Arthur ‘not going to apologise for starting well’ but admits Eels have ‘trained smarter’ to avoid fade out
https://www.foxsports.com.au/pmd/images/2022/03/07/820831_640x360_large_20220307193016.jpg 640w" alt="Arthur wants a timed Eels run!" />Eels coach Brad Arthur has revealed the squad has “trained smarter” during pre-season in a bid to avoid a fade out in the back end of the year.
Arthur also believes his team’s spirited battle with the Panthers in last season’s semi-final has put the club in a good position to go all the way this year.
The Eels have picked up a reputation over the last couple of years for coming out fast in the opening rounds before dropping off when it really matters.
In 2020 they won eight of their first 10 games and finished third only to be knocked out of the finals in straight sets.
Last season the Eels won nine of their first 10 games before suffering a serious form slump where they lost four consecutive games — including a 56-10 thrashing from Manly.
The team recovered just in time for the finals though this time with a defining 22-10 win over the Storm in Round 24 and although they within two points of the Panthers a few weeks later, they still didn’t break that semi-final curse.
The Eels gave fans a teaser of their early season form with a stunning 36-nil trial game win over the Panthers just over a week ago.
Arthur told NRL 360 that starting well “is still a priority” for the Eels this year but there’s been some changes throughout pre
“I’m not going to apologise for starting well and it’s been a priority for us again this year, we need to start well,” he said.
“But I feel like the time that we’ve spent together — we’ve had this squad together now coming into our third pre-season — we’re starting at a higher point.
“We can train smarter definitely, we haven’t worked any less harder, but have certainly trained a lot smarter.
“Certainly I’ve looked at some things throughout the season... (like) how we deal with and manage the rep players better. It’s not something as a club that we’ve been used to but over the last two seasons we’ve had more players play rep footy and that’s a learning experience for me and for our club. I feel like we’re going to put in some measures around that time of the year.
“But I was really proud of the boys how we dug deep at the back end of the year, got back to our identity and I thought we finished the season very strongly and put us in a good place for what’s ahead this year.”
-season and there will be more during the season to ensure the team hits form at the right time of the year.
Although the Eels didn’t make it any further in the finals than they did the previous two years, they bowed out gracefully with a gritty performance that earned a lot of respect.
Arthur believes the playing group is now “very close” to winning a premiership after taking a lot of belief out of the narrow semi-final loss to eventual premiers, Penrith.
“I feel, from what I’ve seen, the drive in our pre-season, we approached those finals differently,” he said.
“I thought we played with the right level of intensity and we went after the game defensively in both those games.
“People talk about belief, well we walked away from there knowing that we were very close and that we’re good enough. I’ve seen that in the pre-season.
“In the past maybe bowing out in week two, it was the fashion that we bowed out last year... I feel like a bounce of the ball or different decision throughout the game could have been the difference for us.
“Not having Reed Mahoney or one of our three specialist hookers certainly didn’t help the cause but you’ve got to deal with those injuries.
“I just feel like we’re better placed on the back of it and I’ve seen it throughout the pre-season that there’s more about that we actually that we’re very close.”
Replies
Like every aspect of life, experience is vital to success. I have played out different scenarios in my mind in life prior to the experience and most of the time the way I thought it would go is nothing like what ended up happening and the experience completely change my mindset. It is not something unique to anyone because I believe everyone does the same so why would it be any different for BA and the Eels. As a coach and as a team the experience gained over the last 3 seasons would have their mindset slightly different to previous pre seasons so their approach to preparing for the 2022 season would have some subtle changes. I don't think pre season will change too much because the Eels have been very strong starters but we should expect to see some changes during the season with some of the stars given a break as well as changes to weekly training but I'm only guessing because I'm not tthe one that has gained the experience, I'm just playing it out in my head.
Let's hope it is our year and I can't wait for the season to start.
Go the Mighty Eels
We won't know till the end of the season.
Smartest preseason ever.
Haha
Beat me to it!
I like the comment that BA has made about looking at the game in the way mentioned---Smarter---Using the bench players to play longer minutes to give them time to properly gel with the team I hope is on the cards. Looking to give a good experience to players like J A and others is key thinking when considering possible injury concerns. I like what Bennet did with Souths in having their best cohesive performances at the end of the year---This is also a thinking game and maybe less emphasis on one up frontloading to attempt to get a short-term gain.
Seems like BA has reflected on what worked and didn't last year. BA has improved each year, his comments about managing workloads and the selections this week suggest he's playing the long game.
He finally learning. Who knows he might figure it all out by 2050.
trained smarter means giving "chasing the Collison' 'bumpers up' game plan a rest and taking up skills approach to our style of play ...Great move by the club to add Mary, Woolford & Ennis
Which coach has 4 assistants?