The Dyldam Parramatta Eels have launched their 2015 campaign this morning and the Blue and Gold mingled with the club's commercial and charity partners, enjoyed an informal breakfast and gave the guests in attendance an insider's look at the Eels pre-season preparations.
“It’s good to be here at the Season Launch, it means that the season is obviously just around the corner,” said Eels forward Darcy Lussick.
“We have had a long preseason and I can’t wait to play,” added Lussick.
Eels forward Darcy Lussick is the club's ambassador to Careflight, helping to raise awareness for the wonderful work they do, and Lussick was glad to be able to mingle with CareFlight Relationship Manager Scott Monaghan who was in attendance earlier today.
“CareFlight do a lot of good things in the community and they are great supporters of the club as well and it is good to catch up with everyone from CareFlight once in a while.”
Coming off his first hit-out for the 2015 season, Lussick was glad to get the Alice Springs pre-season trial in the hot conditions under his belt and knows the Blue and Gold will take plenty from the week in the north.
“It was hot conditions up there so it really tested us, but it was good to get it done and we have Penrith this week so we will take a bit out of that game,” Lussick said.
“Obviously it was tough from the first minute dealing with the conditions, but you just have to push through it but it was good for us since we don’t play in that type of conditions down here or during the year so we will take a lot out of the performance.”
Despite the 20-4 point loss against the Wests Tigers, the Eels have learnt plenty from the trial and will look to turn the result around this weekend with their final pre-season trial against the Penrith Panthers at Pepper Stadium, Penrith on Saturday 21 February 2015.
“Last week was good to get a run under our belts so this week we should be fielding a pretty strong team,” Lussick said
“We want to put a lot of things in place that we have worked on during the preseason so we will be taking this trial very seriously and a great warm up to the Round One game against Manly.”
Lussick, along with the rest of the Eels, are excited about the season ahead and are looking forward to reaping the rewards from the hard work they have put in during the pre-season.
“I am excited about the thought of the season just a few weeks away. It has been a long pre-season but it has also been enjoyable and it’s been a pleasure turning up to training everyday,” Lussick said.
“We have been going quite well at training but now we just have to take it onto the field and hopefully we can do that and we will get our first chance this weekend” he added.
The game against the Panthers will be the final hit-out for the Blue and Gold before their 2015 Telstra Premiership campaign gets underway with their Round One clash against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles at Pirtek Stadium on Friday 6 March 2015.
For more information on tickets for the 2015 season, or to purchase any tickets for any Eels home game at Pirtek Stadium from Round 1 through to Round 19, click here. For all Eels home games in 2015, tickets are offered at a discounted rate when you pre-purchase.