This season the Parramatta Eels will be returning to their spiritual home – Cumberland Oval/BankWest Stadium. Today, it was another return to the past as the Eels gathered on the hallowed fields of Richie Benaud Oval. The event had been…
Eels Pre-Season Training – January 23, 2019: Thanks… But No Thanks
In a recent interview, Tepai made reference to how many “Malcolms” the squad have been completing at training. “Malcolms”? These strangely named conditioning drills have the players running different intervals, hitting the ground frequently during the run. Imagine a middle…
Eels Pre-Season Training – January 21, 2019: Digging Deep
Expectations. We all have expectations about how the Eels will fare every season, and this year will be no different. Last year our expectations of success were dashed faster than an NRL player’s “home movie” goes viral. We can look…
Eels Pre-Season Training – January 18, 2019: The Present And The Future
I’m not going to waste any of your reading time describing the conditions at training today. Every single one of you knows what Sydney is like right now. But despite the oppressive heat, this was a true footy Friday. After…
Eels Pre-Season Training – January 16, 2019: Respect
It’s a very uncomfortable existence dealing with the furnace that is western Sydney this week. For the Parramatta Eels, it was so hot at Saleyards I wasn’t sure whether they were training for the Premiership or for that place down…
Eels Pre-Season Training – January 14, 2019: Paulo Lane
Over the course of the pre-season I’ve been staying tight lipped in my comments about Junior Paulo. There’s been the odd bit of praise here and there, but generally it’s been presented as a low key return. Today, in a…
Eels Pre-Season Training – January 11, 2019: Nowhere To Hide
Friday Footy. You gotta love it! A solid chunk of opposed work looked to be on the agenda when I arrived at Saleyards today. The referees were in attendance, with Russell Smith supervising, and the players were going through their…
Eels Pre-Season Training – January 9, 2019: Cash Is King
There’s the rare occasion when I should simply record a one word expletive and present that as my training report. Today was a case in point. I rocked up to Old Saleyards this morning confident that I’d be watching a…
Eels Pre-Season Training – January 7, 2019: Beep-Beep, Beep-Beep, Yeah!
For Eels supporters right now, there might just be no greater feeling than slamming that door shut on 2018. It feels more finite to hit the new year and shove last season into the dumpster to which it belongs. Day…
Eels Pre-Season Training – December 20, 2018: Earning The Break
Incredibly, this is the final pre-season training report for 2018. As you read this, the players are beginning their well-deserved holidays. Normally, the week of work ends with a big Friday session. This final week concluded on Thursday. And in…