Spoiler alert.
If you’re not a Blake Ferguson fan, this report is not for you.
The effusive praise to follow will leave you questioning my objectivity. That’s fair enough. It is, after all, just training.
Nonetheless, I reckon I’m a reasonable judge of who’s having a good Summer and I’m always prepared to make a call when the preseason wraps up.
Two years ago I wrote this:
Most Influential – Blake Ferguson
I would never have believed that a winger could be such a good communicator and have such an influence on his team mates. Then Blake Ferguson arrived at Old Saleyards.
From Day One, Fergo hasn’t stopped talking. From mentoring younger players to barking at his inside men in attack, his impact has already been significant. I am convinced that he was highly influential in the Roosters success last year, and it wasn’t just from his running metres
My opinion was vindicated during the season which followed.
After that first class preseason, he and fellow winger Maika Sivo brought the metres and the impact which helped to turn the Eels fortunes around during the season proper. Their recruitment was rightly lauded as targeted and shrewd.
But it was fair to say that the 2020 season was a personal disappointment for both wingers, with Ferguson struggling in both attack and defence. Further to that, he was not the leader on the training track that I witnessed a year earlier.
Thus far, this preseason feels like 2019 re-visited.
And here comes the big call.
Ferguson sits on Gutho’s heels during conditioning
This morning, Blake Ferguson produced close to the best session that I’ve witnessed from an Eels winger over the last eight years.
From a numbers perspective, Fergo scored three tries during the contrived opposed work. That’s reasonably impressive but not out of the ordinary for training.
Unfortunately, my description of how he achieved the treble won’t do him justice, but I’ll give it a crack.
In every try, Ferguson was presented with a half chance about 20 metres out and close to the sideline. The Eels flyer attacked each opportunity with the determination and intensity reserved for a grand final match winner. It was astonishing to watch his performance from close range.
With cries of “go for the corner” coming from his inside men, Fergy powered his way to the prescribed target, his pace beating desperate defenders, his frame holding strong against the final collisions as he dived over the line in spectacular fashion.
You could literally put the same description on each try, such was his consistency.
“Controversially”, one try was denied by the officials, but he clearly grounded the ball before being bundled over the sideline. Where was the bunker call?
The big winger’s current training form is not isolated. His energy levels since resuming have been off the charts. His encouragement of team mates has returned.
You probably don’t have to dig too deep to find the motivations. He needs to earn a new contract at the Eels or elsewhere, and he’s a proud man with a point to prove. But if the result is Ferguson circa 2019, all Parra fans will be overjoyed.
Some of today’s action
There were other moments of note outside of Ferguson’s excellence.
The highlights included a terrific individual try to Dylan Brown as he jinked and weaved his way over the line from close range, and a try to Sean Russell as he chased and grounded a bouncing kick from Mitch Moses.
Jake Arthur also impressed. The young half is adept at digging into the defensive line, unafraid of the big hit that can come his way as he sets up his supports. He provided a try with such a play today, threading a pass through defenders to find Maika Sivo who crashed over from short range.
On the conditioning front, a different intensity was evident. The players’ fitness was challenged throughout the morning, with running sets and up/down defence line movements interspersed with the opposed work.
And the message was made clear – bring the energy!
At one point, after observing the squad going through their paces, BA gave them a spray. It didn’t surprise.
The players had been urging each other on, Gutho and Moses leading the calls. They seemed focussed.
However, the first trial against the Dragons is a mere 17 days away. It’s becoming the business end of the preseason and it looks like the coach has lifted the expectations.
I’ve got no problem with that.
Eels forever!
Sixties
Nice Sixties
Cheers Mikey.
Great positive piece sixties. Would love to see Fergo rediscover his mojo & influence
Same mate. Here’s to the training track form again being an indicator of the season ahead.
Never really got to the bottom of Fergo’s poor year last year. I was worried it was a hidden injury. Hopefully that’s all behind him.
I reckon it was as much a headspace issue as it was his knee.
Great article. I thought Fergo missed last year with a lack of ball so would love to see him back to 2019 form.
Wes, he wasn’t even anywhere near what he needed to be on the training track last year. So far this year it’s been a different Fergy.
A report that makes for thinking and some amount of Speculation methinks sixties, especially driven by training performances by those who certainly need to be up a gear this coming season.
The interesting stat that I am seeing and its not confined just to the eels either and that stat is one with numbers, that is the numbers of players off contract end of 2021 at all clubs.
A rough count shows that out of the 16 clubs there are around 200 players off contract end of this year, and it includes some named players at that. Tells me that a good number of players will be retiring, heading to SL or pushing it to have a contract extension.
Those likely to be ones with the most nerves are quite possibly going to be those 29 & over in many cases, thus their training and game time plays will need to be at a constant high point.
I also have read where many do not believe that there is or will be enough players of NRL quality or standard to justify a 17th team in an expanded comp. So looking at the off contract numbers 30 out of 200 still leaves a wide hole of players that will be looking for positions at clubs going forward.
With the reserve grade and other Jnr comps showing young players of quality what age bracket will we see new players in the various teams.
It is interesting Colin. I think that Parra have tipped their hand to an extent with their group of young players, but you also must recruit the quality that can take the team to the next level. But if you have good young players in your system, it allows you to be more selective in whom you recruit.
I wonder if last seasons messed up season may well be the year that is the catalyst for the future??? Looking back with no back up comps and players in both the NRL squad and more so in the lower grade comps getting no playing competition experiences has possibly become the real turning point for the club? We had 14 leave and a similar number possibly end of this coming season, in two seasons almost a full NRL squad.
The emergence of some more younger players into the training squad along with the great audition from Dunster I think there could well be the audition year for the future, & having watched the Schools GF last year showed up some excellent talent indeed.
Looking at our squad I am more than happy with the forwards but still some worries with the backs, again if MJ is finished it does create a hole that can be filled by one of the backs that comes as close to MJ in his abilities that fills that hole.
2021 for me is more than likely a drawcard to our future.
Well noted Colin. Around half of the players at training right now are new to our NRL group, be they young pathways blokes or recruits. That is a huge change and fair to say brings energy and enthusiasm. It is a window to the future.
Thanks mate. I have been reading some history books (not of RL or other sports) and these books have been a real revelation to me as to how many people who with limited knowledge of the behind scenes facts, ignored or refuted them, these books have come in a sense out of being hidden owing to them being seen as contentious, now many hidden areas of history especially in the last century are being revealed by the truth being discovered.
Perhaps a comparison in RL is seeing a turn round from last year and the pretty much emptiness of it for eels supporters is about to have the real eels show their real abilities. I get the old Gough feeling of it being Time, and the real eels standing up.
To have that amount of new faces at training has to be an overall positive for the club, the interviews with the new players also show another level of excitement and dare I say honesty in what they are saying, the recent one with Dunster is great and shows a player beyond his years.
Great summary Sixties. Based on what you have seen to date who do you think is making the strongest case for Jenkos spot. Oldfield or Opacic?
I have Opacic locked in. So unless something unexpected happens recruitment wise, he is definitely my pick based on his preseason.
Sixties, can you give us a brief update on how Opacic is training – ie. how is his speed, stamina, overall fitness etc holding up after his recent injuries. I really rate the guy, have seen him play a lot at Redcliffe and think his defensive work will surprise a lot of fans in particular.
good to hear Fergo is back
His attitude is hard to fault at the moment.
Love a good Fergo story. Thanks again Sixties,
Cheers Daz.
I have been an avid reader of TCT for a long while. Thank you Sixties and others for your intelligent and perceptive coverage of all things Parra. I am a glass half full person and always have an optimistic view of our chances pre-season. I really believe we have recruited well this year. Good to hear that BA is revving up the players. Thanks again for your wonderful analysis of the team and it’s progress. Had enough cricket so come on NRL.
Hey Sec50, thanks for being a long time reader and for adding a reply here. I enjoy my cricket too, but getting to training helps with my footy fix – it’s like I have no off season 😁. That said, bring on round 1.
I don’t believe Fergo is past it. Just guessing, that almighty bashing he took in a Raiders game in 2019 left him playing on ticker alone for a long time. He was protecting his ribs forever after that. Maybe his body and head are back in synch again.
I don’t doubt the impact of that bashing. However, at training last year, he was not the 2019 version. He has been back to those outstanding levels so far this year.
I was expecting big things from our right side attack last year but they just didn’t seem to click. How are they looking this year Sixties?
The tries for Fergo all came through terrific right side work. It was only training but until the trials and the premiership, the 13 on 13 contact work is all I can assess. What I will say is that Fergo’s tries were not the result of poor defensive reads. Rather it was impressive work on the inside.
Thanks for the report I enjoy reading them. It’s great to hear Fergo doing well at training, when on song he is one of the toughest Wingers to stop from crossing the line. Playing devils advocate for a moment does this report prove we have still have lots to improve on with our edge defense and not bleed so many tries in that vicinity?
In this instance, no. The tries were spectacular because the work done inside created a fraction of a chance, and Fergo had the narrowest corridor to accelerate, somehow withstand the attention defenders right on the sideline and dive into the corner. To watch a player give absolutely everything in a training opposed session like that was actually inspiring. I’m sorry that my description can’t do him justice.