JUNIOR Paulo and Clint Gutherson will be joint captains of Parramatta Eels in the club’s strengthened bid for the 2022 NRL Premiership.
The Eels fell one game short of the Grand Final last year, going down to Manly in the qualifier after looking like a real threat for the title.
While many of the players and staff have been impacted by COVID during the past few months, the NRL squad has managed the COVID impacts well and has a full squad available at training heading into the trials.
New recruits Bailey Simonsson and Mitch Rein have integrated with the squad well and the training intensity has increased steadily as the club prepares for the first trial against St George Illawarra on Sunday February 20 at CommBank Stadium.
From a longer-term perspective, the re-signing of coach Brad Arthur, long term captain Clint Gutherson and representative quality players in Junior Paulo and Reagan Campbell-Gillard to long term contracts has given the club a solid base to work from.
And the exciting news that the talented English hooker Josh Hodgson has signed from 2023 has given the club an experienced playmaker for the future.
Contract extensions for emerging talents such as Haze Dunster, Makahesi Makatoa, Sean Russell and Jake Arthur are strong building blocks in place for the seasons ahead.
In 2022, the Club has added a number of key personnel to its football programs which will see it have one of the largest elite high-performance programs in Australian sport.
These additions alongside the current football, education, welfare, recruitment and football operations will help the Club deliver elite pathway programs for under 14, 15, 16 boys and girls right through to the Eels NRL and NRLW teams
These additions include:-
Michael Ennis NRL & Elite Pathways Football Consultant.
Paul McGregor NRL Football Consultant.
Simon Woolford Elite Pathways and Jersey Flegg Coach.
Andy Patmore Head of Eels NRLW and Women Pathways.
Dean Widders Eels NRLW Head Coach.
Kate Mullaly Eels NRLW Assistant Coach.
Darren Borthwick Eels NRLW Assistant Coach.
Christine Gwynne Education and Welfare NRLW and Junior Pathways..
Jordan Rankin Elite Pathways Coach (alongside his NSW Cup duties).
Caption: Clint Gutherson and Junior Paulo.
