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http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/new...ob-a-good-crack/2008/11/24/1227491460458.html
sounds like the boys know whats needed so if Anderson gets tough on them they should know its for their own good
Whipping boys: Eels want Anderson to give job a good crack
Greg Prichard | November 25, 2008
PARRAMATTA players say they expect their new coach, Daniel Anderson, to include strict discipline as part of his approach - and, more importantly, they say they want him to be that way.
Last season was a write-off for the Eels. After making it through to a grand final qualifier the previous season, they dropped alarmingly to 11th. Disciplinary problems off the field and a general lack of control on it - which was mainly evident in silly mistakes and lapses in concentration - contributed heavily to the slump.
Anderson - appointed to a three-year term last week as the replacement for Michael Hagan, who resigned last month with a year still left on his contract - is renowned as a disciplinarian, although he has also proven himself as an excellent tactician coaching the Warriors in the NRL and, more recently, St Helens in Super League.
He said he felt "a bit like a kid in a lolly shop" yesterday, his first day in charge of Eels training after the players had last week off, but he wasn't taking the players on any picnic. They did a two-hour skills session under a biting, mid-afternoon sun at Ringrose Park, the home ground of Parramatta's feeder club, Wentworthville, having also completed a weights session in the morning.
Before the afternoon session, fullback Luke Burt and five-eighth Feleti Mateo each said they were only too happy for Anderson to crack the whip, because they saw it as a necessary ingredient if the team was going to return to producing more wins than losses next season.
"Discipline is a good thing," Mateo said. "He [Anderson] can show the way. I know the boys are willing to put their hands up and put in the extra work, to get back to where we were before last season. He has got a good record as a coach and I'm looking forward to playing under him. He is experienced and he has probably dealt with this sort of situation before.
"We expect to knuckle down. The boys were disappointed with the way last season turned out, but I'm sure we will get our form back to how it used to be if we do the hard work."
Burt said the players weren't afraid of Anderson taking a hard-line approach. "Last season wasn't our best, but before that it wasn't bad at all," he said. "Hopefully, 'Ando' is the last piece in the puzzle to us getting back to where we were. There's nothing wrong with discipline - all good sides have got that. If you want to get results, you've got to have discipline - on and off the field."
The players were handed a schedule for the next four weeks which will have them training twice a day, five days a week as the off-season preparation gets into full swing. Mateo returned after his World Cup campaign with Tonga ended at the group stage, but Nathan Cayless and Krisnan Inu (winners New Zealand) and Jarryd Hayne (semi-finalists Fiji) are still to return. Halfback Brett Finch was unable to train because of a virus.
Anderson began his coaching career in the lower grades at Parramatta, but left the club at the end of 2000. Many of the current players he had not met until yesterday, and he plans to get to know them during the physical side of the preparation leading up to Christmas.
"Right now, for me, it's about the nuts and bolts of the preparation and building relationships with the players," Anderson said. "After Christmas, we'll get into some strategies and philosophy of style. I'm very excited about what's ahead. It's a really good playing roster and, hopefully, by January, we'll have the full complement of players together and be progressing well."
Asked what he expected of the players in the lead-up to next season, Anderson replied: "I want them to enjoy training and to challenge each other. The chats I've had with a few players today tell me they want to improve and that they know where they need to improve. That's what you expect from a professional player."
sounds like the boys know whats needed so if Anderson gets tough on them they should know its for their own good