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…
Eels Early Pre-Season Report Card – With Team List Predictions
We’ve now completed the pre-Christmas component of the preseason and things are just beginning to take shape. The return of Michael Jennings and Clint Gutherson to training in the last week or so means that the currently contracted players are…
Eels Pre-Season Training (And Flegg Trial) – December 18, 2019: Big Wednesday
Christmas is nearly upon us, and today Santa paid a special visit to Eels HQ. His gift? Well, Santa did look suspiciously like Trent Elkin, and from what I could see there must have been around 30 blokes in Blue…
Eels Pre-Season Training – December 16, 2019: Welcome To Your New Home
Every story has a beginning. When you’re talking about a club with over seventy years of history, that might seem like an inappropriate cliche to use. But when the setting is a new training base that will eventually be one…
Eels Pre-Season Training – December 13, 2019: Fletch Steps In For Sixties
The players were greeted by comfortable conditions of around 18 degrees at the start of today’s proceedings – something that was surely appreciated by all in what was a relatively low impact but high intensity session. The squad was separated…
Eels Pre-Season Training – December 11, 2019: The Toughest Session In Recorded History*
Is it possible to compose a suitable introduction to this report? Maybe I could have created a witty simile? Perhaps I should have referenced something topical? I really wanted to write an opening to this post which didn’t read like the…
Eels Pre-Season Training – December 9, 2019: The Gang’s (Almost) All Here
That’s more like It! The return of Junior Paulo, Kane Evans, Mitch Moses, Brad Takairangi and Nathan Brown meant that the squad was close to full strength today. With only Michael Jennings and Clint Gutherson yet to return to the…
Eels Pre-Season Training – December 5, 2019: Joey and Matto
Earlier this week, the Parramatta Eels announced that NRL Immortal, Andrew “Joey” Johns had joined the club in a specialist coaching role. Given the youth and talent in the Eels spine, his addition to the football department could prove to…
Eels Pre-Season Training – December 4, 2019: Nowhere To Hide
If you’re in a full time NRL squad and looking to make an impression during a preseason, how do you put your name in lights? You compete. You compete harder than a reality show contestant fighting for screen time. And…
Eels Pre-Season Training – December 2, 2019: More Gowbell
Cool conditions greeted the players at Old Saleyards today, no doubt a stark difference to the heat at last week’s camp at Alice Springs. There were no additions to the squad this morning, with the NRL players involved in post-season…