It was back to business at Kellyville after the week long camp at Lennox Head. We are now counting the number of sleeps until the first of the official trial games, and the season proper is barely a month away, so that business I referred to is getting serious.
The Wednesday session was part of a huge day for the Eels, with James Hardie giving away 1000 footy boots to kids, as well as the Motiv8sports event at the Centre of Excellence. What a way for the youngsters to put the exclamation mark on their school holidays.
From a preseason perspective we also learned that the Tour De Parra shirt winners from Lennox Head were as follows:
Matt Doorey – Yellow
Ryda Talagi – White
Apa Twidle – Green
Charlie Guymer – Spots
The selections by the coaches align with the observations from our Lennox Head correspondent, Lenno Eel, who reported that young stars were impressing during the camp. Ryda and Apa have taken great strides this summer, whilst Charlie constantly reminds the coaches of how he is maturing as a player.
By my reckoning, this was Matt Doorey’s third yellow shirt of the preseason. The powerful forward is pushing strongly for selection in what shapes as a major battle for the pack and interchange.
The Thursday session was all about the footy, and there was little doubt about the coaches’ plans when the players emerged from the sheds in home (NRL) and away (NSW Cup) jerseys.
Across the morning, the players moved through opposed work practising specific plays, to opposed featuring kick transitions, and finally red zone opposed with extended attack and defence.
A flying Foxx? (Image courtesy Eels media)
The contact levelled up throughout the session, starting from grab type defence before culminating in almost NRL level tackling.
It should be noted that a number of NRL players were rested from this session. There has been an assortment of injury rumours floating around over summer, the most recent being Bailey Simonsson this week.
In essence, every preseason will have numerous players sitting out sessions or spending time in rehab groups. Most of the time it’s about loading or taking care of some sort of minor niggle – the type that someone might play through during the season, but there’s no need to push them during the preseason. The goal is to have everyone ready to go for round one.
Whilst I don’t like to get involved with discussing injuries, I’m not aware of any major concerns for round one.
NRL defend their line
My highlights of the morning were:
* Lincoln Fletcher and Joash Papalii in the halves for NRL
* Sean Russell at centre cutting through the defence on a nice line to score
* Charlie Guymer’s impressive ball play
* Gideon Kautoga constantly splitting the defence
* Iongi chiming in to the backline to create space for Will Penisini and Josh Addo-Carr
* Sam Tuivaiti surging into open spaces through the ruck
* Dylan Walker putting Junior Paulo through a hole via his deceptive ball play
* A 40/20 touch finder from Fletcher
* Fletcher stepping to beat the defence before finding Doorey in support for a try
* A massive Will Latu hit on Matt Doorey
* Saxon Pryke bending the line with a big charge through the middle
* J’maine Hopgood breaking tackles in a gallop to the posts
* Fletcher and Papalii combining to send Kautoga through a hole. The timing of the pass from Joash was superb and Gideon ran a sublime line to get through what was a narrow hole.
* Tallyn Da Silva sprinting out of dummy half before linking with Isaiah Iongi for the try.
* Jake Tago scoring off a grubber kick into the in-goal
* Gideon Kautoga offload in contact to Sean Russell before Jordan Samrani took the final pass to score
* Will Penisini bringing the muscle to his defensive work
Grandstand ceremony done – image courtesy Eels media
On another note, the official ceremony to name the Kellyville Grandstand was conducted whilst the squad trained. Named in honour of a man who has made a lifetime contribution to the Parramatta Junior Rugby League, Jack Iori, those in attendance included Eels legends Steve Edge, Peter Wynn, Steve Ella, John Muggleton and Denis Fitzgerald.
Definitely Parra Proud.
There’ll be no training session on Friday, but the Eels have a busy day ahead with the fan day and season launch at CommBank Stadium.
Eels forever!
Sixties
Question – does anyone know? How old is Ryda Taligai?
He is turning 19 this year
Lads has fletcher overtaken Lorenzo? I see him getting plenty of wraps and is obviously still doing pre season?
I may have missed Lorenzo training or why he’s not??
Keep up the good work!
Yep. Fletcher is in front of Lorenzo.
Sgball gonna be scary this year, not sure who the 9 is but Fletcher, bamblett and risati will be a good watch and koina and talagi leading the pack will be scary, still missing a bunch of other people there, hopefully they go well this year.
Jirah-Trey Stewart will play 9. Was HM 9 last year.
Any update on W Penisini contract after he said he is staying till 2028?
I’m pretty sure he extended last year.
Doorey, Tuivaiti, Morreti, Guymer, Kautoga
All gun young forwards that we are truly blessed to have at our club, very rarely do you have so many good forwards who are really young and showing good talent in first grade
I think they will all prove to be key players for the eels and all of them possibly have 5 years or more of first grade up their sleeves
Hope we can keep them all 🤞
Excited to see our young eels have a great season in 26’ 💪
Shout out to Joash, Iongi, Ryley smith, Da Silva too
We have possibly the best “young” spine combinations building in the entire NRL
Try to think of a better young list of NRL spine members who’s better balanced than that
Truly elite young forwards and spine players developing nicely at parramatta
I’ll stand by my initial judgement that eels would just miss top 8 in 25’ (or finish between 8-12th) .. I was correct
My prediction is the same vision I had before 25’ season, in 2026 we likely finish in the top 6, then reach top 4 status in finals by 2027
Before people reach for comments to say “top 4 in 26” keep in mind, it’s better to underestimate than to overestimate
What I like about what Ryles is building in regards to our roster is it’s a very long term approach, LOTS of young players
So we won’t just have a lucky year like 22’ GF and then it all goes to shit after players get old or leave us the next season
We have genuine depth and age on our side on this roster, this roster & culture you can see building is going to build us into a consistency based team
Try to point out any players, or even games for that matter, where they haven’t put 100% in for Ryles in 2025
The standards been set: the only guys I can think of who didnt turn up at 100% were sent packing or got stuck in NSW cup
The old culture of quitting when times get tough, or only “turning up” occasionally has been banished – for these reasons I’m personally confident the eels will finish top 6 in 2026 📈
I think we have a largely “good problem” for 2026 with a lot of forwards that we could call up to first grade and slot right in. But there’s a concern lingering in the back of my mind that we can’t keep them all in the medium term and may never actually get the consistent best of them. All the while not having any dominant rep level forwards. So I wonder if we have a balance issue. – in some respects it’d be nice for the first grade team to just pick itself and have a bigger gap down to the Cup players. Just food for thought – and I hope I’m wrong.
On the flipside, other than Kelly/Russell/Simonsson, the backs don’t really have this issue.
Is there a chance Doorey starts? He does seem to have had a bit of a whale of a preseason.
Doorey has been one of the stars of the preseason. Three yellow shirts so far
Funny how a contract season brings the best out of players…
60’s Luca and Doorey when on Field in 2025 looked amazing at times
Doorey sounds like he’s going even better this ore season
Hopefully both men fit & healthy for round 1 🥊
Mick, we may not be able to keep all of them, normal.
What’s nice:
Parra have a very nice pipeline built up of younger age forwards now in early years of nrl, we will eventually lose some…
There’s also some good ones in the lower grades who will get nrl opportunities inside following 2-3 seasons.
Matt Doorey is a good player but too injury prone to be a middle on large money, he hasn’t demonstrated yet he can be a starting middle on a regular basis, and avoid injuries.
My feeling is eels will eventually let him go if his injury’s keep happening, because it’s not worth upgrading a middle who misses a lot of games.
Sam Tuivaiti might be a future state of origin player – Im more concerned Jason Ryles works his magic so we can retain him long term.
We have a nice pipeline of forwards and i think this will help guys like Matt Doorey & Moretti due to the competition for sports in the starting 17.
I don’t expect we’ll be able to keep them all long term. I think Matt Doorey was close to signing elsewhere this past summer but opted to extend for a further year. I sense he’s looking to boost his stocks for a big payday and a starting spot somewhere, fair enough. I also have my doubts on Charlie Guymer staying long term, I just have the feeling he’ll look for a starting spot at some point. Still, if we keep producing them, we’ll manage.
I’ve noticed in people’s team list for round one this year that not once have I seen Doory’s name included. I thought he ran with great ferocity last season and great lines. He was up there with Russell’s determination level. By all reports he is having a fantastic offseason, so it’s interesting that nobody is including him in their team list.
The people that haven’t included him in their discussions either haven’t been to preseason training or haven’t read my reports. Three yellow shirts so far. I can’t guarantee his selection but I guarantee his name features in the coaches’ discussions.
Thanks Sixties,
Another good update on training and how players are progressing. The nerves are already starting to kick in for me. I’ll be a blithering mess when season actually starts!
A few players I’m interested in for this year:
Ryley Smith – what sort of improvements will we see this year? It has been mentioned he has added some weight, hopefully that will help his defensive hits. How much harder will it be now opposition teams have had a year to work him out and how does he counter that?
Apa – will he get any firsts games this year?
Kautoga – looks fully recovered from the injury resultant of a tackle deemed ok by referee, touchies and video ref on the day (how I still don’t know. My wife tells me I hold on to these things too long). He really improved in skill and confidence throughout 2025. Training reports are good and I’m really looking forward to seeing him play this year (and after I criticised him early in 2025)
TDS – really looking forward to his combination with Ryley and how Ryles uses them together. Same as last year or a little different?
I think the first four rounds will give us a good idea of how we are going to play and where we are at compared to the rest. So looking forward to it!
Ryley – he will enter this season with confidence and a greater understanding of his team mates and his role. Future leader. Apa has set himself for a debut at some stage. Kautoga – potential superstar. TDS, will be a strike weapon.
Apa to debut? He’s got elite ability. My question – in which position do we got him in?
Mr Sixties, I wonder how JR will balance these two very good hookers. Ryley reminds me a bit of Ray Price in the sense he gives 110 percennt and can play 80 minutes. While TDS has a totally different style. I foresee Ryley covering lock when TDS comes on. They are both exciting players but I think Ryley would be the fans favorite.
Whatever the outcome it looks good for the Eels
I’m with you re Kautoga, I think he will be our next ‘elite’ forward. I’ve noticed a majority have picked Williams and Kautoga as our starting edges, my concern is that they are both left edge. Watching Kautoga closely, he is suited on the left, I don’t think the right will suit him as much. Can Williams play on the right, or does JR revert to the Kelma/Kautoga edges with Williams either starting up front, or off the bench. I know there are a few who believe it doesn’t matter what edge they play, it does.
I think our forwards will be extremely hard to handle they are all so suited to the modern game with how fast it is. It’s actually wild how we’ve turned a slow ageing pack into a very fast and mobile pack in one year.
Ryley smith and tallyn rotation could be absolutely deadly if the forwards lay a platform. I still think there’s some concern in the outside backs with Will p, Simmonson and Kelly throwing out relatively mixed form thru out their whole career. If these 3 can strike there best footy consistently and remain healthy I think we’ll have enough to make the 8.
I’d love for us to have a go at game changing outside back for 27 I really think it could top us over the edge
As usual , great reports from the best in the business . Thanks sixties .
From my take , we are going to play fast , play through and every player in the starting pack must have the ability to ball play or play out the back. This allows Junior to become super dangerous coming off JDB and Walker . We all know how good his ball playing is but the more threats the better.
The way he uses Smith and tallyn is going to be very crucial. I see Tallyn coming in and doing what Brandon smith did originally in Melbourne . Destroyed the ruck with running and taking markers and A out of the play Iongi will have a field day following the middle through .
My only concern is will Penesini defence. Capable of some poor reads particularly the running 5/8 and quick fullbacks . However , his power running game is needed and approaching 100 games and still a young man is impressive .
The best thing I am seeing is we are now forming our own DNA under JR . Almost polar opposite how BA had us playing and how JR wants us playing . This fast transition between attack and defence and using the ball early to get out of the red zone relies on fitness , ball handling and completion rates .
Really excited for this season . To think Ryda , Lincoln Fletcher were sitting in the losing sg ball grand final rooms only in May and now both are completing their first NRL preseason and excelling by all reports.
As ppl have noted here our forwards depth now is very good built up of mobile fast forwards.
My controversial opinion:
The eels now have the most depth stacked “overall” forward pack in the NRL.
Some have a better back rower, or a better prop or two.
The eels actually have an extremely balanced forward pack with strike weapons all over the shop.
If guys like Matt Doorey, Kelma, Guymer, Doorey, Tuivaiti miss games due to selection head aches.
That shows you that the eels have now one of the best depth stacked, balanced, mobile forward rotations on the NRL roster.
For this reason alone I feel like the eels sit very strongly compared to a lot of other clubs. MANY clubs (even good ones).. often only have 1 gun prop or 1 gun backrower in the 17.
Williams, Kautoga, Kelma, Walker, may not even be regular starters in their preferred positions.
Yet they are truly game breaking players. Just shows you how much our forward depth has improved since 2014. Very good forward depth at parra. No “stars” eg Tino. But we instead have a very balanced, depth based team in this regard. This positions us for better consistency and coverage for injuries, etc.
since 2024*
I know it’s pre-season but let’s be realistic – dolphins, roosters, broncos, raiders, dogs (at least) all have better depth in their pack. Doorey, moretti etc are average at best and wouldn’t feature in the packs of those teams – they would be nsw cup. Even souths have a sneaky good forward pack with return of cam Murray and addition of David Fifita to help keon, Tallis Duncan etc.
Moretti and doorey may be at eels for one more year but in my opinion should not stay much longer beyond that as they shouldn’t block Tuivaiti, will Latu, ryda etc coming through. They are stops gaps for the better younger guys to build up their confidence and experience in lower grades
Ron, i disagree.
Souths were absolutely garbage the moment Cam Murray isn’t there.
Moretti and Doorey are on low money too.
You are comparing players on close to a million to players we’ve stacked our roster with, who on small contracts, and young / low mileage, which means 90% change far more progression is still ahead of them.
It’s also silly to let go of them like you’re
mentioned, to make room for green Jnrs:
Middle forwards peak / prime is at age 26-28 on average – Matt and Luca are BOTH only 25 years old.
To develop and then move on your most improved forwards who are statistically only 1-2 away from their prime as a middle is not going to help us win the premiership.
Those 20 odd year old forwards coming up may not be ready for starting spots on a weekly basis for another 3-4 seasons.
The only player out of those really young forwards who’s “ready” is Sam Tuivaiti – and Jason Ryles from what I’ve heard is going to make sure he stays at the club.
This is a modern day forward pack, loads of good ages youth, mobile, versatile, very balanced. I believe by mid year 2026 the eels will be better than the Roosters this season, once our new combinations settle in. Roosters big bruiser forward pack has not provided them with success for other 5 years. Teams who win the comp now have loads of speed and mobility throughout the entire 17.
How good is our forward depth? We’ll soon enough know; I’m very hopeful. Pointless to mention someone like Ryda – information the I’ve been given in these exchanges is that he’s eighteen, six years away from beginning to move into his peak years. He is clearly a formidable talent to be valued and developed, but by the time he’s a dominant NRL force several of our current cote talent will have moved on.
I know that others disagree but I would like to see Williams get a run at 13; start with the two Ks in the second row, Junior and JDB the props, Smith, Da Silva, Hopgood, and Big T to round it out. That’s leaving out several very promising players.
Noel in all fairness we probably need one more prop who’s a leader like Paulo.
We missed that on Keon.. the rest of our forward options are looking pretty decent in regards to depth.
As I’ve stated, we don’t have a star name forward pack. But if you remember years gone by, the eels were lost the moment Jnr Paulo or RCG went off for a rest at times.
We had two NSW rep middles back then – I would argue our starting pack & rotation now is actually less reliant on one or two individuals.
I personally like our forwards more now than back then, we were always one of two injuries away from either our middle collapsing or our edge / back row becoming diabolical at times.
We now have at least 3 really strong back row options. About 4 strong middle options. Not your Tinos or Haas style “strong.”
But all of our middle forwards now can play big minutes and are very versatile, and our salary cap isn’t all relying solely on one or two individuals.
My personal concern regarding our forward pack is what happens if Jnr paulo gets any long term injury’s.
For me Paulo was hugely important for us. I would argue that we don’t have anybody who can play like he plays / we cannot replace his quality.
Thats my main forward I believe we cannot afford to be off field. The rest of the players seem to be able to do a job and cover each others position when required. Maybe Add Walker into that convo? But I’ll leave that topic for another day.
Muz, Broncs need Haas and Carrigan on the park, as soon as one of them is missing, to me, they just don’t look the same. Other than some aspects of Haas’ game I reckon we stack up pretty well on a comparison basis against the Premiers’ engine room. Reece Walsh & co tip the scales but it is only lack of real depth in our backs that raise doubts…but here’s a possible booster – say after 5 or 6 games our spine could well be getting great reviews, although the injury risk is the unknown.
Bdon we have a really balanced roster
And you are right if haas & carigan weren’t playing broncs would be toast
Their backline is great – but take our their go forward / good field position and they truly panic and play with poor discipline
We beat them towards the end of last year, with a bunch of rookies & no “star” forwards
And broncos didn’t have a stinker either, we genuinely just played well tactically, and our fit mobile forward pack was able to match them fitness wise
Broncos were ultra fit last year too – you saw them win the comp by often coming from behind in important games
I’m bullish on the eels forwards pack improving in 2026 as a hand full of our players improve with age + experience