They had to contend with playing three weeks in a row against teams fresh off the bye, now Parramatta will head to the Top End and try to upset table-toppers Brisbane in stifling heat – and on the back of a five-day turnaround.
Friday’s blockbuster will be the ninth time the Eels have taken a home game to Darwin, but only the second time they have done so on the quick back-up.
Eels coach Brad Arthur has experimented with different preparations over the years, including travelling at the start of the week to acclimatise to the sticky conditions – it is forecast to be 34 degrees celsius on game day – and jetting in the day before the game.
Arthur said the club’s head of performance Trent Elkin had lightened the player workloads over the Easter break in the hope they would be kept fresh for the long and hot road trip.
“We had 11 days going into that Wests Tigers game where we played on a Thursday night and didn’t play until the following Monday, and ‘Elky’ spaced out our program so the boys only trained three times that week,” Arthur said.
“He did that so it would help the boys with this trip; by doing that he hoped we would see the benefits over this period now.
Eels back-rower Shaun Lane tries to survive last year’s Top End heat.Credit: Getty
“We fly up Tuesday, we’ll train at kick-off time on Wednesday night, so we’ll only have the one session.
“There will be no excuses. It all comes down to attitude. Last year we played poorly up there against the Cowboys, they out-competed us, then we came out the following week with a stack of players missing – and only seven blokes who could train that week – and we beat Penrith.
“We’ll do everything we can to look after the boys, but all we can do is get on with it. They’re paid to play footy, and that’s what they’ll do.”
The battle of the big men, Parramatta’s Reagan Campbell-Gillard and Junior Paulo versus Brisbane’s Payne Haas, will be a fascinating heavyweight match-up. All three have big engines and will cope with the heat.
Clint Gutherson on the fly against Brisbane at Darwin in 2021.Credit: Getty
“Payne will come at our two boys, and our two boys won’t take a backward step,” Arthur said.
“It will be a great battle in itself; it always is, every time we go up against him. Brisbane are playing really well, they have plenty of points in them, so we’ll need to be strong defensively.
“We showed signs of improvement with our defence on Sunday [against the Bulldogs], but Friday we’ll meet a team that capitalises on every opportunity.”
Bailey Simonsson (suspension) and Josh Hodgson (flu) will head to Darwin, with three players to fly back on Thursday, and Jake Arthur to catch the red-eye back to Sydney late Friday, before pressing on to Auckland for Sunday’s reserve grade game.
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