Eel duo best of enemies

Parramatta star Nathan Hindmarsh wants skipper Nathan Cayless at his side for Sunday’s visit by the Bulldogs – but not before inflicting 80 minutes of punishment on his teammate in Friday night’s Anzac Test.

The pair will line up on opposite sides of Suncorp Stadium, with Cayless leading the Kiwis’ charge up front and Hindmarsh dishing out the pain in the green and gold.

Less than 48 hours later they will be brothers-in-arm as the in-form Eels look to continue their momentum with victory over arch-rivals Canterbury.

“Before and after the match we are mates but during the Test he’s just another player in our way,” Hindmarsh said of Cayless.

“You often play against teammates in rep games so it’s not something that’s new to us.

“I’ll be doing everything to make sure Australia wins and he’ll be doing the same thing for New Zealand.

“One of us will come off the field with a smile on our face and then it’s onto the Bulldogs.”

Parramatta coach Michael Hagan admits playing a Test match less than two days before a big club match is far from ideal. But he is confident the two Nathans will back-up strongly.

“It does make it more difficult but Nathan Cayless and Nathan Hindmarsh have had plenty of experience in playing and backing up from rep football,” Hagan told the Parramatta website.

“We just have to make sure they are looked after and we get them to the game on Sunday.”

The Eels have won three in a row and face a Bulldogs side down on confidence and form. But Hagan is expected a traditionally torrid encounter.

“Parramatta and Canterbury games are a bit like last week’s local derby at Penrith,” Hagan said.

“It is going to be nice and physical. I'm sure the fans of both sides are expecting that and that the players are looking forward to it.

Hindmarsh added: “The Dogs will be up for the game…they always are against us.“But we’re going along nicely and it will take a pretty decent performance to knock us off.”