Eel of a time for unlucky Keating
* By Tyson Otto
* From: The Daily Telegraph
* February 03, 2010 12:00AM
WHEN Kris Keating suffered a broken jaw in round 10 last year, he was the Eels' starting halfback.
But by the time he had returned from the injury, gun five-eighth Daniel Mortimer and consistent playmaker Jeff Robson had cemented their places as the Eels' halves.
Now Keating's back, desperate to return to first grade.
Keating played nine of the first 10 matches for the Eels last season and was being groomed by coach Daniel Anderson as the next Eels halfback following Brett Finch's trade to the Melbourne Storm early in the year.
But the 21-year-old now finds himself battling to earn a spot among one of the strongest halfback stocks in the NRL after Robson and Mortimer led the Eels to an unlikely Grand Final in October.
"Those guys have been doing really well, they really turned the team around mid-year," Keating said yesterday. "It was shattering to watch the team I could have been a part of doing so well, but at the same time I was thrilled to be watching those guys play the footy they did."
Keating is now in limbo after Anderson said he was still being considered for a first-grade spot but added Robson and Mortimer would get first shot at playing in the halves.
"The coach told some of us younger guys that we're in the mix," Keating said.
"He just said I'd get a chance in trials before the season and I know I have to really impress by just being consistent and improving little things.
"He's let me get back into it in my own time. It's going to be really tough but I just have to keep training hard and doing everything I can to show Daniel I'm ready.
"I haven't really played footy in six months but my ankle and jaw are fine and I'm completely fit, 100 per cent."
After his jaw injury, Keating suffered season-ending ligament damage to his left ankle in round 23.
Keating is one of several Eels stars who will be fighting for a top-grade spot during the trials. The Eels held a marathon six-hour training session at Ringrose Park, Wentworthville, and in the gym yesterday.
Parramatta's first trial is against the Dragons in Perth on February 14 but Keating said Anderson had not yet spoken to him about his strategy for selecting players for the pre-season matches. The Eels will fly to Perth next Wednesday to prepare.
Earlier that day, 24 players from the senior group will take part in the NRL Community Carnival across Western Sydney. The Eels, Bulldogs, Panthers and Wests Tigers will each host a community day for fans from 10am on February 10.
Keating and his non-Four Nations teammates have been back at training since November 9 and he said he was fitter than this time last year. "The whole team's been working really hard and we know it will pay off eventually like it did in the back end of last season," he said.
