Happy New Year and welcome to the first issue of Bumpers Up for 2026. Now that we’ve moved into January the countdown truly begins for the upcoming season. At this time last year, we were realistically optimistic. It was a…
Eels 2026 Pre-Season Training – December 20, 2025: Ryles Fires Up
What happens in a session when the squad don’t deliver what the coaches want? Let’s just say they don’t gloss over it. I’ve written in the past that mistakes aren’t a problem in a session. It was the same for…
Harold Matthews And SG Ball Cup Trials – December 20, 2025: Eels vs Sharks
Last week saw both the Lisa Fiaola and Tarsha Gale Cup squads in action against the Cronulla Sharks. Fast forward to today and it is more of the same as the Harold Matthews and SG Ball Cup teams face off…
The Inevitable Eels Team List Post – Round One Team Prediction
What team list will Eels supporters be reading come round one in 2026? Pay no attention to mainstream media speculation. At least one journo recently read a typo on the NRL website as gospel and had the Eels extending Haze…
Eels 2026 Pre-Season Training – December 18, 2025: Russell, Samrani, Williams
“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…
Eels 2026 Pre-Season Training – December 16, 2025: Get That Footy Into Ya!
“Hey Throw, you’ll enjoy today, plenty of footy.” With that greeting I knew the session was going to offer plenty. After warm ups there was some tackling of bump pads and also defensive footwork drills, but from there on it…
Eels 2026 Pre-Season Training – December 15, 2025: The Nines Shine As Pezet Also Stars
It’s hard to believe, but we’ve now entered the last week of training before the Christmas break. The good news is that Eels remain undefeated at the top of the ladder. (Yeah, we share that honour with 16 other teams…
Eels 2026 Pre-Season Training – December 13, 2025: Special Eels Club Event Plus Opposed Session
By now, many of you will have seen the Eels media coverage of their male pathways club training on Saturday. Every grade from Harold Matthews to NRL trained together in a session that covered attack and defence drills, followed by…
Lisa Fiaola And Tarsha Gale Cup Trials – December 13, 2025: Eels vs Sharks
It’s getting to the pointy end of the Junior Rep Preseason, and that means the commencement of trials. Over the course of the summer, three trials are held for each of the Rep grades, one before Christmas and two in…
Eels 2026 Pre-Season Training – December 11, 2025: Doorey Makes A Statement And Kickers Receive Special Mentoring
Finally! This is the best part of any preseason – the start of 13 on 13 opposed We were told at the beginning of the week that with everyone back on deck that the squad might just dip their toe…