Welcome to Eels content that is not about a former Eels winger!
I’m very happy to return to the footy itself as we get back to the business end of the pre-season. In fact, you know that the preseason has hit that business end when NRL referees arrive to control the scrimmages.
And so it was for the Eels in their Tuesday field session at Kellyville with Belinda Sharpe officiating the periods of match condition scrimmages.
NRL referees are available to all clubs throughout the season. Controlling scrimmages is great preparation for them, and you often see them in conversation with coaching staff during and after sessions.
The scrimmages weren’t the only football component today, as opposed work without NRL ref supervision filled the spaces before, between and after the scrimmages. That work mostly focussed on transitioning from kicks but it also including red zone attack and defence.
Belinda Sharpe speaks with Eels assistant coach Scott Wisemantel
I should mention that there were sessions on Saturday and Monday. Saturday was an arm wrestle day with a strong footy content but I chose not to take notes.
Monday was a lighter session and I decided not to attend.
Players entered the training field in their respective home and away playing kits, so the Tour De Parra training shirts remained a secret for the time being. A little digging later revealed that the following players were the current recipients:
Sean Russell – Yellow
Isaiah Iongi – Green
Jack De Belin – White
Jake Tago – Spots
Sean Russell (image credit Eels media)
The vibe was terrific to start the session, kicking off with passing games that trigger the competitive nature of the players, not to mention the fun and raucous celebrations that go with being part of the winning group.
It wasn’t long before the footy kicked in, with the aforementioned rotations between full team opposed drills and game condition scrimmages.
Cup team defend their line
My highlights across the morning were:
* Tyrese Lokeni breaking the NRL defence line
* Joash Papalii, playing for NRL, threatening and opening up the defence
* Terrific defensive hustle from Lorenzo Talataina for the Cup side to shut down a dangerous NRL shift during the scrimmage
* Jezaiah Funa-Iuta going desperately close to grounding a cleverly weighted Lorenzo Talataina grubber to the in goal.
* A mixture of ball-play and physical hit ups from JDB
* Lincoln Fletcher wrapping to the opposite side off the field to link on the outside of Lorenzo Talataina
* Early kick from Jonah Pezet after a turnover, with Foxx chasing and scoring. For those misled by claims elsewhere about the lack of improvised or unstructured footy under Ryles, let me assure you that such moments of playing what they see are not uncommon.
* Quick hands in a red zone left side shift for a try to the Foxx, with special mention to Sean Russell for his precision pass under pressure.
* More red zone attack, this time on the right with Will Penisini running a powerful line to cross over the stripe.
* Intercepts from Will and Foxx to shut down Cup attack
* Perfectly weighted kick to the in-goal by Apa Twidle for Moey Alameddine to chase hard and touch done spectacularly
What does training mean to this squad? Look at Junior as the team huddle ends the session
The session concluded with half of the squad hitting the exercise bikes and gym and the other half wrapping up their work by hitting the tackle bags and adding some conditioning runs.
Bring on Thursday.
Eels forever!
Sixties
How nice is it to read abt footy 🏉 and the teams session.
Sixties, I wonder if Scott Wisemantel was offering any advice to Belinda abt fairness in penalties and six against…? Tongue in cheek for first match against Melbourne.
Yes, particularly the double hit, when 2 quick 6 Agains or Penalty/6 Again occur and one team energises and the other tanks. You can’t see any infringement for the 6 Agains, both teams are likely on the edge of fatigue and are committing minor or technical breaches and one cops a game changing and pedantic call. The major problem is you see minor and technical breaches throughout the game but are either missed or let go because of low or no advantage applies. Holding down is a breach that attracts high inconsistency. 6 Agains should apply to clear and blatant infringement, and should be included somehow in video replays.
BDon, checkout the conclusion of our junior rep podcast as AJ explains what the refs communicate to the players with their calls.
Hey Milo. Our junior reps preview podcast will be released today. It contains a chat with Steve Georgallis in addition to a season preview, match preview and run down on ref six again calls with AJ. from League Scene.
Hey mate , great read and thank you for your efforts each week.
Is Moses training or is he injured , noticed he hasn’t been getting much mention . Also interested to know who our starting back rowers where for the nrl team
Mo there’s rumours I’ve seen comments on Social media suggesting it and also ppl asking the same question
Hopefully it’s rumours only
We are unfortunately toast in regards to top 4 potential if he even misses 5-8 games imo
Muz – see my replies above.
Hey Mo. I will have more details on Moses as he and Pezet combined in Thursday’s session. I will be combining the Thursday and Friday sessions into one report. Moses had been doing a bit of rehab in previous weeks, nothing that concerned as I’m used to players moving in and out of rehab during the preseason. You might remember the big “news” about Simonsson injuring himself and getting around in a moonboot. He was in the boot for about a week and has been in opposed work this week.
It could be just loading and strengthening a particular part of a players body as Moses missed a chunk out of last year.. Moses doesn’t need to be in every opposed session
Hi Guys. Just letting you all know the 2026 POWER RANKINGS will be released soon. On the Eels front row forums. High quality content.
Any news on Matto, apparently had a head knock?