Dyldam Parramatta Eels prop Tim Mannah says the side has added plenty of ‘quality’ with its 2015 recruitment, and is looking forward to getting stuck into pre-season training.
With the Eels returning to Pirtek Stadium for day one of the 2015 pre-season, Mannah says there’s plenty of positives for the coming months, starting with Anthony Watmough joining the club.
“[Anthony’s] going to be a great addition to us, he brings a lot of experience and leadership to our team, it’ll be great for us,” Mannah said.
“You can’t replace someone like Jarryd in term of what he brings to a team, but it’s great to see the signings of Anthony and the others, they add a lot of quality to the club.”
Addressing how the team will fare without Jarryd Hayne, Mannah says it’s a chance for everyone to step up.
“It was a bit of a shock at the start but the boys are all happy for him to pursue his dream, and for us we’ve got to focus on becoming better as a team and that starts individually,” Mannah said.
“This summer is a chance for us to work on our bodies and skills and collectively be better next year.”
“I think some Eels fans might think I’m being optimistic, but it puts us in a good position salary cap-wise, and now we’re in a position where we’ve got some free space to attract some key players, Choc being one of them.”
Mannah also says he’s looking forward to going with the squad to Seattle next week for a training and learning trip, something he’s never experienced with the club.
“It’ll be great, a lot of the boys have never been there before, and it’s a great opportunity to see how an organisation handles themselves on such a big scale, and it’ll be a great learning curve for us,” he said.
“It’s also a great bonding experience and a lot of the new players will be able to meet each other and get to know each other.”
