Welcome to PARRAdise, 2027 edition.

As Eels fans, it’s second nature to say, “There’s always next season.”

Well, even though the World Cup is still in action, next season has already begun. And it was an interesting start.

Though it’s based on the ridiculously small sample size of one field session, I’m tempted to go out on a limb and suggest that there will be high expectations of the group during this preseason.

The messaging to the players this morning was crystal clear – and blunt. Certain standards must be met. And it was reinforced throughout the session.

So who was present?

Staff

Time to welcome new defence coach Mark Russell.

I was introduced to the former Storm assistant and he advised me that being back in Sydney is actually a homecoming and places him closer to family.

On a related note, the recent Storm pathways signings were actually done before Russell linked with the club, so he wasn’t responsible for poaching those youngsters.

The other assistant coaches, Nathan Brown and Scott Wisemantel were present, maintaining the coaching continuity alongside Jason Ryles. As the High Performance Manager, Matt Jay had a major role in today’s training. Newly elevated coaches, Mitch Lewis (Flegg) and Jordan Rankin (NSW Cup), were also involved.

Players

There were 25 in the main squad, plus a small rehab group undergoing their respective programs. It is likely that there will be errors in the list below, especially with at least one omission. I was doing my best to identify nearly 30 players and I know I’ve missed a few.

NRL Experienced: Ryley Smith, Bailey Simonsson, Sam Tuivaiti, J’maine Hopgood, Charlie Guymer, Saxon Pryke, Matt Doorey, Ryda Talagi, Jezaiah Funa, Araz Nanva

J’maine & Araz (image Eels media)

Yet to debut/pathways: Tyrese Lokeni, Talen Risati, Lincoln Fletcher, Cam Bamblett, Chris Petrus, Lorenzo Talataina, Jackson Koina, Steve Nunn,  Cyrus Bloomfield, Michael Nauer, Max Popo, Samuel Polley, Hayden Bell, Jack Visconti.

Rehab Group: Will Latu, Will Penisini, Isaiah Iongi

Mitch Moses was looking on during the early part of the session.

At this stage I have no details as to whether some of the younger pathways players will be doing a full or part pre-season. If they are doing a limited preseason they usually finish by Christmas. If they are part time preseason, they might do limited days. The World Cup helps to create more opportunities for players to be exposed to NRL level training.

It should be noted that the return dates for players differs according to how many NRL preseasons they’ve had. The more experienced get a longer break. I don’t expect to see the RLWC players before Christmas.

Session Structure:

After the warm ups, the squad completed a Broncos test. The stand out performers were Lincoln Fletcher who finished about a metre in front of the fast finishing Talen Risati, with Ryley Smith just behind them.

Ready for the Broncos run

From there it was time for ruck/marker drills. The players worked on transitioning from being in the tackle to taking up their positions at marker.

Some fundamental passing and catching skills followed, with very specific techniques for short quarters passing vs deeper passing to supports.

Passing games then brought out the competitive side of the players and if Jackson Koina’s group wasn’t the winner, then the young forward deserves points for selling the win to Scott Wisemantel.

Jackson Koina (image Eels media)

From this point the emphasis became executing under fatigue as the skills work was punctuated by conditioning runs.

That messaging about standards would have been ringing in the players ears as they alternated between drills and running. Shout out to Charlie Guymer and J’maine Hopgood who both look to have returned in great shape.

The session wrapped with time on the tackle bags and a short period of extras.

Day one. Done!

Eels forever!

Sixties

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