PRE-GAME Round 1 - Eels vs Broncos

[Broncoman]

Will be interesting to see what winning the 9's will do for the Eels mentality. They've recruited some very good players and have now won their first competition for so long so they will be entering the season with some confidence behind them.

 

[Fernando]

^ yeah, they are gonna be really tough. Round one is like the premiership for them too.

Any word on Oates and McGuire?

 

[GCBRONCO]

Didn't Oates play against the Warriors? I know there was concern about him playing in the competition but I'm pretty sure he was named to play sunday.

 

[Mitch06]

Didn't Oates play against the Warriors? I know there was concern about him playing in the competition but I'm pretty sure he was named to play sunday.

Oates didn't play unfortunately.

 

[M.B.88]

He'll be fine apparently

 

[Mitch06]

He'll be fine apparently

Oates or Anderson? Does fine mean he'll live?

 

[theshed]

I was happy to see Normy carve up at the 9s this weekend. Despite his attitude issues towards the end of his time with us, I still have a soft spot for the bloke and would like to see him a break out season for parra (except against us obviously).

i feel like he got a bit of a rough go during the Hook era and was horribly mismanaged. I mean there's no regrets because we eventually signed milf but I do wonder how things could've been if he stuck around in his preferred position until Bennett returned.

 

[M.B.88]

I was happy to see Normy carve up at the 9s this weekend. Despite his attitude issues towards the end of his time with us, I still have a soft spot for the bloke and would like to see him a break out season for parra (except against us obviously).

i feel like he got a bit of a rough go during the Hook era and was horribly mismanaged. I mean there's no regrets because we eventually signed milf but I do wonder how things could've been if he stuck around in his preferred position until Bennett returned.

I feel the same way. He's really earning his dues now. The broncos no 6 would have been very tough to live up to hype wise back then (especially without a decent 7)

 

[M.B.88]

Oates or Anderson? Does fine mean he'll live?

Oates. He'll be playing in England

 

[Super Freak]

This game just got more interesting.

Parra will be full of confidence after their 9's win and as I've mentioned before, they can be a real pain in the ass for us. Our record at their home ground lately isn't great.

 

[Battler]

I feel the same way. He's really earning his dues now. The broncos no 6 would have been very tough to live up to hype wise back then (especially without a decent 7)

We got Milford out of it though, so it all worked out fine (for both teams).

 

[john1420]

The two contenders for the wing are opacic, eden and seve.
The bench contenders are wallace, offa, esse, fai, timu, sua.
Im surprised molo didn't feature in the trials.
Everything else picks itself

I read that WB was very impressed by Eden

 

[Organix]

I read that WB was very impressed by Eden

I read this too. I would have to think it will be move Kahu to cover for Reed and have either Eden or Opacic on the wing. I would imagine that Bennett will trial them both to be certain. IMO it will probably be Eden, the reports from the trial seemed to indicate that the rest of the team liked his communication etc. which would be great in defence.
Boyd is regaining a lot of speed too which is really wonderful. All the hype for all the teams this year make me nervous but last year we were such a great machine that a relatively unchanged lineup will be hard to stop.
Our defence will be the difference once again.

 

[Broncoman]

I feel the same way. He's really earning his dues now. The broncos no 6 would have been very tough to live up to hype wise back then (especially without a decent 7)

Wasn't Norman hyped up as being the next superstar when he broke into first grade back then?

 

[GCBRONCO]

Yes and to be fair anyone at 5/8th was inheriting a poison chalice, Lockyer's departure demanded a lot of that person. Norman struggled to deliver and Griffin probably didn't make his job any easier. I'm happy for Norman that he has moved on and things have improved, but reality is Milford is at another level and in the end with Hunt we have ended up better off.

 

[broncos4life]

Another preseason, another 'Corey Norman has arrived story'...

 

[Unbreakable]

He's definitely a lot better than I thought he was going to be for the Eels.

 

[mitch222]

Norman and Foran wont work. They are effectively the same player and neither of them can direct a team around the paddock. DCE & Hodkinson did it for Foran at manly and Norman let Sandow do it for the Eels. Foran is going to struggle trying to be the dominant half at the Eels. He plays his best games when blokes like DCE & Johnson do most of the work and he just pops up every now and again to put a play on.