Holidays already? With only three weeks of the preseason behind us, the festive break brings a fortnight hiatus to Parra’s 2021 preparations. But if anyone thinks that the players put their feet up over this period they would be very…
Eels Pre-Season Training- December 15 & 16, 2020: Papa Pushes His Claims
How do you get great energy in a session? In my observations, over many years, you put the footy in players’ hands and let them loose. Over the last two days, in addition to the essential conditioning component, there’s been…
Eels Pre-Season Training – December 14, 2020: Moses Leads The Way
Mitch Moses take a bow. On his first official day at Eels preseason training, the Eels half set the leadership standards required of a senior player. In total, eight more players joined the Eels squad this morning. Moses, Waqa…
Bumpers Up – New Rules, Eels Tributes And Life After Footy
Whenever I hear or read about committees being created, I cringe. It’s not that I oppose change, it’s just that I am wary of committees making significant recommendations based on the opinions of a select few. And when you have…
Eels Pre-Season Training – December 10 & 11, 2020: Look Out Gutho!
We’re at the end of week two, the time to settle in before the “veterans” return is over, so why not take it up a notch? That seemed to be the attitude of the players, and they probably exceeded…
Eels Pre-Season Training – December 9, 2020: Cartwright’s Bonanza As Dunster Shines
What’s your definition of pre-season Parradise? If you answered, “two hours on the training track pushing new levels of fatigue”, then today would have been just the ticket. If that doesn’t appeal, then it’s a good thing you’re not part…
Eels Pre-Season Training – December 7 & 8, 2020: Oggy & Stone, “Don’t You Forget About Me”
Second week of pre-season – will the new faces continue to measure up? The first week was a solid ask of the squad, but experience tells me that there’s an incremental build in the conditioning component each week. As explained…
Bumpers Up – Rumours, Contracts And Back To Business
Last week I received an interesting response to this column. “Why tell us things in your article what we know already from the paper?” The responder was obviously new to any form of media – mainstream or social. Besides…
Eels Pre-Season Training – December 4, 2020: Week One Done!
Don’t blink! If by chance you do, there’s every chance you’ll miss this pre-season. The comparative brevity of this pre-Christmas period is exemplified by how few weeks are available for NRL clubs prior to the festive break. With week one…
Eels Pre-Season Training – December 2 & 3, 2020: Managing The Training Load
What’s your image of a pre-season? Players running to the point of being physically ill? The tale of Dylan Brown requiring medical attention during his first preseason is evidence that this time of the year is unquestionably gruelling. NRL strength…