“The Cumberland Throw! Where were ya? You missed the start of the session!”

With those words from Nathan Brown still ringing in my ears, the follow up inquisition from Scott Wisemantel had me concerned that I’d be spinning the punishment wheel and spending the Christmas holidays with blonde hair!

Perhaps that fate awaits in the next session.

So yes, myself and others missed the start of the Thursday session which kicked off about an hour earlier than usual. I suspect that a golf event for the players in the arvo may have been the reason,

Still, I did manage to catch about half of their work, and the 13 on 13 opposed was in full swing as I took my place on the balcony to compile the following notes:

* Sean Russell returned to left centre to partner the Foxx, and that side of the field continued to thrive outside Pezet

* Jordan Samrani played on the right wing partnering Will Penisini

* Jack Williams was rotating in and out on the right edge

* Mitch Moses demonstrated his speed off the mark with a show and go that had him slicing between defenders for a line break

* Pezet and Russell combined superbly to release the Foxx down his wing

* Likewise, Kautoga looks dangerous with every touch running off Pezet

* Ronnie Volkman went close to spearing through the NRL defence on right, but put the ball down in contact as Kelma loomed in support. Kelma had just rotated into the Cup team and was visibly disappointed that the line break went begging.

The two teams gather for a talk during a break in opposed

During that period of 13 on 13 opposed, the NRL defence looked very strong against some good questions being asked. The tackles weren’t full throttle match day level (on occasion they were), but in these types of drills, it’s about positioning and reading the play to ensure that spaces are covered.

Following the 13 on 13, the two teams squared off again to practise their kick chase and defence in yardage. This was followed by a period of continuous four tackle football to practise more kick chase and yardage defence.

The final full team opposed involved repeated sets of attack/defence in the red zone, with the NRL getting the first opportunity for prolonged attack. These are my notes from that drill:

* Great injection into the line and then superb hands by Iongi in consecutive sets to set up tries out wide on both wings

* Tremendous work by Araz to prevent Will grounding the ball in goal after he had regathered a grubber kick

* Lincoln Fletcher on a left side sweep that appeared to break down, remained calm then finally found the pass for Ronald Volkman for the try

* An Iongi charge down that saw him chase and gather the ball. He would have scored but the whistle was blown to reset the Cup team for their next attack.

* Mitch Moses with a big tackle to force an error from Will Latu

Eight vs eight and passing drills

I need to repeat my observation that the NSW Cup team continue to provide excellent opposition in the full team opposed drills. And why wouldn’t they? At any time they will have either Ryley Smith or Tallyn Da Silva at dummy half, plus the NRL forwards such as Doorey, Walker, Williams, Tuilagi, Moretti, or Tuivaiti will be rotating in rather than taking a rest, whilst Papalii will swap with Twidle.

Quality opposed work is important, not just in the preseason, but also at training across the season proper.

Overall, in what I watched today, I thought that the NRL side were defensively strong against good questions asked by the NSW Cup team. There was a bit of dropped ball, though probably around the percentage that the coaches don’t mind.

The morning ended with a bit of eight on eight opposed, and bypassing with basic shapes. A number of players spent this time on bikes on the sideline.

Jason Ryles puts up the left foot bomb in extras

Extras featured catching skills for some outside backs, with Wisey kicking the spiral bombs and JR hoisting his left foot specials. At the same time Moses and Fletcher were taking some angled shots at goal.

Meanwhile the left edge worked through their defence line footwork, and a group of forwards practised taking passes as they hit into bump pads.

One session left before the Christmas break.

Eels forever!

Sixties

If you liked this article, you might consider supporting The Cumberland Throw.