Bevan French's NRL career may need to be reborn following the start the Eels have had this season, with many of the plaudits going to Parramatta's back three of Clint Gutherson, Blake Ferguson and Maika Sivo.
The back trio have all had outstanding starts to 2019, with them totalling a whopping 2,300 running metres between them so far. All three are in the top 21 metre eaters and are the only back three of any club to appear in the top 21. For context, not a single Eels player made the top 50 for running metres in 2018.
The value of having three big backs cannot be underestimated and their strong start to the sets have laid the platform for the Eels forwards to do their job in going deep into the opposition's half late in the tackle count and therefore giving the halves space.
Against Cronulla, those three produced one of the best games ever seen by a Parramatta back three. Gutherson ran for a game high 294 metres, with 49 post contact metres, Sivo had 194 metres for 62 post contact and Blake Ferguson ran for 240 metres with 66 post contact. Also noticeable were the extra runs during sets from both Gutherson and Ferguson. There were sets where the two of them took four runs between them, essentially allowing the forwards to take a set off and recover.
At this elite level, allowing your entire forward pack to basically rest for a minute can swing the game as it allows them to put more energy into their defence, keeping their opposition pinned inside their own half, forcing a poor kick and then giving you good field position to attack the following set. Combined with Moses' kicking game, the Eels were able to control Cronulla's field position as the game wore on.
This brings me to the issue of what to do with Bevan French. He struggled severely with his game in 2018. At just 181cm tall and 86kg he's the lightest back on Parramatta's books and this is in contrast to Gutherson (190cm, 96kg), Ferguson (191cm, 102kg), Sivo (186cm, 105kg) and George Jennings (185cm, 100kg).
Bevan is a very talented and natural footballer with a knack for scoring tries. His speed and elusiveness mean he's a natural threat against a tired defence or in setting up a one-on-one situation. But wingers these days are more than just try-scorers. As our back three have shown, they are now part of your engine room.
Bevan benefited greatly from playing with Semi Radradra. A big charge from Semi meant Bevan could slot into dummy-half and use his speed to get between retreating defenders. No Semi last year meant Bevan was running against set defenders and he wasn't going to win those battles.
French reportedly ran out at five-eighth for Wentworthville on the weekend and had a blinder of a game. But it's unlikely he'll be seen as a long-term halves option given Dylan Brown is seen as the future and Jaeman Salmon acquitted himself nicely on Saturday night. Also having French in the line gives the more structured and ruthless NRL players a chance to target him.
So, where does French go from here?
At 22 he's still got growing to do, he can get heavier. Teammate Will Smith is three centimetres shorter but two kilos heavier. The same can be said of former teammate and NRL veteran Michael Gordon who has pretty much been a starting player ever since his debut for Penrith back in 2006. He could look even closer to home, at centre Michael Jennings who is 180cm but 96kg and very rarely is dominated in the tackle.
If there's one thing you could never accuse Michael Gordon of, it's shirking his workload. For a back who is on the smaller side of the ledger these days, he's always been willing to put his body on the line.
I'd like to imagine French would be willing to develop himself more at the Eels before heading off for a club like the Titans where he could be a starting player but would ultimately not allow him to develop.
French is never going to be the huge metre-eater like his contemporaries but he does possess blinding speed and acceleration. It's the one thing that has really allowed him to always be considered for the NRL side.
At this stage of his career, he's probably fifth in the pecking order of outside backs at Parramatta, and rightly so. He's really got to prove he has the mentality to push himself to make those changes.
Ultimately, the big question for Bevan is, does he want to fight for his place at Parramatta and build himself into a starting NRL player?
Comments
Defence in the front line? Really? He'd be your weakest defender and he played at 5/8 for Wenty as a last minute decision on the weekend. His previous matches have been at fullback.
He’s just gonna have to get better defensively
Unlike Maloney and Lockyer, Bevan doesn't have half their playmaking and kicking ability.
Grunts, agree its hard not to remember some of his plays on the kick chase and gather for tries a couple of years back before his injury, Short memories for many, and usually still stuck in 2018.
Love to see some replays with the commentries from many of the experts who were singing his praises and a common word in them was to call his plays Freakish.
Thanks Tad, I believe that as each week goes by and he plays in the 5/8 spot for went he will regain what he and so many believe he lost after the injury. He may in fact be offered a new contract with the eels, as he's being picked on the extended bench, has a VG coach at Wenty who can only him get back to what he was.
Did you post the link to a free streaming site? I tried to find that post but could not, and the link has been lost, any chance of a repeat please.
Thanks Tad, At least I have it bookmarked now, don't know what happened last time though.
10 years ago French would have been a superstar at fullback or wing. These days' however there are not many places in the side where a small player can fit in. The halves are probably about it, but for how much longer? Agreed with Grunts that if French wants to continue to play NRL, he needs to develop into a half/5/8. He has the skill, but he needs to believe this himself.
You mentioned some other players and their height but height isn’t so much the issue as his frame and body type. Unfortunately the bloke seems incapable of putting on any size in the rump and legs which is where most of the power comes from. Adoo Carr is probably the most similar in terms of height and weight but he is all lean muscle and power especially in the legs. French just doesn’t seem to be able to build that and I presume the coaching staff have tried.
I would suggest that the most similar body shape is probably the dragons fullback whose name escapes. To he honest he is probably even more ‘wiry’ and powerful than French.
I included height because it has a correlation with how much weight you can carry. Jennings is a much better reference point that Fergo because Jennings is the same height. So the difference between Jennings and Bevan is a lot more to do with their respective lean muscle mass than things like bone size and length of the muscles.
I don't buy the body type issue as such. There's no currently accepted scientific research that says certain body types mean you can't put on any size or power in the legs or backside. Somatotypes don't exist and the creator's original research and theory of constitutional psychology have been debunked.
French has put on some size since he debuted. I think he's put on about eight kilos. The issue and why it takes so long for people like French is you've got to bulk him up with lean muscle but maintain his power-weight ratio. He's not like a Junior Paulo that you can pack size onto and then restrict his calories slightly to drop the body fat. He's at that age where muscle gain should be easier as his testosterone levels will start to peak.
Jennings and French might be similar heights, but it's chaulk and cheese at NRL level.
Jennings is built like a tank with tree-trunk legs these days. A much a superior centre of ground better for tackling and getting tackled.
French has chicken-stick legs. Poor leverage. Apply a bit of lateral force and French is a rag-doll in waiting.
It helps game-time momentum. For the opposition.
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