Tuesday was a big session. So much so, that Wednesday had to be a lighter load day and it was.
Given that it panned out that way, I’ve decided to combine the two sessions into one report, the majority of which will be focussed on Tuesday.
And yes, the Eels put on a show.
Tuesday
This session could have gone one of two ways.
WIth a Fox Sports film crew on site grabbing footage for their promos, there was some chance that Ryles might keep the session to the bare essentials, giving nothing away.
Alternatively, the new coach could pretend that media wasn’t there.
The latter option was taken, and the squad promptly put on a show!
One of today’s observers, David – a January regular, suggested that in terms of quality, it might have been the best preseason session that he’s ever witnessed.
It will be interesting to see how much of the footage taken is eventually used. Fox takes footage at every club, and those promos usually use the quickest of grabs. Two hours of filming really does come down to the such a minimal amount going to air.
The sound recording equipment was almost ASIO level gear. Rather than mic’ing up any players, they used the big directional receivers. I had a quick google search to try to find images but had no luck. Try to picture a van with a technician inside and odd looking radar equipment on the roof, except in this case it was all at a desk behind the in goal (I should have taken a photo!).
Filming wasn’t limited to training, with Vossy’s show “The Fan” also recording content for this year’s shows. I don’t know which players were due to be interviewed, but I’ll dig around to try to find out. I reckon coach Ryles would definitely feature.
As you may have deduced from David’s comments, the “footy” content in Tuesday’s session was high. After beginning with some unopposed work as they ran through standard set shapes to march downfield, the “games” soon commenced.
In between the scrimmages, games of ultra fast paced touch footy were used to increase fatigue. I won’t provide any details from the games of touch, but when you read the sequence of games below, in most instances you can assume that a touch game occurred in the interval. Some of the scrimmages also involved defence line Malcolms (or up/downs) to add even greater fatigue.
First up, it was left side vs right side in both NRL and NSW Cup. I was grateful that the NRL work was on the field in front of our vantage point.
Some notable moments were:
* The Foxx using his pace to bag a couple of tries
* Will Penisini getting match day serious with a tackle on Zac Lomax – anyone near the field that didn’t see it would have definitely heard it
Right side shift
Switching to full field, NRL vs NSW Cup, I noted the following:
* A lift in tempo and intensity
* A great catch under big pressure by Joash Papalii
* A try to Sean Russell off a left side shift, and significant involvement from Will Penisini
* A massive hit by Kelma Tuilagi and Jack Williams (on Toni Mataele?) that was every bit match day level contact.
* Several instances of outstanding defence from Will Penisini. His “conventional” rugby league tackles are chopping down his opponents and the power behind them are sending a message. It’s a combination of reading the play and executing his technique.
* A Mitch Moses “charge down”. Actually it was more of a catch as he got his hands to an attacking kick and somehow reeled it in, then took off downfield.
Cup side works their way out of the red zone
Red zone relentless attack and defence followed. The standouts from that were:
* Sam Tuivaiti demonstrating tremendous strength and awareness in consecutive tackles on the line. Firstly, driving Matt Doorey back when the powerful forward looked certain to ground the ball, then somehow holding up a player in goal (Brendan Hands?) on the quick play the ball that followed.
* Arthur Miller-Stephen making great defensive reads on the wing for Cup
* Isaiah Iongi scoring a try. I like what I’m seeing in his contributions.
Left side shift
The morning was completed by an extended period (somewhere between 30-40 minutes) of defence drills.
Starting off with tackle technique, it then included individual player contact, multiple player contact, getting off the tackle, marker work, and defensive movements.
In yesterday’s report I mentioned the Foxx showing Ethyn Martin a defence movement drill that he could practise during extras. In this session, one of the drills featured the outside backs using the exact movements to tackle an opponent
Wednesday
This was a light skills session that kicked off relatively early in the morning.
First up the squad was split into four groups to rotate through four skills stations. It was mostly hand-eye coordination, three stations using a football and one using a tennis ball, with all drills requiring quick reactions.
Hand/eye coordination
Next came a bit of fun. I’ve written about this game before which involves a “walking” game of touch using an invisible football. Calls of catch and pass could be heard in between the laughter and a couple of players “hammed” up their try scoring. The Foxx even walks too fast for his opponents and celebrated a couple of tries in this game.
The invisible football finds its way to Addo-Carr despite the best effort of Lussick
The squad then split into three groups. Nearest to us was a group of forwards, plus Joash. They worked with Sam Moa, Jason Ryles, and Nathan Cayless on their passing, goal line defence, and offloads in contact.
On the field furthest from our viewing, two groups of backs and the spine worked with Nathan Brown and Scott Wisemantel on kicking and catching, passing and support play, and dummy half passing.
To finish the session, the squad came together for a crossbar kicking challenge challenge. And the winner was… insert drum roll… Ryley Smith.
On to Thursday.
Eels forever!
Sixties
Another great report, thanks 60s. I was going to say everything is so incredibly positive and I can’t wait for the first trial. Then I read the report about Dylan Brown’s agent writimnh to NRL and Union clubs informing them that he is on the move.I know Dylbro was incredibly close to Brad Arthur, perhaps the loss of Brad and Gutho are at play here. Word on another site is that Brown’s training attitude is not quite right. Is this something you’ve noticed 60s (I understand if it’s something you don’t want to comment on).
When Dylan has a second rower next to him who is a threat – so defences second guess- he is the second best 5/8 in the comp. Watching him in 2022 I thought he was going to be the best player in the world, elusive, strong, smart… perhaps he still will reach those hights.. I hope it’s with Parra and I hope that the winning culture Ryles is building lures Brown back into the fold.
Kenny, Dylan not being happy is a rumour that has circled since last season. He has also openly stated his dissatisfaction with BA sacking and treatment. There was whispers some BA loyalists may not gel as well or be completely happy with some of the big changes like gutho, RCG, ba, etc all going. Which is Totally normal when coaches change or their close team mates leave etc.
We must remember now Volkman and Hawkins are stand out hung halves here we now have within our ranks.
With all due respect to Asi, J Arthur, Sanders. Hawkins & Volkman are (most would agree) stand our halves in comparison at this stage of their respective careers.
We can all speculate on Dylan. None of us may ever know the truth.
There’s also the factor of Harris & SJ retiring at NZ.
Warriors may offer brown $1.1 M per year with their huge gaps in leadership and now free cap space available.
I’m going to share a controversial opinion here:
We now have speed all across our back line, we won’t almost 100% rely on him as an attacking weapon.
And we’ve got two halves in the system who can fill Dylan’s roll to a high enough Standard we would remain competitive in Dylan’s absence if we needed to.
If Dylan isn’t happy – we should consider how great he is, but also consider our new depth and $900K in cap space may see the eels sign a player like Wishart or (or something like that) for even LESS.
I would prefer Dylan staying obviously but if he isn’t happy or not satisfied on his contract we don’t want to be seen as losers like the dragons were keeping Hunt there even long after he clearly was dissatisfied after his coach “the Hook” being sacked.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Volkman or Hawkins can do a job to about 70% of what Dylan can offer and probably costs us 1/4 of the salary.
The big loss would be the failure for us to see Dylan fulfil his potential As an eel. I personally feel is Dylan isn’t happy we should let him go.
Even if he is one of my fav players. Dylan isn’t a $1m + player yet. We saw Luai become a Lego game managing half. If we saw Dylan so that? I give him $1m + all day too obviously.
If he was serious about our club long term from here, his manager would likely not be sending our mass emails to 13 clubs.
There’s clearly no holding back by his manager it seems?
I don’t know about hung but Volkman was definitely a young gun. Looks like Eli Clarke has gone to the sharks so Id promote Volkman to the top 30 and maybe even lock him down an extra year at 20% of what we are paying Brown then we head into 26 with a war chest for an elite player.
Id also prefer Brown stays but if he doesn’t want to be here while being paid near $1 a year then its time to move him on. There is also the ticking time bomb ACL to consider.
Sorry Woody, I meant to say young* halves. Not hung 😂
Muz we will talk more on this in the pod. Dyl was close to BA and there might have been concern of him following Brad, but not to the UK.
👍 no worries mate
I am sick of talking about this problem. The Eels have four players on options the most of any NRL club and they need to be eliminated from future contract negotiations.
Matto is staying Dylan sounds like he wants out. This is self harm. R&R get your act together.
G’day Kenny,
This pre-season has been so positive so far, with the new coach & staff seemingly all gelling. As per 60’s reports, we can experience the difference in the style & shape of the training. For some ridiculous reason, our club decided to offer these options to players, where they become hot property, they can piss off is simply madness. We are the club who hold 7 players on these sorts of contracts. If Dylan’s not happy, off he goes. there’s always another one coming through.
He had until round 10 to decide on the option, but chose to do it now, maybe so Orr might get a release for this year? I say, that’s 900k for a replacement?
I view it as a positive. A chance to sort out and fix his contract sooner than later.
I agree 60’s, but why doesn’t Penrith, say, have any players on options in their favour? Because it’s not smart business practice. But we were royally screwed by the agents. My rant is over mate, but if Dylan doesn’t want to be here, let him go now. Someone will step up, someone who wants to be here. I know who I’d rather play with and support. Gil over and out.
Well said Gil. I have been talking about this for years.
Yeah, Kenny I thought the same.
We’ve had a few people leave after BA as described loyalists.
BA
MA
REG
Gutho
Sivo
Then you have the likes of Lane or others that were favourites and automatically picked. Now facing a challenge and possibly missing out….They all had a choice but no point being a little b…. hanging around white-anting the joint. Best they go and go now!
Dylbags has been paid overs based on his potential. He hasn’t consistently delivered what he can and should. His off field behaviour has caused problems for the club and He’s often said he will go back to NZ at
some point. Maybe it’s time.
We are in a better position now than we have for a long time. Joash to 6!
If we react to media reports by turning on Dyl, we give the scribes exactly what they want. It’s just a player agent doing player agent shit.
Thanks Sixties I guess we need to be better prepared for the regular PO trigger point articles. I certainly don’t blame Dylan. As I said further down he’s a very likeable young guy. But Warriors are sharpening their pencil I bet after losing SJ.
Pete the media probably loves anything negative on parra massive fan base and everyone’s very mad & loyal lol 😆 easy clicks & engagement farming. For all we know, these managers send out 13 + emails to organisations each time they shop for offers but it’s not mentioned.
I was thinking Joash maybe the Dylbro insurance as well Pete
Muz you make a lot of good points, and in a business sense it may be all for the best, but geez, when DBrown is on song he is so good to watch. Just love him as a player.
Agree Kenny.
DBrown is a great footballer with talent to burn. He said himself he likes to take the back seat especially when Mitch is playing. Hes been honest innthe past about NZ. He can be anything he wants to be. That’s why Warriors are trying to pry him away.
As I said he’s got talent to burn and a very likeable guy. I don’t blame him for anything.
Kenny I love Dylan too. But we aren’t fully desperate now. If he demands something we cannot afford, hopefully we are in a better position now to not be held hostage. Hopefully the powers that be can make it work. Dyl apparently loves parra. Good sign for a player in todays game.
We will talk to Dylan Brown in the podcast. As for reports about his training attitude, I’d like to know where that is coming from, because there are no regular visitors besides myself and a couple of mates. So anything written about that does not come any base of knowledge. Dyl has trained well, even earning a special shirt soon after finishing rehab. I see no evidence whatsoever of attitude issues.
On the mark Sixties, the hysteria on here by some about brown is childish. Get it from him first hand. He’s a man who can make his own choices.
Look forward to hearing from Dylan Sixties.
Not sure how much he’s on $800-$900k. If he gets more than that. I’d say he’ll go. The question is do we out bid that potential offer?
To me a PO allows the player to say: NoI ‘m happy let’s do the deal. But to go to market is inviting media speculation and the media loves it.
I don’t think anyone has turned on Dylan
or been overly negative. A few mentioned things that are on the public
record or have been reported elsewhere. But we all see it for what it is. We are able to make comments freely 👍
Also there are problems with posts that you cannot re-read as it won’t let you scroll up and down. So corrections are not always made.
That walking game sounds like great fun. This is the first I’ve heard of it – just trying to imagine what it would be like.
Good to hear that Sam Tuivaiti is doing well, i hope there are a few developing jnr forwards who can push for a top 17 birth. Like to hear who would be favourites to do so
Also, the COE is looking close to complete in the background with the seats and outside work looking almost done. Maybe just the internals to complete?
Thx for the report mate.
I wrote about the invisible footy game early in the season. I believe Blair Mills introduced it.
Yeah a fair bit of internal and a bit of landscape/paving stuff.
Browns manager is just doing his job but it’s well known that Brown is unsettled.
No one knows the true story but there are just too many rumours floating out of the club to dismiss it.
He’s a good footballer Dylan but personally he wouldn’t be the player that I’d build my team around.
Volkmann has just as much talent baring injuries with Hawkins just behind him.
But my opinion for what it’s worth is that Dylan will leave the club and due to that rediculous contract we deserve to lose him.
The mail is very strong.
If you had to chose between Dylan Brown and Lachie Galvin, who would you pick ?
Watch this space.
Id actually choose Volkman at 20% of the price of Brown and look to bolster another position with an elite player in 26.
I don’t have the same mail Spark. I did after the BA termination but not now. There are supposedly reports of his training attitude not being right, well there’s nobody else there reporting on training so that mail is garbage. Plus he’s been recognised by the coaching staff for his efforts. His work in scrimmage has been outstanding.
Great to hear
Yeah mate don’t know about his training and defer to your knowledge there. As you have rightly said, you are there, we are not.
I’ve no problem at all with Dylan and and his manager exploring his options. His manager is absolutely doing what any good manager should do.
If Dylan has decided to try and hold the club over for more money he had better be wary.
The new coaching staff has shown some fair resolve shown by letting Gutho walk, that there is a new sheriff in town.
I also note that you will be talking to Dylan. I do recall Blaize emphatically stating that he was an Eels man and had no intention on leaving before dropping his bombshell.
Perhaps Dylan may have a little more integrity?
Quite right Spark.
Those ridiculous PO’s and long contracts. Basically hamstrung the cap.
Dylan could be anything if he wanted to be.
Galvin seems to be a mature head on young shoulders, Dylbags is very likeable but seems an immature head on youngish shoulders. Both have talent to burn. But hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work!
I really like Dylan but he’s always going back to NZ! NZ just lost SJ so they have money. I’m sure JFH will be on the phone too.
We have Volkman Hawkins and Joash.
Lachie Galvin doesn’t rate in the same breath as Dyllan Brown.
Dyllan Brown is a player no club can afford to lose. It is disappointing that so many seem to think his potential is unfulfilled. Of course it is unfulfilled, but that is not his fault. Its the process he has come through.
Parramatta’s potential is unfulfilled, has been for a long time and I go back a long way.
Even after our premierships in the 80’s we still did not fulfill our potential. We after that period should have been the dominant club right up until now.
The mentality of losing a player and replacing him with one 20 or 30% inferior and justifying by saying we get 900k in the bank is the thinking of second raters.
That type of mediocrity at this level has always stuffed Parra,.
We are now seeing a coaching regime that can take us out of those days of mediocrity.
Even when we have been making finals like we have for the past 10 years, we were still taking little steps.
We need to do everything we can to retain DB on the basis that there is no irreparable damage….we cannot judge that from where we sit. We have to have faith in the judgement of our current regime.
I have no doubt that Ryles realizes the potential loss of Brown as calamitous, but my old saying is you cannot control the uncontrollable….. let’s sit back and observe and hope they work it out.
My one consolation is that reading in between the lines of the “club statement” they say they would like to clean up the option deals before the start of the season and everyone knows that Dyllan had a mid-year option to address…. now wanting to address this early his management has set out to test the market. It may also mean that they might like to get him locked away before or if the ACL issue arose.
I would like to see Dyllan come out and make a statement about his commitment to the club, I think this is very important now as it already has an effect of disruption.
Question to 60’s already asked is the body language of DB focused and positive. Everyone can be unhappy about aspects but that doesn’t mean your not committed.
The person I judge DB to be is someone who would never give up. He failed in the eyes of some last year because he could not be all things to all people. Somebody just needs to pull him aside and explain that.
Poppa I with what you have said here. The problem is not Dylan or his manager. The problem is that the club offers PO’s to players. The player manager is simply doing what is best for his client.
R&R is doing the wrong thing by the club and the team.
Agree John,
I’m not sure there’s been a contract like it for someone who hasn’t won a comp? I could be wrong. But it is inviting media speculation far too often in my view. In addition, he has said he will go back to NZ at some point and SJ just retired so it’s not to big a stretch to suggest he might go. It’s not criticism.
There are a lot of well credentialed professionals that rate Lachlan Galvin. Wasn’t it Gus Gould who said words to the effect that Galvin could be even better than Andrew Johns ?
Think whatever you want about Gus but the man knows a thing or two about the game.
Lachlan Galvin carried that Tigers team for the last two years at the tender age of what ? 18 ??
Dylan Brown is a good footballer but he’s been in the top grade for something like 5 years and still goes missing and still can’t carry the side when Moses is off the park.
Yes, it may be the coaching that’s true but maybe he has hit his ceiling ?.
Dylan is on 900k
Lachlan is on 350k next year.
Anyway it’s all relative. We can both see a player and come away with different thoughts.
My thoughts – yes it was a travesty that we signed off on that contract but not the end of the world if Brown decides to leave.
He asked for a release from the tigers as soon as one obstacle was put in front of him, before he even made his first grade debut and has openly stated he’s not in a rush to re-sign at the club that has bowed down to his every command since he was 15 years old. Lachlan may be a good footballer but he’s softer than a jake trbojevic hit-up.
Double sting Ham.
Don’t conflate the issue here. He asked for a release due to specific reasons.
Don’t assume.
Finally someone talking sense, great comment and 100% agree
Oh well if Dyl wants to go that’s life.
Maybe Volkman can do it or maybe Papalii will become a 6.
Or maybe Bev French comes home
Tony that would be great to see Bevan come home..
Bevan would suit todays game in the nrl you would suspect mate 👍
Or maybe Dyl doesn’t go.
He may not go.
But this Email is designed to gouge the club for more money and that’s it.
The club is agitating to remove the clauses and it will cost them to do so.
I find it hilarious that the manager is saying he is shocked that the email was leaked 😂 talk about a false flag !
At the end of the day the club has to decide whether Dylan is worth an extra 100 – 200k per year or so to remove the clauses or they let him go to the highest bidder
Dylan can give as many platitudes to TCT as he wants but that’s the truth.
As for negativity, let’s remember it’s Dylan’s manager that started this !
You can’t blame the media or supporters for commenting on it !.
Shame to lose brown put good juniors coming through club and thinking volkman can do a job if injurey free ,just my opinion, but rather keep Dylan off cause ,but if he not happy ,
Don’t give the media what they want.
Exactly 60’s it was what I was getting at in my post. This shit can disrupt a brilliant preseason and the media will have a ball, especially when there is not much to talk about. If Dyllan comes out positively with a statement he can kill the shit now.
Thanks for the report Sixties. Great to hear they have been training well and thanks for the highlights.
D Brown has been well looked after by our club; club comes first whatever happens. Stuff his manager etc and the club should always be first and foremost.
If he chooses to go then good on him; and we move on. I’d bank on Ryles already getting a feeling abt this from the media around this late last year abt the club reducing these type of contracts.
My concern abt Brown has always been abt his consistent performance and this has not matched his hefty contract. Let’s sort this now so we as supporters and members can move on…I’d say we have a kid or two in Matts etc who could be just as good…time will tell.
Cheers Milo. I’m concerned about all of the negative supporter reactions. The rumour mill about poor attitude etc. I can simply say that there is not a single shred of evidence on the training track that Dyl’s attitude has been anything less than outstanding.
Sixties you are right! Just as the Fox cameras appear. The hand grenade was lobbed at all Eels fans about Dylan’s contract….article tomorrow
Pete maybe fox saw the eels looking extra sharp, a bit too good.. “F it, let’s throw a spanner into the works for these pesky eels fans” 🤣
Yeah Muz doing what they.always do. They have to drive their narratives
Reports like this always come out about us because Eels fans get riled up so easily and react (that’s what the murdoch rags want you to do). It’s also very disappointing to see so many so quickly turn on their own when nothing has happened. All of these “in the know” comments seem to come after the fact too.
24 hours ago no one was questioning Dylan’s training attitude, no one was questioning Dylan’s loyalty, they only do it when there’s an article printed for them.
It’s amazing how many turn so quickly, Ham. I’m not sure what’s more concerning – those with absolutely no idea at all what is actually happening posting stuff that is obviously fantasy land made up rubbish with no basis of fact, or those who quickly jump on the bandwagon and take it as gospel and perpetuate the rubbish!!
Mate as you know we have parochial and emotional fans and I get it.
It’s been a couple of tough yrs and 1986 has got that one yr extra.
If the club sorts this now then great! And I’m in as per the old saying by Ricky 2013! Tongue in cheek here
Why we are on the subject of supporter reactions, they have been sold a crock of shit on options and how bad they are. The media are as dumb as the people that make the negative judgements by reading their crap! This stuff is classic “Emperor’s New Clothes”
Simply options are a business mechanism that have a value and are not the “monsters” portrayed. They can be used as both insurance and assurance and there are many ways to use them. I have worked in the money markets most of my working life and they are basis of many types of securities and resultant transactions, they actually facilitate deals that may not be done otherwise.
DB’s option the first one arises round 10 this year, it’s called a player’s option. Now when he signed his contract a few years back it went to 2032 with various rollovers.
In actual fact he signed a contract that matured at the end of 2025. The subsequent pricing and detail is/would be set out in the option agreement.
He did this because his management did not want to be caught short in a rising market. If you remember at the time we were in a battle to retain him. The differentiator was always the price and what you could add to it in security terms. The punt the club makes is that his value doesn’t fall below the strike price. Something we don’t know but would be in the contract.
So essentially the option gives him a chance to be in tune with the market, rather than committing to a long-term contract at a set price. We have seen a number of them in recent times Taumalolo (excuse my spelling) Cherry Evans, Hunt and some others. How did they work out compared to the option structure?
Now we also have had long term contracts denied to RCG and Gutho in their twilight years, arguably options we did not want to engage in. I believed Parra benefited from these deals, regardless of how loved RCG and Gutho were.
So everybody that thinks the contracts are poison, just understand that poison exists in any contract and getting into a rage about them is only showing you “don’t understand, what you don’t understand”.
Just think of DB being up to sign a new contract post 2025 and the decision needs to be made by round 10 or if not he is an uncontracted player, something for insurance purposes he would not want to be. Subsequent rollovers imply as this one does that he will be loyal to Parra if he is happy here and the pricing is to market.
Well articulated Poppa. I was no fan of the options, but the current reactions are more emotional than business. Dyl has had the opportunity to leave in the past. Way back when he was coming through pathways he was secured on minimal coin that other clubs would have easily bettered. It didn’t matter to him. He wanted to make his mark, and the club had looked after him as a young bloke over from NZ that was on nobody’s radar. He’s on good coin now, and I reckon he’ll stay. But if he doesn’t I won’t be crucifying him. Based on what I’m seeing at training, he’s as switched on as I’ve ever seen and I reckon he’ll get better support around him on the field to take advantage of his half breaks.
W Penisini and Ionghi seem to be catching your eye consistently sixties, and we’ve got Moses, Lomax and the Fox more like Group 1 thoroughbreds..professionally going about their work, proven at top level. I feel exhausted already reading about Dylan Brown, attention span is a big weakness for me, what will be will be in this age of active player management, the fight for the salary cap pie, big houses, fast cars, $200 haircuts and $600 RM Williams boots.
Will looks extra sharp and focussed BDon, whilst Iongi will add a different dimension. He’s not going to offer what the King did, esp in his prime, as Iongi is just at the start of his journey, but he will offer pace.
A few take aways from this thread we should all think about:
– The club will learn from these silly clauses and will no doubt run a tighter ship moving forward
– Our club seemingly is taking power from the player and back to the club / we won’t be held hostage moving forwards
– Dylan doing this now might actually be better than it being all over the media during our first few weeks of the actual season
– It might actually be a good sign if our club is not immediately offering overs out of desperation
– Dylan may be trying to make early moves in fear of a potential full acl tear / could be nothing to do with dissatisfaction at parra
Better times ahead
All great points Muz
Excellent points Muz.
Sixties I have appreciated the efforts by yourself and Forty and the rest of the TCT crew over the Off season.
I haven’t been very active but I have been reading and listening and the team has kept me informed and entertained. Keep up the great work.
Sixties this is for you and Milo . I was having my regular coffee ☕️ week ago and one of the regulars suggests I try a custard tart at Ken’s.
Big mistake for a diabetic. I tried one and while it is not “Crème Brûlée “ standard it surely is the best garden variety custard tart I have eaten. Just in case the first sample was a one off, I have eaten another three.
Something for you to savour next time you are at The Entrance.
John I was there two weeks ago and the queue to get something was down the street at 10:45am. Thankfully they had about half a dozen people serving customers so the wait was almost non existent. I was only there for the day and it ended up being a rainy day. Got saturated walking at Shelley Beach and decided to head home rather than heading back to Ken’s for a box of take home supplies. I will return there in March. By the way, the pie I had was outstanding – chicken mornay. Will put the custard tart down on the “must try” list.
John and Sixties, what a common theme we have Parra, Kens and a good sweet!
John I’ve had one before of his Custard tarts and didn’t mind them – but the toffee profiteroles were something else mate!
We all have a fav Ken’s Pie 🥧- mine is a Chunky beef and Curry 🍛 beef.
Sixties next time I’m up there I’ll grab you one or two!
I also add that Killarney pie shop ( small
One near Cokes) does a superb custard tarts and decent pie too – not as good as Ken’s pie 🥧 but the custard tarts are v v good!
Have to be honest about the situation. Its not like his player agent is going rogue. Brown is sniffing about seeing what’s out there.
He is not negotiating from a place of strength as every club knows about his ACL.
Then Orr complains that his email leaked and is actually the victim here.
They are playing us for fools. If he wants to go then let some other club take the risk on his ACL.
Tell me how I’m wrong about this scenario.
Woody, I think we need to take a breath. Dyl has been a Parra boy since he arrived. He’s said he loves the club multiple times. It’s his manager doing manager things, though complaining about a leaked email is trying to play us for fools. Managers use the media when it’s contract time. This is an example of the same thing but trying to say it’s none of his doing. Poor form there.
As for the potential of him leaving, the biggest risk was how tight he was with BA but Brad is in the UK.
The other thing is, this training report has suddenly become all about the Dylan stuff. I get why, but we will address it in our podcast that we’re recording today.
Hey Sixties, I’m relatively new to these training reports – pretty much only since the start of this preseason. I’m loving them.
Anyway, I have a question, and you’ll be stoked to know it has no relation to the Dylan Brown situation:
Your training reports this preseason are getting me excited, and they seem incredibly positive every time that I read them. Now my question is, are all of your preseason reports like this every year, even when we have shocking seasons? Or does this season feel different?
Cheers
Thanks for joining us here Adrian and for taking the time to reply. There are always positives in preseasons – I suspect for all clubs. Everyone is fresh, new starts, new hopes etc. Whilst I always look for that positive in my reports, I try to be factual in the content – the highlights and stand out performers are doing exactly what I’ve reported.
All that said, I’m actually getting extra excited for this year. The new faces and pathways inclusions are adding a great vibe, whilst the incumbents are fitter than I’ve ever seen and really switched on. And the recruits like Foxx, Lomax, Williams, Iongi, Kautoga are of a caliber we haven’t recruited for a while, with blokes like Papalii and Samrani being high value players of promise – with all delivering on the training track
It’s interesting the lack of concern for brown whether he stays or goes , the one thing that Dylan has against him is his acl injury which is being managed, as someone in the medical community it will tear / rupture at some point and the fact he has a step makes it inevitable , similar to Munster who after both hip arthroscopy surgery will never step the way he does pre surgery
My New Year’s resolution is to pay less attention to the media and supporter comments (except TCT of course).
League journalists are generally nothing more than glorified gossip columnists. They rank as low as “royal watchers” in how little they contribute. Of course the NRL outrage machine needs to be fed and nothing as cheap and lazy that stoking the anxieties of Eels’ supporters.
If Dylan wants to stay or go it is up to him and in the end it is something we have no control or influence so I’m not gonna worry. For now he is still an Eel and hoping for a cracking, injury free 25 season.
You’re right Shaun, it is feeding anxieties
Anyone See Hayne is apparently making a return for Wenty in Ron Massey cup?
Lol. Imagine if he got fit and eventually made our cup squad like Jennings did at Roosters? I won’t entertain the idea of a first grade return tho.. haha.
I wouldn’t entertain this either Muz abt Hayne; what a wasted talent…could have been one of the v good ones.
Sixties, how is Sam Tuivaiti going with an NRL pre-season? Is he a chance of getting a start in NSW Cup or will he start in Flegg to work his way up as he is still only 19? If he can kick on it will be a great addition to this squad.
I’d like to think he’ll start in NSW Cup as he has progressed well