough for the experienced and the trainee players

    I am thinking that the team is training as such, hopefully they will play as one next year as a result, they do seem to be responding more to challenges, hopefully that will take them past the training stage into the main event.

    1. sixties Post author

      Let’s be straight up. There has never been any dramas with how the team has prepared, but they just didn’t deliver last year. The test in this pre-season has been how they respond to last year. How they buy into changes, challenges, rookies. It’s top marks on all fronts thus far.

      1. colin hussey

        Sixties, fair call and given the many reports from yourself and others on the TCT team the aspect of how they had trained together for this past season and those before came out very strongly in the positive, and that was very obvious. Problem is or was that it did not, as you say deliver, it got better when Adrian Jiminez arrived and I believe that was good but still lagged as a team on the field.

        That is why I said, hopefully they, meaning the whole lot of the players that end up playing each week being both regular or fill ins will play as one next year. I have said after reading the reports that I think the young players are showing a lot of self belief and the main NRL players will be challenged by them, also to see young players lifting should rub off on the others around them.

        1. sixties Post author

          The young players have provided a different dynamic. The reason for this – the quality of them as players, as blokes, and because many of them have played together since Matts and/or Ball.

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