NRL trials 2021: Parramatta Eels beat St. George-Illawarra Dragons 28-6
TRIAL MATCH: Jack Bird gives the word on where he expects to play in round one, while Parramatta’s quest to find a new centre was seemingly decided.
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Jack Bird has declared he wants to make St George Illawarra’s left centre spot his own after playing his first game of football in nearly 12 months.
Returning from an ACL injury, Bird only lasted around 25 minutes in Thursday night’s 28-6 trial loss to Parramatta at Netstrata Jubilee Oval but was relieved to get through the match unscathed.
The premiership winner had been training in the forwards during the pre-season but revealed a last-minute change from coach Anthony Griffin now has him in line to snare a centre spot.
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“I’ve pretty much trained the whole pre-season at edge back row, last week was my first week training centre. I’ll do whatever is best for the team,” Bird said.
“I would probably prefer to play in the centres than in the back row.
After string of injuries which included two ACL’s and a sternum complaint, Bird revealed his body might not be up to rigours of playing either in the middle or on an edge
“It’s probably too early for me to jump in the middle. Because coming back from two ACLs, it’s a lot of moving around and running. It’s probably best for my career at the moment to stay in the centres and take it easy,” Bird said.
“Hopefully when I am older and my body gets a little bigger I can move into the middle.
I probably preferred the centres from when I got here. It’s up to Hook and what’s best for the team, he must’ve thought it would be best for me to play middle or edge back row.”
Good insight from Jack Bird today indicating his preference would be to play the season at centre, a familiar position for him coming off consecutive ACL injuries. Bird having confidence when he steps out on the field as important as any physical measurables
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) February 18, 2021
Bird is hoping to get some more game time under his belt in next week’s Charity Shield match against South Sydney.
The likes of Brayden Williame and Max Feagai, who scored a try in last night’s trial, are also vying for the same left centre spot that Bird has his eye on for round one.
NEW EELS GET THE JOB DONE FOR PARRAMATTA
Parramatta’s newest faces and the club’s rising stars combined on Thursday night to hand St George Illawarra their second-straight trial defeat. In their first hitout for the club, Isaiah Papali’i, Jordan Rankin, Tom Opacic and Joey Lussick all played a crucial role.
The Dragons’ ill-discipline at times hurt their efforts, giving away 14 restarts which constantly had Anthony Griffin’s men on the back foot.
SIXES AND SEVENS
After an impressive showing in last week’s trial loss to the Sharks, Junior Amone and Jayden Sullivan again showed the future in the halves for the Dragons is bright. Both Amone and Sullivan showcased their impressive kicking games and were able to keep the Eels deep in their own territory on both sides of the field early in the first half. The duos familiarity was again on show; linking up to set-up the Dragons first try to Max Feagai on the wing.
Amone also took the on the line with plenty of confidence, unafraid to dig into the Eels defensive line.
For the Eels, Will Smith and Jake Arthur produced a solid first half showing. Arthur, the son of coach Brad, has been the subject of a number of headlines over the last few weeks. But the mature playmaker appeared unfazed by all the premature attention.
Smith, who lined up at five-eighth, took control of the side’s attack and was heavily involved including helping to set-up the Eels first try to Tom Opacic.
CENTRE STAGE
With a centre spot vacated by Michael Jennings, who is banned under the anti-doping policy, coach Arthur named all four main contenders to replace the veteran.
Will Penisini, Tom Opacic, Haze Dunster and Michael Oldfield all took the field but Oldfield’s night was over after 12 minutes when he appeared to suffer a knee injury and was taken from the field.
Dunster did his chances no harm showcasing his attacking fair. The winger, combining with Opacic on the right edge, made a break splitting the Dragons defence open and kicked ahead but was unable to convert Parramatta’s first real attacking opportunity into points.
Opacic had some strong carries and beat two defenders to score Parramatta’s first try thanks to a short ball from Smith that helped put Opacic through a hole in the Dragons’ defence.
The other option, Jordan Rankin, had a busy night marshalling his side both from the back and then in the halves in the second half.
TWIN CONNECTION
Twin brothers Mat and Max Feagai linked up for the Dragons first try after 20 minutes. Mat, playing on the left flank, made a 40-metre break only to be cut down by Parramatta’s Matthew Komolafe. But the ball soon made its way across to the right side through the hands of Amone and Sullivan to find Max, who crashed over to score in the corner.
NEW DRAGONS DEBUT
Bird and fellow new recruit, Andrew McCullough, who only officially joined the Dragons three days ago, both played limited minutes.
With McCullough, the former Brisbane and Newcastle hooker tipped to replace the injured Cameron McInnes lasting just 22 minutes in the match.
UNDER THE RADAR
It appears Arthur has unearthed another enforcer for his side’s power game in Isaiah Papali’i. Papali’i lined up on the edge last night and ran hard bending the Dragons defence. The former Warriors forward looks like a promising addition for the Eels in 2021.
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