Eels name team for Tigers game

Parramatta has lost centre Timana Tahu for next Monday's round 12 NRL game against Wests Tigers at Telstra Stadium.

Tahu damaged his hamstring in Monday's 30-6 victory over New Zealand Warriors at Parramatta Stadium. Second rower Ian Hindmarsh is also unavailable through injury.

The Eels team is: Luke Burt, Jarryd Haynes, Ben Smith, Krisnan Inu, Eric Grothe, Brett Finch, Tim Smith, Nathan Cayless,(C), PJ Marsh, Aaron Cannings, Nathan Hindmarsh, Feleti Mateo, Daniel Wagon;

interchange: Mark Riddell, Josh Cordoba, Chad Robinson, Fuifui Moimoi.
Kick-off next Monday is 7pm.

Eels trump NZ Warriors 30-6

Parramatta have consolidated their spot in the NRL top eight with a convincing 30-6 home win over the New Zealand Warriors.

The Eels took advantage of a horror night for Warriors winger Manu Vatuvei as they raced in five tries to the visitors' sole four-pointer.

Vatuvei was at his bumbling best as he spilled just about every ball that came his way, Parramatta winger Eric Grothe taking advantage of his umpteenth error to put the game beyond doubt when he scored to give the Eels a 22-6 lead after 64 minutes.

Clinging to a 12-6 halftime lead, the Eels kept the Warriors at arm's length when Daniel Wagon touched down six minutes after the restart.

A Sam Rapira fumble on his own 20-metre line gave the Eels possession in handy field position, Tim Smith grubbering for Wagon to score.

Grothe then extended the lead to 16 points before another Vatuvei dropped ball allowed Nathan Cayless to go over for his second try of the year.

Despite Vatuvei's troubles it was down the other wing that the Eels opened their account with Jarryd Hayne reviving memories of his Origin debut scorcher with another spectacular chip and chase effort.

Given room to move thanks to a Timana Tahu flick pass, Hayne tiptoed the sideline before beating Patrick Ah Van to the ball as he toed it ahead.

Vatuvei was saved embarrassment by the video referee when Ben Smith claimed a try after the winger had fumbled a ball but there was no denying the Eels' centre six minutes from the break thanks to another Vatuvei error.

The hulking winger missed the ball not once but twice to present Ben Smith with the easiest of four-pointers.

The Warriors scored their only four-pointer of the game when they hit back through Logan Swann on the stroke of halftime following a Michael Witt chip kick to the corner.

Eels 30
Warriors 6

The Parramatta Eels have defeated the New Zealand Warriors 30 to 6 in their round 11 NRL match.

Jarryd Hayne scored the first try for Parramatta which looked very similar to the one he scored in the Origin match last Wednesday.

Ben Smith then crossed the line for the Eels.

Logan Swann scored the Warriors only try before half time to take the score to 12-6.

Hindmarsh back Hayne

PARRAMATTA forward Nathan Hindmarsh has backed teenage teammate Jarryd Hayne to make a quick redemption after making one of Origin football's biggest gaffes.Hayne, 19, endured a remarkable NSW debut last Wednesday by scoring a freak solo try on halftime but the moment was blighted from his brain-explosion midway through the second half when he threw a bizarre pass handing Darren Lockyer the match-winning try.

But rather than wallow in the pity from his one crucial mistake, Hindmarsh is backing young Hayne to come roaring back with a starring role in tomorrow night's NRL clash with New Zealand Warriors at Parramatta Stadium.

"I don't think it will be tough for him to turn around," said Hindmarsh.

"He made a mistake, that's it.

"We make mistakes every week here and there. It just happens (Hayne's) was on the big screen."

While the Eels are hoping Hayne has no Origin hangover, they're equally concerned about Queensland prop Steve Price and how he will recover after his starring performance on Wednesday night.

Price is the inspirational skipper for the Warriors and his amazing work rate is something the Eels will be hoping has taken its toll from Origin.

"Hopefully (Price) has used all his petrol and they give him a week off," said Hindmarsh.

"I was thinking after the game (Origin) I wish I could eat what they're eating or whatever doing what they're doing. They just keeping coming and coming all day."

Parramatta will start tomorrow's game outright favourites after last week thumping North Queensland 44-14 at home while the Warriors are riding a three-game losing streak.

The Eels have Hindmarsh and Hayne plus injured pair Timana Tahu and Fuifui Moimoi returning to the squad this week.

Hindmarsh said the Eels are starting to gather momentum, the club buoyed by the midweek re-signing of five key players including halfback Tim Smith and rising forward Feleti Mateo.
"We are starting to gather momentum," said Hindmarsh.

"Last week we played an under-strength Cowboys side and even if they were full strength I think we would have beaten them.

"I think Nathan Cayless is playing the best footy I've ever seen him play. (Brett) Finchy and (Luke) Burty and Timmy Smith are starting to hit some form too."

Eels re-sign several key stars

Parramatta have received a massive boost with the NRL club re-signing five key players, including gun halfback Tim Smith, for the coming seasons.

Smith signed a two-year deal to keep him at the Eels until the end of 2009 while former Queensland forward Daniel Wagon agreed to a one-year extension until 2008.

Rookie Feleti Mateo, 22, signed the longest deal with his three-year contract ensuring Parramatta have secured one of the best young forwards in the NRL until the end of 2010.
Prop Josh Cordoba (2008-2009) and hooker Matt Keating (2008-2009) were both also re-signed by the club.

Eels chief executive Denis Fitzgerald said it was a tremendous day for the club.

"When players commit like this it shows great faith in our coaching staff and playing roster," said Fitzgerald.

"They are popular players with the supporters and are a great base to build the club on for years to come.

"I'm particularly pleased with the retention of Feleti as I am aware of how keenly sought after he was on the open market, especially with one particular club."

Burt states case with 24 points

Parramatta 44 North Queensland 14

It speaks volumes about the evasiveness of Luke Burt that he threw himself into representative contention, then out, and back in, in one night.
Burt scored 24 points as the Eels monstered the understrength Cowboys, then afterwards admitted the logjam at fullback would make it hard for him to finally score a rep jumper. But that doesn't mean he doesn't want it any less.

"I guess it's hard with all the great fullbacks," he said. "I don't really think about that, [but] I'm only 25 going on 26, so I'd love to get the chance."

On another dark night for the Cowboys on the first weekend of their annual State of Origin drain, five-eighth Ashley Graham suffered another potentially serious injury. But not even that could overshadow Burt's haul, which included two tries and eight goals.

Asked if he was in the best form of his career, Burt, who has 143 first-grade games to his name, said: "It's the first time I've played fullback consistently. I'm enjoying my football more than I ever have, so in my eyes, yeah."

Burt, who holds the club record for points scored in a match - twice notching 28 - may not be as far away from rep football as he thinks. Even though the likes of Anthony Minichiello, Brett Stewart, Brett Hodgson and Luke Patten are ahead of him on the pecking order at fullback, NSW selectors could do worse than pick him on the wing.

Should kicking become an issue, Burt would be possibly more dangerous than Hazem El Masri with the ball and his eight from nine with the boot ensured he remained not that far behind the Bulldogs winger in the goal-kicking stakes - at least on current form.

Eels coach Michael Hagan said: "He's playing out of his skin at the moment."

Eels crush Cowboys

Eels 44 Cowboys 14

NORTH Queensland are facing a second dose of the State of Origin blues after going down to Parramatta 44-14 in tonight's NRL clash at Parramatta Stadium.

The Eels were never headed in registering their fifth win of the season, fullback Luke Burt enjoying a fruitful night with a personal tally of 24 points courtesy of a two tries and eight goals.
It was an eerie case of deja vu for the Cowboys whose season unravelled during the corresponding period last year when they lost five of six matches with chief playmaker Johnathan Thurston and coach Graham Murray involved in the Origin series.

Tonight's match signalled the start of this year's Origin period - Thurston again absent along with forwards Carl Webb and Jacob Lillyman while Murray handed the coaching responsibilities over to assistant Ian Millward.

Their absence was evident from the outset with the Eels racing in two tries via Feleti Mateo and Ben Smith to open up a 12-0 lead after as many minutes, Parramatta showing no signs of missing unavailable NSW duo Nathan Hindmarsh and Jarryd Hayne.

Mateo's effort was all power while there was more than a touch of luck in Smith's effort after Cowboys fullback Matt Bowen curiously chose to kick out at a grubber in his own in goal rather than dive on it.

The ball looped across the in-goal where Smith leapt high to beat two Cowboys players to score. Veteran Jason Smith, who was forced to shoulder nearly all of the playmaking responsibility without Thurston, sent Sione Faumuina over for his first try as a Cowboy to get the visitors on the board.

North Queensland threatened again before a brilliant piece of ingenuity from Burt - where he regathered his own line-drop out - turned the momentum back in his side's favour with Mark Riddell barging over just before the break to set up a dominant 20-4 lead.

The second half soon turned into a track meet with both sides scoring twice within an 11 minute period, the Cowboys defence unable to contain Parramatta's dummy half runners with PJ Marsh and Riddell running rampant.

Burt scored his second 14 minutes from time to extend the home side's lead to beyond three converted tries before Aaron Cannings completed the rout when he ran through a tiring Cowboys defence to score a soft four-pointer in the dying stages.

News brought Hayne up short

JARRYD Hayne was a lot easier to match strides with yesterday - especially as he was standing still.

One of the competition's faster wingers, Hayne had been brought to a momentary standstill by his inclusion in the NSW Origin team.

He was of course understandably "thrilled" and "pleased" to be in the side for the first time.

His dad, former Souths star Manoa Thompson, was equally delighted. He was the first one to tell his son the news after hearing it in the media.

"The old man was stoked. He's really over the moon," Hayne said at a quickly-convened media conference at Parramatta Stadium as NSW rugby league coped with the news of five new faces in a 17-man squad.

One of those new faces, halfback Jarrod Mullen, probably spoke for all of them when he said:
"It's a dream come true.

"It's the reason young blokes play football."

And it is.

Mullen, Hayne and the other three – Brett White, Anthony Tupou and Kurt Gidley – have a gilt-edged invitation to be part of an exciting NSW future.

Mullen and Hayne have more in common than just parallel thoughts on football.

They were stars in NSW schoolboys teams, and have at least an inkling of what is coming their way in Origin One at Suncorp Stadium.

They were there together in 2004 in the NSW under-17 team.

Hayne remembers it well. He should. He scored four tries.

Even now, three years later, he can still hear the cacophony of boisterous sounds rising from the throats of the dominant Queensland crowd.

"After our match we stayed on and watched the Origin game," he said. "It was tremendous. The crowd was so loud. There were around 30,000 people there just for our game."

Hayne (19 and 97 days) is the fourth-youngest Origin player. But youth is no cushion against the vagaries of rugby league.

Last year a finely tuned Hayne scored 17 tries in his last 16 games for the Eels.

He was named in the Tri-Nations squad but did not get a run. This year he has scored two tries in nine games and is in the Origin starting line-up.

"Last year I scored lots of tries. I was skinny and fast," he said.

"This year I'm stronger . . . I've bulked up," he adds, as if to say "you work it out".

Eels name team for clash with Cowboys

Eels coach Michael Hagan has been forced to make two changes to the team to play North Queensland at Parramatta Stadium this Saturday night.

Second rower Nathan Hindmarsh and Jarryd Hayne are unavailable as both are in the NSW State of Origin team to play Queensland next Wednesday at Suncorp Stadium.

Joel Reddy comes onto the wing for Hayne and Feleti Mateo is into the second row for Hindmarsh.

Hagan has named a five man interchange bench.

The Eels team is:

Luke Burt,
Joel Reddy,
Ben Smith,
Krisnan Inu,
Eric Grothe,
Brett Finch,
Tim Smith,
Nathan Cayless (C),
PJ Marsh,
Aaron Cannings,
Feleti Mateo,
Ian Hindmarsh,
Daniel Wagon;

interchange:
Chad Robinson,
Mark Riddell,
Josh Cordoba,
Zeb Taia and
Junior Paulo.

Match kick-off is 5.30pm this Saturday at Parramatta Stadium.

Monaghan leads Manly to win

Manly's Michael Monaghan made a last ditch bid for the NSW halfback job tonight by outshining teammate Matt Orford in the Sea Eagles' 22-12 NRL win over Parramatta at Brookvale Oval.

Monaghan put forward his case for inclusion in the Blues team when it is named on Tuesday by taking control of the Eagles to resurrect Manly from a 6-2 halftime deficit and claim a four tries to two victory in front of 19,944 fans.

Fullback Brett Stewart also put forward a strong argument for NSW selection, scoring two superb individual tries to take his tally at Brookvale to 35 tries from his last 34 games.

Despite playing at hooker Monaghan was everywhere tonight, igniting the Eagles comeback in the second half when they scored four tries in 15 minutes to steal the contest away from Parramatta.

Monaghan put Anthony Watmough through for a 60m break off a short ball in the 48th minute.
On the next tackle he grubbered ahead for Jamie Lyon, who in turn toed it away from an Eels defender and scored to level the game at 6-6.

Monaghan almost scored himself with a dummy half run in the 54th minute but was pulled down short, although Stewart scored with an identical run on the next tackle to give Manly the lead.

Orford tried all night and his efforts were finally rewarded in the 58th minute when his grubber was fielded by winger Chris Hicks who scored for a 16-6 lead.

Stewart then solidified the Manly buffer when he ran around the Parramatta defence and grounded the ball in the corner with just inches to spare in the 63rd minute - Lyon's sideline conversion grabbing a 16-point lead.

While Orford's attacking kicking game was solid, it was the midfield creativity of Monaghan and his long kicking game which prompted former NSW coach and Nine commentator Phil Gould to call for Blues selectors to consider him for Origin I.

"If you want a wildcard for NSW number seven I would take Michael Monaghan without any fear or favour," said Gould.

"I don't know if he is the best but I know you can win with him."

Eels replacement Zeb Taia burst over in the 68th minute which reduced the deficit to just 10 points but Manly held strong in the final 10 minutes.

Parramatta had started the better with Tim Smith stepping over in the 15th minute for an early 6-0 lead to the Eels.

Eels substitute Mark Riddell missed a sitter of a drop goal attempt in the 39th minute, spraying his shot from 8m out and directly in front of the posts.

Less than a minute later he was involved in giving away an obstruction penalty 20m out from his own line with just 20 seconds on the clock before halftime which allowed Lyon to grab an easy two points for Manly with a penalty goal.

Kiwi Test centre Steve Matai was a late inclusion for Manly after passing a fitness test on the ankle he injured in round one, with hooker Matt Ballin the unlucky player dropped.

His return gave Lyon a full run at five-eighth, but he didn't shine in the role and NSW selectors would be unlikely to gamble on him playing there for Origin I.

Matai was placed on report late in the first half for a swinging arm on Ben Smith which left the Eels centre with a bloodied nose.

AAP

Eels to target Manly playmaker Orford

Parramatta will target Matt Orford's ability to perform under pressure when the Eels travel to Manly for Friday night's NRL blockbuster at Brookvale Oval.

While most of the pre-game hype has focused on the clash between Manly centre Jamie Lyon and the teammates he walked out on in 2004, the Eels have highlighted game-breaker Orford as the player they must stop.

And the Eels know Orford is already under extreme pressure, among several halfbacks around the NRL battling for the wide open NSW No.7 spot in a last opportunity to impress selectors before Origin I selection.

Orford has already blown two chances in the past fortnight, struggling against Queensland opposite Johnathan Thurston in the loss to the Cowboys two weeks ago and again failing to impress against Canberra last week.

Orford must turn in a blinder to give himself any chance of making his debut NSW side and that's something Eels coach Michael Hagan wants to ensure doesn't happen.

"There's always pressure on key players. He's responsible for a lot of what they do and defensively we're going to be working hard around him anyway," said Hagan.

"I just think the Origin issue is around the corner for a lot of players and with that is normally good performances in the weekend leading up to that.

"Manly have got a number of players in contention so I would expect a number of their players to be up for the game.

"(Orford's) an important part of their game plan and I think he's obviously under pressure to be the one of the considered halfbacks for NSW."

Orford is doing his best to deflect talk of Origin and maintains selection is the farthest thing from his mind.

But the 29-year-old can hardly escape the scrutiny which comes with being in the halfback mix.
He faced several questions following the win over the Raiders last week and was also bombarded earlier this week for his thoughts on Origin.

"Every footballer you ask would love to play State of Origin and I'm no different, but my main focus is this weekend against Parramatta," he said.

"Last weekend was one to forget but hopefully I haven't reached my best yet and peaked. I'm starting to come back and I know I need to work on things this week. One bad game doesn't put you out of the picture I hope.

"All I've got control of is how I play on Friday night and the next few weeks."

Another Sea Eagle under pressure for Origin selection is unheralded centre Steven Bell.

Bell performed strongly for Queensland last year until he missed the decider with injury, but is hopeful he can reclaim a spot in the Maroons' backline.

"They've got a lot to choose from with quality players coming through so it does make you work a little bit harder," said Bell.

"(Origin) is something I think about a little bit but at the moment I'm more concentrating on Manly.

"We've got a good start and want to continue that way.

"If you just play good footy for your team each week hopefully someone will notice."

Eels let sleeping dogs Lyon

It's a grudge match three years in the making, but someone seems to have forgotten to tell Parramatta they owe Jamie Lyon for walking out on the NRL club.

Lyon will play against his former teammates for the first time when Manly hosts the Eels at Brookvale on Friday night.

But his former Parramatta teammates deny they have revenge on their minds.

That is despite Lyon quitting the club without so much as a goodbye one game into the 2004 season.

“I couldn’t care less actually,” Eels forward Nathan Hindmarsh said of going up against Lyon.

“We just want to win.

“That thing with ‘Killer’ happened years and years ago and I was over that after about two days.

“I couldn’t care less that he up and left, I’ve got my own backyard to worry about.”

Asked if he was hurt by Lyon leaving to join the Sea Eagles via stints with NSW country side Wee Waa and English club St Helens, Hindmarsh said: “Hurt — was that a serious question. No, I wasn’t hurt.”

Eels to slick for Roosters

COACH Chris Anderson berated his Sydney Roosters as "awful" while five-eighth Braith Anasta reckoned they were "dead" after a dismal first half against Parramatta last night.

Anderson didn't mince words after watching his side trail 22-0 by halftime, saying all the good work done on Anzac Day in beating St George Illawarra for the club's 1000th win had been wasted.
"Awful would be pretty good,'' Anderson said.

"We got right away from our game plan. We took it back to where we've been the last six weeks and we paid the penalty.

"At least we competed in the second half. We didn't even compete in the first half. We didn't turn up to play footy. We trained good this week and we just thought it was going to happen.

"We worked hard to get out of where we were and we just went back to square one. That was the disappointing thing. We were all expecting a better performance but it didn't happen.''

While it was a big night for Parramatta centre Krisnan Inu, who scored two tries in his second first-grade game, the Roosters' dressing-room was as quiet as any this season.

"We've got to turn things around, it's unacceptable,'' Anasta said.

"We just looked dead out there. It was an ordinary performance and it's very frustrating. We worked hard so we could get back on track and put in a good performance last week.

The Eels were on the board after only six minutes when halfback Tim Smith's kick bounced badly for Anthony Minichiello and Inu scored.

The Kiwi got his second from a Tim Smith pass three minutes later and then Tim and Ben Smith combined for winger Eric Grothe to cross.

Smith and Inu did the damage again in the 27th minute, with Test second-rower Nathan Hindmarsh backing up to score.

Anderson said there were no positives out of the game, but outscoring the Eels 10-6 after the break - thanks to tries from Ashley Harrison (56th minute) and centre Sam Perrett (78th minute) _ saved some face.

Inu said there had been more pressure placed on him by opposition teams since he made his Kiwi debut at fullback in the Anzac Test.

"For me it's a good thing, it helps me play better,'' he said.

He is deputising for his hero Timana Tahu, who is out indefinitely with a hamstring injury.
"I look up to him every day, no matter what,'' Inu said.

"On Wednesday during training, I asked him for help. He's always there. The good thing is they've got confidence in me to fill in for him.''

Captain Nathan Cayless described the Eels' form as patchy.

"The challenge for us is to do it every week - we've got a big game next week against Manly,'' Cayless said.

"Tonight we put a really good first half together and in the second half, probably tried a few too many things with the football instead of just completing our sets and kicking it long.''

Parramatta fullback Luke Burt's four goals allowed him to clock up 300 for his career.

Inu stars as Eels thump hapless Roosters

Rookie New Zealand Test fullback Krisnan Inu has pushed his claims as Parramatta's long-term replacement for rugby-bound centre Timana Tahu after starring in his side's 28-10 win over the Sydney Roosters at Parramatta Stadium.

In only his second first-grade game, 20-year-old Inu - promoted into the centres from Premier League after a hamstring injury to Tahu - scored two tries in three minutes and set up another to spark the Eels towards a 22-0 half-time lead and a comfortable win over the NRL's cellar-dwellers.

The performance left Inu, a shock selection at fullback in New Zealand's Test loss to Australia last month, hopeful of filling the shoes of his idol Tahu.

"I look up to him every day, no matter what," Inu said.

"(To replace him) would a big thing, we'll just wait till the year comes and see what happens but the good thing is they've got confidence in me to fill his spot."

Inu got on the end of a clever Tim Smith kick to score his first NRL try in the sixth minute and was in again three minutes later after he bounced away from Roosters fullback Anthony Minichiello to plant the ball down out wide.

Scorer turned provider when Inu set up rampaging back-rower Nathan Hindmarsh in the 26th minute to take the Eels to a 16-0 lead.

Eric Grothe and Luke Burt also crossed for the Eels while substitute Ashley Harrison and centre Sam Perrett scored second-half consolation tries for the lacklustre Roosters, who had five players backing up from Thursday's City-Country match in Coffs Harbour.

Burt continued his excellent goal-kicking record, kicking four from five while halfback Smith was in great form, having a hand in all of the Eels' five tries.

The Eels snapped their two-game losing streak with the win and brought the Roosters crashing back down to earth following their 1000th ever win and first of the season against St George Illawarra on Anzac Day.

Roosters coach Chris Anderson said his side had undone all of their good work from the 18-4 win over the Dragons with an "awful" performance.

"We didn't even compete in the first half, we didn't turn up to play footy and we learned a good lesson," Anderson said.

"Obviously last game, we played pretty good.

"We thought we were going to build on it, we trained good through the week and it just didn't happen.

"We worked really hard to get out of where we were and we just put ourselves back to square one tonight, that was the disappointing thing."

Parramatta coach Michael Hagan was delighted with his side's performance, particularly in the first half, and praised the efforts of young stars Inu and Smith.

"He's going to be a great player for Parramatta in the future and he's come in and done a great job tonight," Hagan said of Inu.

"I think (Smith) ran the team well and came up with some very good options for a couple of the tries we scored.

"His kicking game was good but he's probably still a little impatient at times but he's only 22 and that will only get better as he plays more games."

Inu will likely get more of a chance to shine in the centres, with Tahu likely to sidelined for several more weeks.

Source: AAP

EELS FORCED INTO TWO CHANGES FOR ROOSTERS CLASH

Parramatta coach Michael Hagan has been forced to make two changes for Saturday's important clash against the Sydney Roosters with Timana Tahu and Fuifui Moimoi both out through injury.

A third change has also been made with Ben Smith returning from a virus with Joel Reddy dropping back to Premier League.T ahu will be out with a hamstring injury, which forced him out of Country's side for Thursday's annual match against City with New Zealand fullback Krisnan Inu coming into the centres.

Ian Hindmarsh returns from injury to replace Moimoi in the Eels squad after the impact forward sustained a knee injury in Parramatta's shock loss to the Gold Coast on the weekend. Cannings comes from the interchange bench into the front-row for Moimoi and Hindmarsh is back into the backrow with Feleti Mateo dropping back to the bench.

Junior Paulo has named as the 18th man and Reddy is on standby should Jarryd Hayne not come through Thursday night's match.

Both Tim and Ben Smith are in doubt for the clash.

Parramatta Eels v Sydney Roosters
Parramatta Stadium 7:30pm
Saturday May 5, 2007

1 Luke Burt
2 Jarryd Hayne
3 Ben Smith
4 Krisnan Inu
5 Eric Grothe
6 Brett Finch
7 Tim Smith
8 Nathan Cayless (c)
9 PJ Marsh
10 Aaron Cannings
11 Nathan Hindmarsh
12 Ian Hindmarsh
13 Daniel Wagon

14 Blake Green
15 Josh Cordoba
16 Zeb Taia
17 Feleti Mateo
19 Junior Paulo

Hayne keen to make up for blown chance

Parramatta winger Jarryd Hayne has already blown one representative opportunity, and is not about to let a second chance pass him by.

The 19-year-old flyer will make his representative debut for NSW City against NSW Country in Coffs Harbour on Thursday after playing just 23 NRL games.

He was a shock selection in Australia's Tri Nations squad last season after being named rookie of the year, but admits he squandered the chance to make his Test debut and was the only player not used during the campaign.

Surprised he was selected in the City team this week after an average start to 2007, Hayne has vowed to put in his best performance of the year to push claims for a NSW State of Origin jumper.

"Most of it I didn't handle properly and the Tri Nations was a bit of a let down," said Hayne of his Kangaroos' experience.

"It was a learning experience last year. I had a missed opportunity is the way I look at it. I didn't take it with both hands and hopefully I won't let it happen again.

"There's a lot of opportunities for me but it's just a matter of whether I can take them and handle them or not.

"It'd be awesome (to play for NSW), a great achievement and I've always wanted to wear that blue jersey and to play against Queensland.

"(Picked for NSW City) does give you the hint they are still looking at you. Hopefully if I play good footy over the next couple of weeks I will get a look in."

Hayne thought after his less than spectacular start to the season with the Eels he may have blown his representative chances this year.

That sentiment was probably shared by Souths winger Nathan Merritt who has since claimed racism cost him the wing spot for City.

But Hayne has vowed not to let anything distract him from further rep honours.

"I haven't been playing that well and I'll admit it myself," he said.

"I've been pretty disappointing, the start of the season and hopefully I can turn things around this Thursday.

"I think each game I'm getting better."

Due to Hayne's participation in the Tri Nations last year he had a delayed start to pre-season, but he says he has struggled to cope with his rapid rise to fame and that's partly why he hasn't lived up to expectations in 2007.

"Everything has been so rushed and so fast, I just want to be able to press stop and soak it all up but I can't," he said.

"One thing leads to another. I've just got to be a bit more mature about it and take it with both hands."

The NSW City team gathered in Coffs Harbour with Cronulla's Ben Pomeroy, Lance Thompson and Reece Williams joining the squad after playing Newcastle.

Sharks lock Paul Gallen was ruled out after aggravating his ankle injury, replaced by South Sydney captain Peter Cusack.

Melbourne winger Matt Geyer was called into the side as 18th man.

Under-16 Kiwi earns a contract with Parramatta

His part in the recent under-16s Kiwis rugby league tour to Australia was cut short due to injury, but big prop Ryan Fish is not too upset - he'll be back across the Tasman before long to take up where he left off.

Fish took an elbow to the face in the opening match of the Kiwis' recent two-match tour against the Gold Coast development team, earning him more than 30 stitches and sidelining him for the second game.
"I saw it on screen when we watched the DVD of the game and it looked a lot worse than it was.
"My face and jersey were covered with blood but it was disappointing enough anyway," Fish said.

The Whangarei Boys' High School fifth former was gutted over the injury because it meant he could take no further part in the game.

But what made it worse for Fish was he thinks the injury was caused deliberately.

"I think that taking out our props was in their game plan and when we watched it later, we saw him come in with a flying elbow," he said.

The subsequent injury of fellow Kiwi prop Sepeti Afu added to the team's suspicions as they lost their go-forward in the second spell, fading slightly to lose the game 24-30.

Disappointment turned into frustration as the injury left Fish as a spectator for the team's final match against the Australian Aboriginal under-16 team. He had to watch as the team went down by four points.

At least Fish didn't have to worry about catching the eye of the scouts - he has already signed a holding contract with NRL club the Parramatta Eels.

The 15-year-old travelled to Australia last year to play in the national age group competition, taken over by former Northland development officer Damon Rudolph.

"I played in the under-18 grade, that's three or four grades up on where I normally play, and a few of the clubs noticed that I was playing well and were surprised at my age, I think."

The contract means Fish will probably head back to Sydney in July to play in the under-16, Harold Matthews competition. He will return to complete his school year before going back in December to enter the Parramatta development programme fulltime.

At 115kg and 1.9 metres tall, Fish is already the right size for an NRL prop, and he expects his fitness to improve immeasurably once he gets into training with Parramatta.

"Hopefully just getting into the environment is going to help ... you just live rugby league over there, it's awesome, you get to do whatever you want as a league player, you get free tickets to all of the games and the best coaching there is," he said.

Hayne yet to peak

Parramatta young gun Jarryd Hayne has admitted he is not playing at his best despite having been selected on the wing for the New South Wales City team to play Country in Coffs Harbour tomorrow night.

Hayne was the 2006 NRL rookie of the year but has only managed to score two tries for a Parramatta side that is currently sitting in the latter half of the table this season.

Despite the Eels' plight, Hayne said he would cherish his first representative game.

"I had a good year last year, but I haven't kicked off the way I'd have wanted to this year," he said.

"It's a bit of a step in the right direction making this team though."

Grothe joins sick Eels

PARRAMATTA'S mystery illness has claimed another victim with winger Eric Grothe the latest Eel to be hit by the virulent bug.

Eight Eels players took ill just hours prior to Sunday's loss to the Titans on the Gold Coast, with halfback Tim Smith and centre Ben Smith still struggling to return to full health.

Coach Michael Hagan today confirmed Grothe had also been hit by the bug which has claimed most members, including staff, of the Eels club. All players will be monitored in the lead up to Saturday night's home game against the Sydney Roosters.

Of particular concern is Tim Smith, the 22-year-old shedding up to three kilograms from the vomiting and diarrhoea associated with the virus. "There's some real issues in just trying to get some fluid and nutrition into (the sick players) at this stage,'' said Hagan.

''(Tim Smith) is not overly big as a halfback but a couple of kegs (kilos) makes a difference when you're playing our game. We think they're getting better but nowhere near what they normally would be. We've got another couple of days for them to recover.

"Nathan Cayless is feeling a bit better than he was earlier in the week and we've now got Eric Grothe that missed today's session and has a similar problem.''

Hagan said he would give all his ill players until Friday before making a decision on whether to replace them for the important Roosters clash.

The Eels have lost two games in succession while the Roosters appeared to turn the corner with last week's win over St George Illawarra. "We will give them to Friday at this stage,'' he said.
"All indications are they're feeling better and they will be a lot better than they were last week.''

Centre Ben Smith said the illness was the worst he had experienced and was amazed players were able to play at all last week.

"I've never felt so sick in my life, and certainly not so quickly,'' he wrote in his column posted on the Eels website.

"There was absolutely no way I could play on Sunday, in fact by the time I got to the ground I was that crook I literally could not stand up without assistance - I was so weak and fragile.

"Even though the bug hit the team really hard we are not going to use that as an excuse for our performance. Someone said after the game it is a reason rather than an excuse.''