Brendan Hands was early in his round when he got the phone call from coach Brad Arthur to tell him that he’d be going in from the start against Canterbury.
It was the culmination of years of hard work from Hands, who has been a revelation in his four games of first grade, giving his notoriously hard-to-please coach the confidence to chuck him in from the off when regular rake Josh Hodgson went down with a cold ahead of the Eels’ showdown with the Dogs on Sunday afternoon.
“Brad called me yesterday,” he told media after the match. “I was out with one of my mates playing nine holes. I played two holes and then he called me and said I was starting and playing 80. I was hitting them all over the place. I was hitting them into the water, into the trees.
“I was still wigging out all day yesterday and I struggled to sleep last night. I tried to stay as cool as I could and I kept telling myself to not play the game before I got here. I feel like I did that well and did my job well today.
“I was pretty stoked with that. Just to get through the full 80 (was good). My body felt pretty good, my lungs felt good so I was pretty happy with that.”
Hands impressed on debut against Penrith in Round 4, scoring a late try for the Eels, and has held down his spot in the rotation. But a full game in the NRL is a different beast, especially given how infrequently he has gone the distance in NSW Cup.
“To be honest, I haven’t done it a whole lot since I’ve been at the club,” he said. “Last year I spent a whole lot of time in reggies coming off the bench. If I was playing 80, it’d be in the halves or something like that.
“The last game I played in Cup before I came into grade was 80 minutes at hooker and in the middle, and I felt pretty good. It was good to have three weeks preparing for this.”
It helps that Josh Hodgson has identified him as the best trainer at the club, having impressed from day one with his attitude and fitness. Hands has a degree in sports science and uses it to get constant feedback from Parra’s head of performance, Trent Elkin, on his training levels.
“I always try to start things with my training,” he said. “I like to fall back on my training, and I’m pretty keen on it. I’ve got an exercise science degree in that area so I love to have a crack there.
“That’s where I get my confidence. The only time I don’t feel confident in my footy is when I know I haven’t done the work. I try to make that as rare as possible.
“I’ve done strength and conditioning units within that. I sort of know what’s going on when the trainers are putting us through stuff. I like to ask Elky questions sometimes to see why we’re doing certain things.”
The 24-year-old was stuck in the Penrith system behind Api Koroisau, Mitch Kenny and Soni Luke, with young gun Luke Sommerton hot on his heels. Now, he has been extended through to the end of 2025 with the Eels.
“It was an opportunity thing,” explained Hands. “I left Penrith pretty amicably. Ivan (Cleary) spoke with me and said there wasn’t much of a pathway for me, which I understood. Api was playing well, Mitch Kenny was playing well, and there wasn’t much there for me.
“Brad gave me a lifeline because they were the only club that really showed much interest and they gave me a train and trial deal here. I did what I could with that and fell back onto my training, and I was lucky enough to turn that into another year and then another two years.
“I wig out about it, but I’m still 24. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve always wanted to be here. When all the doors seemed to close on me, I tried my hardest and I got here. I feel like I’ve done the work so I deserve to be here.
“He (Arthur) just said there was an opportunity there. There are a lot of good candidates for that. Jake did the job pretty well last year and there are a few other blokes we were tossing up for the utility role. I was lucky enough to get my chance, and then I had a pretty good debut.”
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