Junk food battle plan for Eels
PARRAMATTA have turned to fast food and toy firearms to reverse last week's thrashing against St George Illawarra.
In a fascinating preparation more commonly practised with junior footy sides, the Eels spent Monday having Laser Zone battles and lunching at McDonald's before bunking-down in mini camp at Richmond, where coach Daniel Anderson hosted a musical trivia night featuring classic ballads from Frank Sinatra.
Although the getaway generated plenty of laughs, it had a serious message. "The timing was perfect to do something like this,'' Anderson said. "We needed to reinforce that we couldn't just be happy to be in the finals. We've got a number of players in their first play-off series, and we need to reinforce the need to compete.''
That was done by Anderson himself on Monday night, inside a meeting room at the Sebel Hotel in Richmond. Earlier in the evening he hosted a trivia night in which the team was split into groups and asked to guess the titles and artists of different songs.
"I didn't know too many of them,'' said winger Luke Burt. "He's got pretty interesting taste, the coach. The only one I knew was Frank Sinatra!''
Burt said the camp came as a surprise to the players, who were told late on Sunday to bring an overnight bag to training at Parramatta Stadium on Monday. Following the session, a mini-bus took them to Code Red at Rosehill, where they battled one another with mock laser guns for over an hour.
Then it was off to McDonald's, with only Eric Grothe knocking back a rare opportunity to chow down on guilt-free junk food.
"The club shouted them but I stood at the counter and ordered all their lunches,'' Anderson said. "At times we are all big kids and like a bit of that. The only one who refused was Eric Grothe - he treats his body like a temple. He ate Subway instead.''
Anderson said the activity day was only planned last weekend, but played down suggestions that the magnitude of last Friday's hiding at Kogarah was a major motivator.
"We really haven't had the chance to get together as a team lately - the draw hasn't given us many away trips in the last couple of months,'' he said. "It's a pretty relentless season and it's also my first here. I'm still getting to know their personalities and they're getting to know my nuances.
"The staff thought it was a good opportunity for everyone to get together, enjoy each other's company and set some fresh ambitions for the play-offs.''
Burt said the team had returned in a much better frame of mind to exact revenge on St George Illawarra this Sunday. "Daniel made a great point - we can't afford to be happy where we are,'' Burt said. "The last couple of months showed we can beat anyone. We need to start again and refresh.''
Parramatta's hopes of turning the tables on the Dragons improved yesterday with news that centre Krisnan Inu is likely to overcome a hamstring strain, while St George Illawarra prop Justin Poore has been unable to train due to a calf injury.
