It was a different type of training for some Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players on Thursday when they took part in a skills session with the NSW Waratahs.
With the Sea Eagles now into week nine of the pre-season, Coach Anthony Seibold decided to take some of his edge forwards, backs, and halves to participate in a series of short, sharp games and drills with the Waratahs for a different and fresh approach to training.
The likes of Daly Cherry Evans, Josh Schuster, Reuben Garrick, Brad Parker, Tolu Koula, Haumole Olakau’atu, Kelma Tuilagi, and Samuela Fainu were just some of the players who enjoyed the opportunity to do some oppose sessions with the Waratahs at their training headquarters in Daceyville.
There were several big name NSW Waratahs players involved in the session to, headed by Australian Test player Michael Hooper, Tane Edmed, Ben Donaldson, Charlie Gamble, Mark Nawaqanitawase, and Will Harris to name a few.
For Cherry-Evans and Schuster, it followed on from their opportunity earlier in the week to train with the Carlton AFL Club.
“I was lucky enough to go to Carlton this week and to the Waratahs on Thursday so it has ben an unbelievable week of learning for me and different experiences,'' Cherry-Evans said.
“This has been part of ‘Seibs’ plan since he got here to give people that experience but to also break up what has been a really big pre-season for most of our squad.
“We’ve had a lot of our boys training since November, so it is pretty exciting to go offsite and take in some great training habits from players of another code at an elite level.
“A lot of the boys just loved the opportunity to train at another professional organisation like the NSW Waratahs. If we can gain some advantage out of it, then that’s a bonus.
“It really was a big freshen up for our playing group and a bit of a reward for some of the boys who have been training for so long.”
"It was great to mix with the Waratahs players and their coaching staff. We are certainly grateful for the experience and they are a great bunch of guys. It was a good session."
