As the footy component (scrimmages) increases during the field sessions, that battle for spots in the pack, on the bench, and on the wing, continues to intensify.
Right now, when it comes to those specific positions, and based on what I’ve seen, I’m prepared to lock in Junior, Joffa, Hands, Tuilagi, Williams, Matto and Russell as certainties for the Round One NRL 17.
Jack Williams
Outside of those players, and they aren’t necessarily in the starting 13, the contest is on! In fact, I am no closer to even guessing the sort of bench composition that Ryles will opt for.
Other players are being rotated into the “NRL” team during scrimmages, indicating that the coaches are providing every opportunity for contenders to step up and grab a spot.
(Disclaimer – I have no inside mail and these are only the opinions of a layman observer).
The start of today’s session saw the forwards and backs separated for the skills component of the morning. The forwards were in two groups, one had three players linking as they hit the ad line, whereas the other group was a bit more expansive.
Forwards in the skills component
Meanwhile the backs were working on “bumping” out of contact before they transitioned into drills running attacking shapes at active defenders.
It wasn’t long before the squad came together for a series of scrimmage scenarios.
The first period was played in a game context, NRL vs NSW Cup, with continuous play, sets of six, and kicks at the end of the set.
Next up, the NRL and NSW Cup teams took a field each and ran their respective left sides against their right sides, with coaches determining field positions and duration in possession.
A return to a NRL vs Cup scrimmage followed, but this time the sets only consisted of three tackles with a turnover rather than a kick completing each set.
Finally, relentless red zone play wrapped up the footy component, as firstly the NRL, and then the Cup, were asked to defend their line against repeat possessions. Please note, as a way of ensuring that this defence was executed under fatigue, the players did a mini Broncos run prior to their turn at defending.
The Cup team pressures the line
My highlights were as follows:
* A big play early on that featured a combination of structured and unstructured attack from the NRL team. They first hit the right edge with shape, before an offload triggered a left edge incursion.
* An eye catching hit from Richie Penisini on Gideon Kautoga. Later, Richie impressed with an elusive “in and away” against his brother
* The Cup team doing a terrific job of going set for set with the NRL team for extended periods of the full team scrimmages.
* An Ethyn Martin covering tackle as he chased a Jordan Samrani break down the wing.
* A spectacular “slips catch” by Sean Russell as he dived full stretch in the in goal to field a low kick in his fingertips. The Foxx was sprinting through and would have scored had the catch not been taken.
* A smart defensive move from Gideon Kautoga to shut down a dangerous play ten out from the line and force the error.
* Luca Moretti exhibiting his ball skills in a couple of very sharp plays
* Kelma Tuilagi splitting the edge defence to crash over for a try
Please note, my highlights are probably vastly different from what the coaches are viewing. I’m only reacting to some of the more “noticeable” moments, and doing so from a very ordinary vantage point.
Cup Left side vs right side
The coaches have their goals for the squad and the individual players, and their live observations (and feedback) are supplemented by a review of drone footage. Players getting their job done through effort, or high standards of execution, are more likely to be noticed by those whose opinions matter.
Finally, the morning was wrapped up with defence drills. As per usual, the squad donned jerseys before beginning with work on their tackle technique.
After that they separated into three groups, with a small attack line against a similar defence line. It was close to game day contact as multiple defenders took the ball runner down to the ground, gaining dominance, before peeling off the tackle and moving into marker spots or back to the line.
I can’t comment on any more of the session as the heavens were about to unload a mighty deluge and I made a hasty retreat to the car. Let’s just say that my timing was near impeccable.
Week one of 2025 done.
Eels forever!
Sixties
Great week of reports sixties. I’ve been all week on the phone sorting out a Telstra internet problem, my head needed something sane to absorb and your reports and Poppa’s philosophy jottings are just what the doctor ordered.
Glad they provide more than just footy info mate. I’ll add “injection of sanity” to the resume.
BDon, you will be pleased to know that after advising I have backed us to beat Storm in Round One, I have now also backed Parra to win the comp at $34 and to make the top 4 at 5.50.
Being a punter for most of my life I would have to say I have never backed anyone at this stage of the season ever! I don’t think it is is philosophical, but I am comfortable to say its “spiritual” LOL
Nice odds Poppa
I might take a bit of that top 4 myself. Good luck with all of them. And ‘spiritual’ more suits the Rugby League mind, which sixties could probably do a piece on. A unique topic.
Awesome report sixties. Can you confirm who you believe might be the main starting hooker for our cup side?
P.S it’s awesome to hear Kelma doing good. Baz told me before Kelma even played one game for parra that he going to be a very good player for us in the near future. We saw glimpses of this in 24’. Kelma played better under Baz. Maybe the belief Baz had in Kelma provided him with some additional confidence. Baz also stated we have the best halves pairing, he rated moses very highly.
Maybe baz had his blue & gold goggles on (back then) but Both moses & Kelma had break out years in 2024 in my view.
Muz, Lussick and Ryley Smith are sharing that Cup role at training. Kelma is definitely making an impact in this preseason.
Another great insight, thanks Sixties
I’d like to think Hopgood too would be round one lock – but glad to hear the likes of Lane and Carty will need to fight it out for a role in 2025
I didn’t include Hopgood due to injury.
Do you think Williams might possibly end up on an edge to help tidy up our defence?
Is Gideon a smokey for the backrow spot because I have noticed he has been playing in the nrl side a decent amount In scrimmages.
Do the likes of Farrugia, Jez, twiddle take part in the scrimmage or are they in their flegg and ball teams more now.
Also can you confirm Alamdine is out long term with a leg injury.
Thanks EA
Dom has returned to Ball. Jezaiah and Apa are in the scrimmages. I reckon Gideon is a chance. Yes, Moey is injured.
Hi Mate, the photo labelled as Jack Williams is Hopgood. Just a heads up.
No tatts…its Williams.
Scott, it’s definitely Williams. They have a certain similarity but Hoppy has significant sleeve tattoos.
Hi Sixties, great daily work!
It looks like Kelma Tuilagi will be playing right side with MOMAX. Who has been training at left side 2RF? Who looks to have the upper hand here with Brown, Will, JAC combo?
Thanks
Metal Stud
It’s been rotating. Could end up coming down to Charlie Guymer or Gideon Kautoga, but I don’t think it’s as clear cut.
Interesting sixties. Is it looking like potentially Bryce may not be a starting edge for us in 25?
I feel like carty may of been doing it a bit tough the last year. He loved Ba, his best mates with RCG & gutho, I feel for the lad. I’ve seen RCG & Carty hanging out together during off season at the domestic airport. They are obviously close mates still.
Hopefully Bryce has a killer off season and come out at his best throughout 2025.
Now called Brojacall for the left side
Well done
Thanks for the great reporting over the years, how do you see this pre season to years past , on skills, on player development.
James, I had an entire post prepared on this very question for that Christmas/New Year fortnight and after writing 3/4 of it I dumped it. For two reasons. Firstly a recency bias, and secondly because the current preseason is only half done.
It’s interesting because this session was structured very similar to the past given that it was scrimmage focussed and rotated between different games, and even had the defence players running a straight line course to introduce fatigue before a red zone scrimmage. So from here on I’m likely to see similar structures in field sessions to the past, or to traditional training.
The noticeable differences in the methodology have been in taking the skills components for the entire squad right back to basics before building it back up, and in footy based conditioning. Drills used are different. The instruction is different. You’d expect that given a near total change in coaching staff.
Players needed to improve their skills. Not just the young players, but everyone. There were errors in 2024 that were putting pressure on the defence – how often did we see 12 point turn arounds or a flood of points after basic mistakes?
I know that there are other differences in the other parts of the training day, but given that I’m not watching those parts I can’t comment – and probably the club would want to keep certain points of difference in house for now.
Overall, the coaches spoke to me about giving every player the opportunity to succeed, especially the way they prepared the younger players before the NRL players returned, and based on what I’ve seen, they’ve stuck true to that objective.
Thanks Sixties, great stuff.
I keep saying it and I’ll say it again. What a privilege it is to have you bring us these reports.
Fantastic week of reporting.
Nice to hear Richie standup his brother, I’m sure that made for an interesting conversation at the Penisini dinner table.
Cheers Joseph. There’s been a bit extra thrown into the tackles when those two come together. Richie looks like he’s loving this preseason. He has had a taste of it before and given he’s Will’s brother, there was a familiarity with other squad members. But he also appears to be getting great value out of the Foxx. Addo-Carr brings plenty to each session, from the positive vibe, to his constant talk. That level of experience and involvement cannot be underestimated.
There was a photo posted on Ryley Smith’s instagram story that saw Addo-Carr playing outside of Richie Penisini. That sort of experience on the training paddock will be massive for the young fella especially after missing last year with an ACL injury.
Yes, JAC has been with the Cup team for scrimmages this week
I haven’t been able to wipe my smirk off my face knowing the Foxx is an Eel.
We fell arse backwards with the signing of Lomax, God knows we deserve some footy luck. He was a solid player when we signed him only to become one of the elite players in the NRL soon afterwards.
I was a little concerned that Moses may miss Gutho but it seems he’s really bonded with Lomax and both players seem to be on a mission.
Fox is an awesome signing for us mate, definitely agree 👍 many disagreed on me on this when I said they should sign him. It was a no brainer, top outside backs are very hard to grab. He comes with baggage. BUT, we got him cheap. Big upside potential, minimal downside. And clauses in clubs favour for once. Lol. Sixties said he has been guiding our young wingers, this alone is a great example of his value.
I’ve said it before but I love all the football related conditioning. The ball should be in the hands of the players as much as possible, unless they’re defending of course.
It’s maximising every minute of the session Ham. And from an observer’s perspective, it’s far more interesting.
Some might say it beats looking at birds, some might not.
Funny you say that because there is a bird watcher that takes photos of the bush beside the Kellyville complex whilst training is happening.
Nah
That’s actually Buzz Rothfield😜
No mention of Bryce Cartwright lately. I’d have thought the second row position was still his to lose. Is he injured? He was our best forward at times last year.
He been in the scrimmages for Cup this week
I’d like to know how different training is under Ryles as opposed to.brad. It really sounds like training is much more defence oriented aswell as much more contact and body positioning in both attack and defence.
I’m going to predict that our once inept wide defensive problems will be sorted under Ryles. The sort of stuff we saw previously with wingers looking lost, rushing up or darting in will be greatly diminished in 2015
Under Brad, our wide defence was never up to scratch. I don’t like picking on individuals but it was there for everyone to see. Against teams like Souths, we always struggled to contain their athletic outside backs.
I’m going to say with certainty, that Parramatta will be a top 5 defensive team in 2025.
Ryles was by far the best choice for this club. Even better than Bennett who wouldn’t have made those tough decisions that would have led to a major bottleneck in regards to our average player’s age in 26 and 27 that may have taken years to rectify.
Actually, I really wished we’d signed Ryles in 2015 lol. ;). Can we go back in time somehow in a parallel universe?
No coach would have enjoyed being there in 2014 and 2015, training out of Richie Benaud Oval with a spoon squad and management that got busted for breaking the cap. And don’t forget, Hayne then departed at the end of 2014.
That’s true but our wide defensive lapses were never rectified. There was no confidence in our defensive structures. Fans just knew that inside our 20 we were not going to hold out the top teams on a consistent level.
Don’t go down the path of criticising BA, esp those early years in which he was handed a spoon outfit. There have been positives said by the staff about the group that they’ve inherited and the work done by BA (refer to the podcast with Mark O’Neill).
I’ve written numerous times that the training prior to Christmas was very different to the past and the ways in which it was. It had to be with the new coaching staff. The methodology, esp in conditioning, was non-traditional. The coaching stripped the squad back to basics before building it up again.
I agree, brad had a lot to deal with and did a very good job under the circumstances. I was just talking defensive structures especially out wide, and the confidence each player had in his inside or outside man..
Ba was a strong servant to our club and much respect for him doing a good job and taking a lot of pressure back then and helping lift us into a finals playing club. We must respect brads history at our club. We never agree on 100% of anyone’s decisions, but one thing all parra fans should stand behind is he loved our club and took us from being something like the tigers of recent years to a being consistent finals contender. We must respect brads achievements I believe.
PS Bennett has employed our 2024 defence coach Steve Antonelli and our head of Athletic Performance Trent Elkin. Would they have therefore remained on staff for this year if Bennett had been secured?
I’ don’t really know. All I know is that we’re going to finish ahead of Souths. If there was a market for that I’d load up on Parramatta.
I don’t know why Souths bought Antonelli. Our defence wasn’t the best and some of the flaws in our wide defence didn’t change much.
Elkin did a fine job here, it’s just that Ryles wanted people he knew better around him.
Also with Ryles being a well renowned defensive coach, Ryles knew what style of defensive structures he wanted before coming here and knowing that Antonelli had his own structures, he probably wasn’t needed as much at Parra.
Our Defence is going to be bases on what Ryles did previously along with help from Sam Moa, and our attacking
plans will resolve around Ryles, Wisemantel, Gasnoer, and Nathan brown will influence how attack will look.
Line speed will be critical.
Chief let the BA obsession pass.
BA did a great job and was a loyal servant.
I think a number of things changed up until 2022 and who knows the right answer? There is not one by the way, because it’s just history now, nothing is going to change it.
Your constant references to what may have happened or not only shows up your “”Paranoia “”, it’s time to move on, BA will always b a significant landmark in the renaissance of Parramatta post the corruption years.
Nobody is more impressed at this point of time with Ryles progressive stance than me, lets accept that is just another positive heading in the reformation of our once great club.
Let’s keep pumping the proactive and put the yesterday’s negatives behind us.
When there is finally something to criticise I am sure we will not be short of opinions…..being what we are i.e. Parramatta Supporters””.
Good post poppa we are building back into becoming a frat club again like the days of old. A renaissance as you called it. With ba helping to take us from the corruption years, to becoming a truly competitive and finals finishing club regularly most years. That was a great achievement.
Ryles now takes the torch for us to help us reach the next level. We are all pleased with the progressive actions which Ryles & parra admin have been taking. We must also remember we have a rock solid core group of players which Brad both recruited and trained, and they are world class players still. We must look at each coach and their contributions like building blocks contributing to the greater good of our clubs long term trajectory.
I feel like we are headed in the direction of becoming a truly great club once again, something like we were in the 80’s. I see that is possible. We have stable club management, professionals in both the football department, front office, and on the field. Great leadership in a few rep players, and former rep players in the coaching staff, from elite clubs.
I feel like we are really headed in the right direction if we continue looking forward.
Sorry. Meant to say a “great” team again. Not frat. Good post poppa. 👍 I believe we will see 80’s like resurgence in the coming years.
Of course the team we want winning is the Nrl side and that’s obvious. What I’m personally looking forward to is how the newbies and promoted juniors handle cup and any further moves higher.
It’s refreshing that we have some depth which due to injuries and players being moved on, didn’t seem to be there last year in particular. How those lower grade players perform and put pressure higher up is something that will be almost as interesting and important as the first grade side.
For the footy heads , it seems there has been a decent influx of talented juniors into the Matt’s and Ball programs, unfortunately today I can’t be there due to family commitments, but will make an effort to view the next set of trials. Anyone that gets the opportunity, should try and get there , the enthusiasm and elite coaching is something to watch. Trying to get a handle on which players will make it is a test in itself, but worth a viewing.
True It will be an exciting year especially for the nsw cup team I feel like. Volkman and Hawkins halves paring will likely transform our cup team.
Interesting B&G, I come from the Fairfield area in the west and played for many years there in the fifties and sixties and naturally saw a lot of talented kids come and go. We have some great production clubs in that district and surrounds . Cabra, Guildford ,Mounties, the Kookas at Canley vale. Two blokes stood out for me in all those years watching juniors ,one was Kenny at the Owls he shone like a lighthouse the other was Guru at Mounties ,he was fast and murderous from a young age. Keep us informed of who you notice, it’s always interesting to us old blokes.
Prometheus, there was a good showing from the Matts and Ball teams yesterday, even with a number of first starters rested. They beat the Dogs in both trials. Trial results mean nothing, but the style of play was up tempo and confident.
That’s awesome sixties. Do you think the new changes at training and what not at higher grades had influenced the lower grades players a bit? Great result.
Thanks for the great update for us Norther folk who can’t see any of this.
From the photos posted by yourself and the club, the players look leaner than previous years. Have you noticed the change in body shape watching closely as you do? Junior looks ripped but I think Will Penisini has come back in great shape. Has he trimmed up in his legs? Doesn’t look as heavy as previous years. Hopefully this helps him play “lighter”. I’m hoping him moving to the left have him primed for a big year.
Thanks for the great update for us Norther folk who can’t see any of this.
From the photos posted by yourself and the club, the players look leaner than previous years. Have you noticed the change in body shape watching closely as you do? Junior looks ripped but I think Will Penisini has come back in great shape. Has he trimmed up in his legs? Doesn’t look as heavy as previous years. Hopefully this helps him play “lighter”. I’m hoping him moving to the left have him primed for a big year.
Rusty, the players look super fit. Junior is the leanest I’ve ever seen him. He’s currently 111kgs but I reckon he’ll add a bit before round one. Anecdotally, those I’ve spoken to have said they’ve never been fitter.
Thanks for these reports again mate. Out of curiosity, if fox is training with cup for the moment because of the suspension who is training at wing to pair Russell?