Kenny Edwards will step in as five-eighth when the Dyldam Parramatta Eels take on the Gold Coast Titans in Round 14, and his teammates have wasted no time in giving the second-rower a new nickname ahead of the Darwin match up.
“My new nickname is Dean Widders,” Edwards said.
“It’s obviously a new challenge for me, playing five-eighth; I’ve played there my whole juniors growing up, and I’ve played a bit of it this year with our halves going down [to injury], but to play there for 80 [minutes] this week is going to be tough.”
Edwards admitted that after the Blue and Gold’s first training session on Darwin’s TIO Stadium on Wednesday, he was well aware of the challenge ahead.
“I had my first session as five-eighth then and man I was out on my feet,” Edwards said.
“I’m lucky I’ve got Corey Norman there to help me round the field: I’ve just got to play a running game, Corey Norman looks after the rest.”
“The heat’s definitely going to be challenge, but we’ve trained the whole pre-season in this heat. 40 degrees and they were training us as at 12 and 1 in the arvo, so hopefully we can adapt well.”
With Edwards and Norman wearing the size and seven jerseys, prop Rory O’Brien is set to join the interchange bench and make his debut appearance for the Blue and Gold against the in-form Gold Coast Titans.
“Rory’s your typical front-rower,” Edwards said.
“He’s just a big body in the middle of the field. He’s got a big motor for a big fella, he can do a bit of ball playing, and in defence he whacks hard.”
“The Titans have been really good the last couple of weeks. They’re a team that doesn’t go away, they keep coming for the whole 80 minutes.”
The Eels kick off against the Gold Coast Titans at 5pm local time (5.30pm Sydney time) on Saturday, June 11 at Darwin’s TIO Stadium. Click through for more details!
