You know it’s getting close to the season when I cease to report on any of the conditioning component of the pre-season training session. Blue vs Gold football action was the dominant feature as the Eels kicked off the new…
Eels Pre-Season Training – January 31, 2020: Fire Up!
Fire up! I’m not sure whether that instruction was given this morning, but you could be forgiven for thinking that it was. It was no place for orange shirts out there in what a highly competitive, heavy hitting, opposed session.…
Rookie Watch – Sam Hughes
In the first instalment of the 2020 Rookie Watch series we took a look at one of the most promising front-row prospects for the Parramatta Eels in David Hollis. It is only fitting that his running mate in the engine…
Eels Pre-Season Training – January 18 & 20, 2020: You Want Footy, You Got It!
Is too much footy ever enough? No doubt all teams are warming into the season with an increase in opposed work. For a regular at Eels training like myself, it’s almost as good as being at the footy. And the…
Eels Pre-Season Training – January 17, 2020: Precipitation And Exhortations
There was probably a time, long ago in most people’s lives, when sport wasn’t called off because of a little rain. If you’re like me, playing footy on a drenched track as a kid was one of life’s great joys.…
Rookie Watch – David Hollis
Dylan Brown, Reed Mahoney, Maika Sivo, Marata Niukore, Oregon Kaufusi, Jaeman Salmon, Ray Stone and Ethan Parry. As Larry David would say, the list of rookies blooded by the Eels in recent times is pretty, pretty, pretty good. So good…
The Spotlight – The 2020 Premiership Window
In the ten years since 2010, the NRL Premiership has produced seven different title holders. The powers that be will tell you that this is evidence of the salary cap. Successful teams produce higher profile/salary players, which makes retaining stars…
Eels Pre-Season Training – January 10, 2020: The Prince, The King And The Immortal
How would it be possible to top what was on show in Wednesday’s opposed session? The contact had been just below NRL match intensity, so there were undoubtedly aches, pains and sore limbs recovering on Thursday. More of the same would…
Eels Pre-Season Training – January 8, 2020: Collision Course
Fellow Eels supporters, Are you ready to move past the cricket season? Does the lack of collision sport over summer leave you hanging for the NRL Premiership to kick off? If, like me, you’ve answered yes to both questions, then…
Eels Pre-Season Training – January 6, 2020: Welcome To The New Year
After a two week sabbatical for the Eels squad and staff, today marked Day One for the second half of this most important pre-season. Judging from the two hours plus on the field this morning, there was no easing into…