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Parramatta has now locked up the services of another of its most talented Under 20 players with Patrick O’Hanlon agreeing to stay with the club for a further two years.
 
O’Hanlon’s signature joins that of exciting fullback and playmaker Marmin Barba. Both hail from Mackay and have played together since their primary school days, and both will now fight to earn their NRL debuts with the Eels over the following couple of seasons.

Already the pair have formed a deadly combination at NYC level, with O’Hanlon scoring a number of tries running off Barba, and the rangy second rower said he was looking forward to continuing that combination for at least another couple of years at Parramatta.

“Marmin and I have been playing together since we were 10 -  so he’s been making me look good for a long time, and it’s real good to have him down here.”

“He’s had a few hiccups in his career, with the cancer and things, and I’m real proud of him and how he’s going at the moment.”

This year, O’Hanlon has overcome a disrupted pre-season, where surgery for an appendix removal saw him lose some nine kilograms before the start of the season. Having previously undergone a shoulder re-construction, it certainly wasn’t an ideal way to kick off the year.

“Obviously coming back from a shoulder reconstruction, there’s been a focus for me on defence and it’s taken me a little while to get that aspect of my game right, in terms of confidence; but the last couple of weeks I’ve been really happy with it, the shoulder is feeling stronger and I’ve gotten more confidence in it with the more game time I’ve had.”

“The other thing I’ve been working on, is looking to get a bit more quality out of each carry. Instead of just hitting it up for a nothing run, I’m trying to get out on the edge a bit more, and cause a bit of havoc, and with Marmin inside of me, there’s plenty of ball out there.”

O’Hanlon is among a small group of NYC players, who train with the NRL side for most of the week, before returning to the main Under 20 squad for final game preparations.

“It’s good to train with the first grade team, I’ve learnt a lot from Steve and Brad and you try and take the stuff that you learn back to the Under 20’s and use it and hopefully help out the team as much as you can.”

While O’Hanlon is likely only a couple of injuries away from an NRL debut, right now he’s happy to bide his time in the lower grades and work his way up to a first grade start.

“With those couple of injuries I’ve had, I’m still pretty focused on getting my body right. I’d obviously be stoked if I got the call up and hopefully if I had the opportunity I’d take it with both hands, but they’re playing some good footy at the moment so I’m just trying to do the best I can with the 20’s.”

One of his objectives, both now and especially during the 2012 pre-season, will be to add some bulk to his frame, which according to his official profile clocks in at 194cm and 101kg.

“The training staff still think I’ve got a lot of growing to fill out the frame, and a few of us skinnier guys have been doing extra weights to get a bit stronger and put on a bit more bulk during the season,” he said.

“But next pre-season with the club, is really the one that I think can do me a lot of good in terms of physique and hopefully if I’m not injured I can put on a bit of weight and really build up my strength.”

O’Hanlon has been told by the coaching staff that they’re not keen to rush him.

“Like I said if I get a couple of runs this year, great, but I know I’ve still got a lot of hard work in front of me because we’ve got a lot of good players at the club.”

Although there were other options he could have looked into, had a contract not eventuated with the Eels, O’Hanlon said he had no desire to play elsewhere.

“I think I’ve got a good opportunity to establish myself as a first grader here in the future. All of the coaches are great - Mooks and Brad and everyone - and there is a real good bunch of blokes around the club so hopefully I can be a part of something here in the next few years”.

O’Hanlon’s immediate goal is for the NYC side to lift themselves into the top four by season’s end and he said there was a growing confidence in the team.

“I’ve never been in an NYC team where our defence has been so good. Our goal-line defence and our defence in general has been unreal and hopefully we carry that through the next couple of months and make top four or six.”

“We’re going to be pushing for a win every game, and won’t expect anything less against any team.”

This will be O’Hanlon’s third and final NYC campaign. He arrived as part of Parramatta’s 2009 SG Ball squad but was promoted to the NYC side as soon as that competition was completed. The Eels showed early interest in the tall schoolboy forward, who was scouted and invited to Sydney for a number of training camps before being offered a contract.

While, the decision to join the Eels represented a big move, O’Hanlon said he was keen “to break the norm” for North Queensland footballers, who tend to stick with Queensland-based clubs.

In fact, O’Hanlon followed in the footsteps of his brother, Jacob, who played SG Ball for the Eels in 2003 and 2004 (indeed click here to see Jacob O’Hanlon in an early 1Eyed Eel team-sheet article).

“He came down here in 2003, and came out of it with a few good stories about his experience, and so it was something I was keen to do because you look up to your older brothers,” O’Hanlon said.

O’Hanlon said that his brother “lost a bit of passion” for his footy, because he “got it into his head that he was never going to play first grade.”

Certainly, that’s not a fear that Paddy O’Hanlon need have. Having achieved every milestone as a junior footballer, including a Junior Origin and a Junior Kangaroo jersey, and now continuing his impressive form into the NYC competition, a senior debut seems only a matter of time away. And with that new two-year contract under his belt, it seems a safe bet that it will happen wearing the blue and gold.

Image credit: Ourfootyteam.com.au