Reagan Campbell-Gillard hopes Eels switch can save his NSW Blues career
Reagan Campbell-Gillard had a miserable final season with Penrith and not even the security of a long-term deal could make him happy. But he’s keen to correct the record on one issue.
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Reagan-Campbell Gillard has refused to blame his broken jaw as the reason for him going from Origin star to form slump in what seemed the blink of an eye.
The Parramatta Eels recruit labelled his switch to the Eels as the ‘best decision’ he’s ever made as he looks to relaunch his career.
Campbell-Gillard, 26, suffered two broken jaws following his lone State of Origin appearance in 2018, which was widely accepted as the reason behind his drop in form at the Penrith Panthers.
But he said he had simply lost his love for the game and grew stale at Penrith after signing a long-term deal at the Panthers.
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“Last year was definitely not because of my jaw,” he said.
Despite being a Panthers local junior and signing a deal to keep him a Panther until the end of 2024, things quickly went sour at the foot of the mountains.
“It’s like a relationship, at first when you meet someone your body is all really good, and then a few years down the track you’re comfortable, you gain a few extra kilos here and there,” said Campbell-Gillard, who 114 games for the club since making his NRL debut in 2015, .
“You feel comfortable in a relationship and that was the club that I was in. Signing a long-term deal was security but that security doesn’t mean much if my happiness isn’t up to scratch.
“I feel really happy right now and ready to get my career back on track.
“I’m happy to be here and I made the right choice. I wake up and I’m happy to come to work every day, it’s chalk and cheese to what I felt last year.”
The former Penrith forward doesn’t want to be known as a ‘one-game wonder’ and believes the decision to join arch rivals Parramatta will help resurrect his Origin career.
The prop also revealed he hasn’t needed a single painkilling injection since going under the knife in November to fix a left elbow nerve injury which left him with numb fingers.
“I was getting injections every six to eight weeks for nearly a year and a half. It was a nerve that’s the issue, the ulnar nerve. It’s like a baseball injury, it is a very common injury between the ligament and the joint. You get a shooting pain that goes all the way to your fingers and you get a ‘deadness’. I would be just sitting and my fingers would go numb.”
Campbell-Gillard had a rollercoaster year in 2018 when he played his one Origin match before suffering two broken jaws, the second happening just before Christmas during pre-season.
But a rejuvenated Campbell-Gillard, 26, believes playing for the Eels will put him on the radar of Blues coach Brad Fittler for call-up in this year’s series.
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“Absolutely it's a goal (to play Origin this year). I don’t want to be that person that just played one game,” he said.
“I’m going to push for it really hard this year and that’s one of the main reasons I came to this club, I think Parramatta can help me get there.”
But reviving his representative career is only one of many reasons Campbell-Gillard joined the Eels, another was the belief coach Brad Arthur was building towards a title – as soon as this season.
“The way they played last year, the way the boys handle themselves … I want to be a part of that,” he said.
“I think we (are title contenders) but we need to do the work first and see what happens come October I reckon.”
Originally published as Reagan Campbell-Gillard hopes Eels switch can save his NSW Blues career
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