Baby Eels ready

Parramatta have spawned two of the NRL's last three rookies of the year in Tim Smith and Jarryd Hayne, and the pair are maturing at the right time as the Eels unleash their next crop of youngsters.

The league's three most recent Dally M rookies of the year will be on display at Telstra Dome on Sunday with Melbourne centre Israel Folau, who won the prize this year, also part of the preliminary final.

Smith took the award in 2005 and Hayne last year, but the Parramatta side will also include stars on the rise Krisnan Inu, 20, Feleti Mateo, 23, and Joel Reddy, 21.

Fullback Hayne, yet to celebrate his 20th birthday but already a bona fide NRL superstar, said the emergence of the new breed had relieved the pressure on all of the Eels' young brigade.

"Last year I did (feel the pressure) but not so much this year, there's a couple of young boys in there that sort of take it off me and the likes of Inu and Feleti have been getting a lot of exposure which is good," the NSW State of Origin winger said.

"(The media) sort of have one week with them, then one week with me, then one week with Inu so it isn't just on the one person.

"They can't say you're the young bloke in the team because there's a couple of us."

Lock Mateo, who debuted against the Storm in 2004 but has come of age under Michael Hagan this year, said the Eels' young guns were motivated by an event which is almost ancient history to some of them - the 2001 grand final loss to the Hagan-coached Newcastle.

"Obviously you want to go all the way and I think the boys missing out in 2001, they'll be looking to get there, especially the older boys, for Ian (Hindmarsh) and Nathan Cayless," he said.

"I don't think they've won a premiership so it would be nice to get one for them.

"It's not really talked about, I think it might be in the back of people's minds but for the time being I think we're just focussed on Melbourne and trying to get the job done."

Centre Reddy, the son of former St George great Rod Reddy, was pitched into his first finals match against the Bulldogs last Saturday when experienced centre Ben Smith was ruled out with a knee injury.

But Reddy, who has played more fullback and wing than centre, said his September debut had been made easier by his involvement with the first grade squad throughout the year.

"I've been lucky, I've been 18th man a few weeks and then going back and playing Premier League so I've always felt a part of the squad throughout the year," he said.

"It's not like I've just been thrown in the deep end, I've always felt a part of the squad and I've always been in there.

"With anyone being injured early in the week I'm in there until they come back in later on in the week so there hasn't really been a big jump."