League: Eels look to land their elusive catch

Events at Parramatta mean Nathan Cayless has many reasons to hope that this season lives up to expectations. Cameron Spencer / Getty Images

This is a big year for Nathan Cayless.

It's his tenth year in the Aussie premiership and his team are second-favourites for the NRL title.

And at season's end, his coach for all that period, Brian Smith, departs the Parramatta Eels and 15 of his teammates are off-contract.

The Eels have been talked up for the title before, in 2001, which was Cayless' first year as captain. They were pipped 30-24 by Newcastle.

Last year they went into a playoff against North Queensland as raging hot favourites and came out 29-0 losers. As in 2001, they had won the minor premiership after 26 rounds. It was the fourth time in eight years they had bowed out one game short of the grandfinal.

Cayless still struggles to work out what went wrong, other than knowing that they dropped too much ball and made too many errors. As to why? "Maybe we tried a bit to hard to score points right at the start. It didn't happen and we started making errors and it just went from bad to worse."

The spectacular failure was motivation to do better this season, he said, but more motivating was the fact that the team would not be together in the same shape next year.

"It was a pretty disappointing way to end but there's no guarantees in sport. That opportunity has gone and hopefully we will be good enough to get back in that position again," he said. "This year is a real focus for us."

Cayless, approaching his 27th birthday, has one more season at Parramatta and would like to stay on beyond that if new coach Michael Hagan wants him.

He reckons he has four to five years left in the game.

"If you're looking after your body, if you're enjoying training and playing, good. If you're not enjoying training it's time to give it away."

He enjoys playing in New Zealand, not least because it gives him a chance to catch up with family. And there's the Kiwi connection.

"It's tough taking a home game to New Zealand," he said of Saturday night's encounter with the Warriors in Hamilton. "They're hard enough anyway. But obviously we had a good time in Hamilton last year." They won the first encounter there in June last year 28-18.

For the Parramatta club this is not just a game visit, they have had representatives in the community all week, visiting junior leagues clubs, schools and Waikato University and conducting coaching clinics.

The club has several New Zealand-linked players on its books including reserve grade captain Henry Perenara and his brother Marcus who is halfback in the second team. And as with other NRL clubs, there is recognition of the broad talent base here and a desire to pluck young stars of the future early, as Benji Marshall and Sonny Bill Williams were.

There was no disruption within the team because of the awareness of Smith's departure, Cayless said. "We found out pre-season so there's been time to adjust. As professional players we just have to get down to the job. As pros you should be determined to do your best in every game."

His personal goals this year include playing 26 rounds with consistency.

"That's the hardest thing to do these days, there are no easy games. I'd like to play every game of the season." He's had some bad ones - successive broken arms limited his appearances for two years.

Cayless was one year into the premiership and just 19 when he made his Kiwi debut against Australia in 1998. He played his 23rd test in the Tri-Nations series last year but withdrew ahead of the England leg of the series because his wife Erin was due to give birth, subsequently delivering a daughter, Mia.

"I've always enjoyed playing for New Zealand," he said. "It was a strange mix of emotions last year missing the end of the tournament especially when the boys won but it's great being a father."

He wants his test jersey back. He'd like brother Jason to be there too. He talks to his younger sibling, now at St Helens, twice a week. "He's finding it a bit tough playing in the snow, but enjoying it."

The Warriors visited Hamilton schools yesterday as they began a counter-attack against talent-scouting Australian clubs. Coach Ivan Cleary named former Hamilton Boys High student Sam Rapira as the game's 18th man.

In Australia privatisation is spreading, with the Dragons announcing that Wollongong TV station WIN had taken a one-quarter share in the club.

It is believed the broadcaster paid A$6 million ($6.9 million) for half of the stake owned by the Illawarra Steelers who were suffering with debt. And it appears their five-eighth and captain Trent Barrett is about to exercise a release clause in his contract.

Signed to 2008, Barrett has an "out" if he gets a big offer in Super League and it is believed he will link with former Steelers coaches Ian Millward and Andrew Farrar at Wigan.

At Souths, intense lobbying continues ahead of a vote by the 4505 paid-up members of the club this Sunday on a A$3 million offer from Peter Holmes a Court and Russell Crowe for 75 per cent of the club.

NATHAN CAYLESS

Born: March 28, 1979 in Sydney.
Junior club: Wentworthville.
1.85m, 102kg.

NRL debut v South Queensland R13 June 1997.
143 games for the Eels, 23 tries.
Captain since 2001.
23 tests for the Kiwis 1998-2005.
Captain in 2001.