Hands down: Rookie shows he is up to the job for Eels
Eels coach Brad Arthur has guaranteed Josh Hodgson the starting role for Friday’s game against the Broncos in Darwin, but Brendan Hands is breathing down his neck after ticking off a major milestone in the win over Canterbury.
The 23-year-old capped off a memorable week in which he inked a new two-year-deal by getting through the full 80 minutes in just his fourth NRL appearance to help Parramatta to a 30-4 win at Commbank Stadium.
His coach wasn’t too thrilled with the team’s performance, saying they were flat in the sheds after they invited the Bulldogs back into the contest, but it was hard to keep the smile off Hands’s face after an eventful 24 hours leading into his run-on debut.“I wasn’t feeling flat. I was pretty stoked with that,” he said after the game. “Just to get through the full 80 (was good). My body felt pretty good, my lungs felt good so I was pretty happy with that. “Brad called me yesterday (Saturday). I was out with one of my mates playing nine holes. I played two holes and then he called me and said I was starting and playing 80. I was hitting them all over the place. I was hitting them into the water, into the trees.
“I was still wigging out all day yesterday and I struggled to sleep. I tried to stay as cool as I could and I kept telling myself to not play the game before I got here.” Hands assumed he was going to come off the bench but was told he’d be starting because Hodgson had the flu.
His efforts showed his coach that he has the fitness to play 80 minutes but Hands is expected to return to the bench with the English veteran set to slot straight back in.
“I’d love to do that (start games) but I know who Josh is,” he said. “Josh is a world class hooker and he was brought to the club to be that guy. I’m still happy to learn off him.”
Fitness is not an issue for Hands who has an exercise science degree and says training well is what gives him confidence to become a better player. It’s why he was able to play 80 minutes in all three NSW Cup games earlier in the year – albeit two were at five-eighth – prompting Arthur to hand him an NRL debut to take the load off Hodgson who has failed to fire in his first few games at the club. “To be honest, I haven’t done it a whole lot since I’ve been at the club,” Hands said.