Dyldam Parramatta Eels halfback Kieran Foran is set to make his Blue and Gold club debut this weekend against the North Queensland Cowboys.
After being ruled out of the season opener with an ongoing hamstring injury, Foran is looking forward to running out in his new colours against the Premiers at Parramatta’s Pirtek Stadium.
“I should be right to play. I have trained well all week and the hamstring has come through every session fine. Fingers crossed I get through the rest of the week and it should be good to go,” Foran told the Big Sports Breakfast this morning.
“I tested it flat out on Monday and gave it another test yesterday and it all came through fine.”
“Fingers crossed I get through Captain’s Run on Friday and get through the game. I am really looking forward to playing some footy.”
The Eels will clash with Cowboys this weekend, and Foran said that the Blue and Gold will need to be prepared to contain their entire side, including the ‘games best player’, Johnathan Thurston.
“It gets no bigger than a contest up against Johnathan Thurston, arguably the games best player,” Foran said.
“Any side that contains him is going to be a threat, but I think their whole team is so rounded in terms of strike all over the park and each of their players seem to have grown so much since that Premiership.”
“You have to contain Thurston, but at the same time, Lachlan Coote offers the same amount of threat, Michael Morgan and Jake Granville, plus a really good forward pack that keep coming at you all game,” Foran added.
“It will be a massive challenge for us this Saturday night but we have prepared well, had a look at the things we need to improve on from last week and hopefully we can go up another level this week.”
Reflecting on last week’s loss against the Broncos, Foran said there were plenty of positives to take away from the clash, highlighting the Blue and Gold effort and fight, particularly in the second half.
“That was the general consensus that I got from the public, was that people were pretty impressed with the grit and the fight that we showed considering the circumstances,” Foran said.
“Internally we felt that was the case as well. Brad said we were faced with a bit of adversity there, losing myself before the game and then Corey Norman at half time.”
“You take both halves out of any team and I am sure they will struggle so I think the effort and fight we showed to not let them score a try in the second half was good.”
“We looked fit and we looked strong, all that hard pre-season training we have been doing. I am reasonably confident we are going to have a pretty successful year this year.” Foran added.
And whilst Foran was pleased with the Eels defensive effort, he said that the Eels attack, in particular the dangerous left edge of Michael Jennings and Semi Radradra, would continue to improve as the season progressed.
“That can be the hardest thing sometimes. You know you have the most potent players out there but sometimes its just finding that momentum and that play that can give them that room,” Foran said.
“That is something we have spoken about, with Jennings and Radradra on that edge, there is so much strike there it is just laying that platform through the middle and allowing us to give those guys that space.”
“Jenko with any sort of room, even half a gap, he is going to make the most of it and I am sure as the season goes, as we start to build those combinations, he is going to see a lot more footy.”
The Dyldam Parramatta Eels take on the North Queensland Cowboys at Pirtek Stadium this Saturday night, kick off at 7:30pm.
Purchase your tickets to the Round Two encounter here.
