Preseason NRL Notepad: Eels are searching for a centre

With Round 1 just around the corner, we’re taking notes on what to keep an eye on throughout the early rounds of the 2021 NRL season.

✍️: Can Parramatta find some consistency in defence out wide?

Originally published on the RLW Preseason Blog


“We’ve got Waqa [Blake, Will Penisini, Oldie [Michael Oldfield] … we’ve got heaps of players there who can do the job.” – Clint Gutherson via The Daily Telegraph NRL

With Michael Jennings suspended under the NRL’s anti-doping policy, the Parramatta Eels are looking for a centre.

Clint Gutherson gushed over Will Penisini and Haze Dunster in a recent DT interview. Dunster was thrown onto the wing to make his debut in Parramatta’s final game of the 2020 season. Penisini, meanwhile, is still only 18-years old. Anybody and everybody is talked up as an option for Round 1 at this time of year, but I’ll be surprised to see either of the youngsters in there to start. 

Tom Opacic or Michael Oldfield seem the more likely candidates.

Opacic made significant improvements in his one full year with the Cowboys before playing just five games in 2020 due to injury. He did manage to score an Eels/Jennings-like try against Parramatta in Round 8 though:

Scott Drinkwater had been hitting Coen Hess all night up to this point. This time skipping the big back-rower, Opacic hits the hole to score. This try also goes a long way to pointing out Waqa Blake’s shortcomings in defence.

Blake’s side of the field leaked like a sieve last year. Opposing halves regularly broke down his combination with the players either side of him, training him into making a poor decision in defence much like Drinkwater, Hess and Opacic did here. It’s for that reason that Brad Arthur might look for a little bit more stability at the other centre spot before blooding a youngster.

Michael Oldfield is the more reliable defensive option, but Eels TCT are reporting that Opacic has the inside running for Jennings’ spot at the moment. It makes sense. Opacic managed two tries and two try assists in five games for a dire Cowboys side last year; he can contribute in attack and give them their best chance of reigniting the left-edge attack that dominated throughout the first 11 rounds of last season.

A lot can change in the 50 days still to pass before Round 1. Maybe Dunster can do enough to impress and slide one into the centres. Opacic looks the best bet to start the season, though.


Subscribe to our free newsletter and receive exclusive content and premium promo codes:
* indicates required