The late signing of prolific try-scorer Michael Jennings has sealed a very productive recruitment drive for the Parramatta Eels in the lead-up to the 2016 season – one that could see the club become the biggest bolters of the year ahead.
Even in the golden days of the ‘Hayne Plane’, Parramatta struggled with striking the right balance in their squad, often requiring players to play out of position when the club was hampered with injuries and lacked depth.
And on the occasion the club did experience a winning streak, it was arguably down to the individual brilliance of Hayne to clinch games.
But this is the first time in a long time that the recipe on paper looks the goods for the Eels.
The biggest boost will come in the form of Kieran Foran.
With the Chris Sandow days well and truly behind them, the Eels are now well placed to finally establish a halves pairing that can genuinely guide the team around the park. Foran is a naturally talented footy player who knows how to play direct and test the line, and what’s more he is one of the best competitors in the game.
It’s Foran’s brand of grunt and stability around the halves that will serve Parramatta well moving forward. He will likely pair up with Corey Norman or Luke Kelly, both of whom are very capable footy players who could establish a useful foil for Foran.
Still focusing on the backline and we have a possible State of Origin centre pairing moving in, with the highly underrated Michael Gordon joining the club along with the flashy Michael Jennings. Gordon will likely play at fullback given the lack of depth in that position, but his versatility could see him play anywhere in the backline if needed.
The Eels have a capable forward pack, and despite lacking the star power of more fancied rivals the pack did prove in patches last year that they could match it with the competition heavyweights on their day.
Youthful exuberance was often their undoing, invariably pushing passes that weren’t on and making errors at costly times. But with a backline that should theoretically put less pressure on them through better field position and possession, 2016 could well be the year for some of the lesser known forwards to really stand up and assert themselves.
The x-factor will be Cameron King. This kid has huge wraps on him and is a former Australian schoolboy captain, but injury has so far prevented him from establishing himself properly in first grade. If he can stay injury-free, then the Eels may have another useful spark in attack around the ruck to compliment Isaac De Gois.
On a final note, it needs to be said that Brad Arthur is a good coach who has had a tough job in recent times. He has built up some strong structures at the club and with the increased strike power at his disposal, all of his hard work might finally pay a dividend in 2016.
I’m tipping a finals berth for the blue and golds this year.
Andrew
Guest
I'm hoping for the Top 8, Arthur is a good coach. The eels have to fire straight away at Pirkek. End of the 26 rounds they're away most games, even though there home is (1-2) games at ANZ Stadium - that's a joke. Gordon will be beneficial if it's a close game. Penalties.
Tom G
Guest
Assistant Arthur will be punted further than the eye can see half way through the year and Anderson will get the job he came back for. The Eels, as a consequence may lose a few ex Manly players who were silly enough to follow him there but the Club will benefit from having a real team builder in the job. He should have never been sacked in the first place having done a great job the last time around..
The Barry
Roar Guru
It will be really interesting to see how coaches use the interchange rule and how it all pans out. The challenge with your scenario is that a team will use an interchange to bring on the nippy hooker, then another to bring the starting hooker back on after half time, and then a third to get the bench hooker on in the last 10 mins. That sucks up three out of the eight interchanges. That means you're second rowers will need to play 80 minutes and one of your 8,10 or 13 will need to play big minutes. Injuries will devestate the rotation.
Kingcowboy
Guest
Great Post the Barry but i disagree with you on one point. I think each team will have one hooker on the bench. Imagine a quick nippy player coming onto the field in the last 10 mins of each half. They will tear the ruck apart!
The Barry
Roar Guru
Absolutely agree eJ. That balance between halves is one of the fundamental league truisms. I can understand Parra fans being excited but there are massive question marks on this team. One of Norman or Foran will have to change their game significantly. Neither are noted for steering a team around the park. Peats is coming off a couple of knee injuries. The interchange rule this year won't allow two hookers in a squad. How quickly Peats gets back to full fitness is a concern. That's 3/4 in the spine with queries. Add to that Michael Gordon is probably past his best. Jennings' form depends a lot on whether he is interested or not. He goes from diamonds to rocks in a very short timeframe and tends to stay rocky for extended periods. Watmough was well below his best last year. Scott prefers running into melees to running onto the ball. All these things could come together in the first couple of weeks and Parra could have a brilliant season. Could.
Ricardo
Guest
So if foran gets injured, the Eels are finished? yes, just like the cows if Thurston goes down, or if Johnson gets injured, or Hunt, or Reynolds, or any other halfback. No team has a great replacement half..
Benedict Arnold
Guest
Parra have recruited some big name players for this season, no question. But that doesn't mean results nor will it mean they will be a dark horse for the premiership. This is just my opinion; all teams that have made it to the GF or have won the grand final in the last five or so years have done so because of strong executive leadership, front office in shape, strong coaching and back of house staff, strong leadership groups and of course club culture. It may sound harsh for me to say but I just don't think parramatta has it yet. My biggest concern for them next year is watching these acquisitions like foran, jennings and beau maintain the consistency and class they have from their previous clubs. Is it up to these guys to lead the way? Is the pressure on them to turn it around? Should it actually be the club and coach putting that pressure on the players? What is the dynamic? Will these guys slide because the culture and the ethos of the club just isn't driven as hard? All these questions need to be answered for me to believe they will be successful. The eels can't afford to have another watmough, a player like sandow publicly disrespect the club and coach when the going gets tough nor can they afford to have distractions off the field with lawsuits, bogus contracts and infighting over which ticket holder gets to take home the league club's monthly raffle meat tray. Like I said, it won't be the players that the eels will need to push them into that next level, it will be the other things that are just as important if not not more so. I can't even put the warriors top 4 next year so I can't rate parra as dark horse status.
Kingcowboy
Guest
Squirrel if the Eels don't make the top 8 this year, I predict that Arthur will get the boot and Anderson will return and the whole process will being again!
Squirrel
Guest
Parra a case of a team of champions rather than a champion team. They won't make the 8 as they need to know each other. Next year top 4
Kaks
Roar Guru
He isnt great, but id rather Norman over Moses.
eagleJack
Roar Guru
My main point is that a good halves pairing needs a ying and a yang. The author describes Norman as the perfect foil for Foran. Which makes no sense as he is the same style of player, albeit at an infinitely lower level. You tend to talk about people being a "foil" for another when they contrast each other. And hence some of the top pairings recently display that namely Thurston/Morgan and Hunt/Milford. I raised Sandow as he would actually form a great partnership with Foran. One is creative, off the cuff, while they other is methodical and plays to a structure. The perfect foil for one another. As I said it will be interesting to see if this forces Foran to move away from his natural game. He doesn't strike me as the creative type. More a hard working grafter who will take it to the line, get hit, and do it again and again. It's what makes him so special. But he has always had a creative partner, allowing him to play this style.
Elton
Guest
Norman is average, whats he done to be rated so highly? In saying that I still think the Eels are looking better than the Tigers.
Kaks
Roar Guru
Fair enough, I just think that the young kids at the Tigers have had way too much pressure let off them for their performances because they were 'young'. They are not young anymore and if last season was any indication, the potential we were told that these kids have seems to be getting less and less - either the players arent good enough or the coach has no clue what he is doing. Either way, if the Eels make the eight I will definitely be telling you "I told you so" ;)
Kingcowboy
Guest
The way I like to rate a footy team is based on the spine. The Tigers have Farah (if he pulls his head in and acts like a player of his experience should), Brooks, Moses and Teddy. Compare that too the Eels who have Peats (coming off two knee injuries), Foran, Norman and Gordon. I like Foran and Norman but like I said if one of those two go down, they don't have the players to cover them. Gordon to me should be a winger at this stage. He used to be a very good player but I just don't think he offers to much at this stage. The Eels to me are looking for the big signing as a quick fix. To me it just doesn't work. My team the Cows tried to do this and it never worked for us. Invest in development and the good young players will pay off in future and I think this is the year that this happens for the Tigers.
Kaks
Roar Guru
I understand that this your own opinion which you are entitled to, but I cant see how you come to that conclusion when I look at both rosters
Rodney Olsen
Guest
You only like Sandow being at Parra still so it white ants anything decent happening, he was terrible for my team, the worst defensive liability that ever made the field, once shoulder charging was banned, Sandows days were numbered. As a parra fan, good riddance to people who don't put in or even attempt to tackle what's within 1 metre any direction. Fair dinkum, I swear I have seen games where Sandow didn't even look like he wanted anything to do with tackling someone, not a guy to put his body on the line unless he knew it was a blindside shot or a shoulder charge out of the blue. Souths fans where right all along.
Kingcowboy
Guest
Again Kaks, I mean no disrespect to your team but I think the Tigers are in for a good year and the Eels wil struggle IF and that is IF Foran goes down hurt.
steve b
Roar Guru
Mate he is one player yes a very good player but one player does not make a team and in case you hadn,t noticed its a team sport.
eagleJack
Roar Guru
Adam, it's interesting that you mention Chris Sandow in your piece and imply that him being gone is a positive for the club. I sit in a different corner. I think that a Sandow/Foran combination would have been awesome. And made this already impressive Eels team that much better. Foran has always had a creative half beside him whether that be at club level (DCE) or International level (Johnson). It allows him to do what he does best and that is play direct on an edge, either putting his runners into holes, or putting in a deft kick in attack. You don't often see Foz running the backline. It's his heart and attitude which makes him such a great player. So Im not sure what to make of his pairing with Norman who, with all due respect, is simply a much poorer version of Foran. He tends to crab sideways and crowd his outside men, and when he does play direct he often puts on the blinkers and runs himself. Defensive lines are aware of this. So Im not entirely sure where the creative aspect will come from with this pairing. They're too like for like for mine. Some of the best combos of recent times have had a bit of a ying and yang feel about them - Thurston/Morgan, Hunt/Milford, DCE/Foran et al. Sandow and Foran would have done very well together. And another thing who will take the kicks from within their own 50m? Foz has a brilliant short kicking game, but rarely kicks for distance. I can't recall Norman doing it either. Anyway just some food for thought. A lot rests on the shoulders and brittle hamstrings of Foran. Depth in the halves is an issue at every club so it goes without saying that they will struggle without him. But it will be interesting to see how he takes on his new role when on the field, and if he has to play away from his natural game when his partner won't be doing any creating.
Kaks
Roar Guru
The Tigers have a better roster than the Eels? Really? Tedesco better than Gordon, possibly, but Tedesco looks so good cause the Tigers are so bad. Moses better than Norman? Not a chance. Brooks better than Foran? Not a chance. ANY tigers wing better than Semi? Not a chance. ANY tigers centre better than Jennings? Not a chance. ONLY place the tigers have a better team on paper is with their props. On paper, this Eeels team is a top 8 chance. On paper the Tigers team is bottom of the barrel.