Eels look to Wenty
Brad Earl
04Dec07
WHEN he's looking for players to step up next year, Parramatta Eels coach Michael Hagan is prepared to take them from either the new Toyota Cup under-20 competition or the Wentworthville Magpies' Premier League team.
The introduction of the national youth competition has seen some clubs farm out their Premier League side, with the Eels opting for Jim Beam Cup outfit Wenty.
The joint venture, widely known for some time, was officially announced by Wenty Leagues Club last week.
As to where players would be drawn from to fill NRL vacancies, Hagan said it would depend on their stage of development, age and position.
In changing from the traditional reserve-grade set-up, one of the criticisms has been that forwards tend to take longer to break through.
Hagan himself has called for the age limit to be raised to 21 or 22, something he hopes will be considered when the new competition is reviewed.
``If you've got some very good young players - Jarryd Hayne, Krisnan Inu come to mind - who are exceptional, they're going to play first grade straight out of NYC,'' Hagan said.
``There's an opportunity for players in both teams to progress.
``I think it will be a good standard of competition and I think our players will be well looked after when they come back and play at Wentworthville.''
Parramatta captain Nathan Cayless, a former Magpies junior, has been back at Ringrose Park as part of the Eels' pre-season training and has been impressed by both the facilities and the field itself.
``Everything's in place for it to be a smoothly run operation,'' Cayless said.
``It's a good opportunity not only for guys who are signed for Parramatta to make their way up into first grade but guys who played for Wentworthville . . . you never know, there's opportunity for maybe one of those guys to step up and play some first grade.''
The transition couldn't be more seamless with Rip Taylor continuing as coach.
He was cherry-picked by Hagan for the part-time Premier League role a year ago and guided the team to its third successive premiership.
Wenty have sought to have their Premier League and Jim Beam Cup draws aligned where possible.
Both sides will play together at Ringrose for the first time on Sunday, February 24, in trial games against Windsor, who have the same arrangement with Penrith.
They will be followed by an Eels v Panthers Toyota Cup trial.
Wenty's Jim Beam Cup team will be coached by Brett Cook, who shared the role with the long-serving Ian McCann last season.
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