G
Guest
Guest
How Tim Sheens turned Gareth Ellis into an attacking weapon
James Phelps From: The Daily Telegraph September 23, 2010 12:00AM
HE IS the attacking weapon who has taken the Tigers to the cusp of premiership glory - but Gareth Ellis has revealed he was nothing more than a crash-test dummy until he met Tim Sheens.
Speaking ahead of Saturday night's mouthwatering showdown against the Dragons, Ellis has credited Sheens for transforming him into one of the game's most dangerous running forwards.
"All I did back in England was tackle," Ellis said.
"I wasn't known for my attack in England at all. I was known for tackling, not scoring tries and Tim has worked very hard to turn me into an attacking player."
Since defecting from England in 2009, Ellis has become the X-factor in the Tigers' premiership campaign, with the giant forward striking up a potent fringe combination with Benji Marshall and Robert Lui.
Ellis did not cross the line for a try in 2009, but has this year scored six tries to add to his six linebreaks in a blockbusting year.
"Since I came to the Tigers, I have really worked on my attack," Ellis said.
"I was never known for my attack back in England. I was a defensive player. It is something Tim has worked really hard with me on and it seems to finally be paying off."
And in an ominous warning, the 189cm forward has vowed to unleash his speed and power on Jamie Soward this weekend in a bid to dull the No. 7's attacking genius.
"That's what us second-rowers do," Ellis said.
"We run at the halfbacks.
"We need to get someone like Soward through a lot of work because he is so dangerous in attack.
"We need to dampen him a bit but we can't go away from what we need to do.
"Everyone in the NRL can tackle and he does put himself in the way. He might be small but he gets in there and that is what rugby league is about.
"Sometimes those blokes miss but sometimes the bigger blokes do, too."
Ellis is relishing rugby league in September with the former Leeds players making the switch to the NRL so he could be a part of the big matches. Something the Tigers could not provide Ellis with last year.
"It has just been an amazing year," Ellis said. "It has been everything I was expecting when I came over from England where rugby league hasn't got the attention it has over here.
"I haven't been disappointed one bit."
Ellis is also ready to test himself against Dragons back-rower Ben Creagh, who he rates as one of the best players in the world.
"I came out here to play against the best players in the world and Ben Creagh is certainly one of them," Ellis said. "He has been outstanding this year and plays a role like mine. We are both edge players but I reckon he is a bit quicker than me.
"He is a fantastic player and I am looking forward to the challenge of coming up against him and the Dragons.
"They are a great outfit because they don't let up for a minute. I think we will have to be at our best as a team and as individuals to beat them."
James Phelps From: The Daily Telegraph September 23, 2010 12:00AM
HE IS the attacking weapon who has taken the Tigers to the cusp of premiership glory - but Gareth Ellis has revealed he was nothing more than a crash-test dummy until he met Tim Sheens.
Speaking ahead of Saturday night's mouthwatering showdown against the Dragons, Ellis has credited Sheens for transforming him into one of the game's most dangerous running forwards.
"All I did back in England was tackle," Ellis said.
"I wasn't known for my attack in England at all. I was known for tackling, not scoring tries and Tim has worked very hard to turn me into an attacking player."
Since defecting from England in 2009, Ellis has become the X-factor in the Tigers' premiership campaign, with the giant forward striking up a potent fringe combination with Benji Marshall and Robert Lui.
Ellis did not cross the line for a try in 2009, but has this year scored six tries to add to his six linebreaks in a blockbusting year.
"Since I came to the Tigers, I have really worked on my attack," Ellis said.
"I was never known for my attack back in England. I was a defensive player. It is something Tim has worked really hard with me on and it seems to finally be paying off."
And in an ominous warning, the 189cm forward has vowed to unleash his speed and power on Jamie Soward this weekend in a bid to dull the No. 7's attacking genius.
"That's what us second-rowers do," Ellis said.
"We run at the halfbacks.
"We need to get someone like Soward through a lot of work because he is so dangerous in attack.
"We need to dampen him a bit but we can't go away from what we need to do.
"Everyone in the NRL can tackle and he does put himself in the way. He might be small but he gets in there and that is what rugby league is about.
"Sometimes those blokes miss but sometimes the bigger blokes do, too."
Ellis is relishing rugby league in September with the former Leeds players making the switch to the NRL so he could be a part of the big matches. Something the Tigers could not provide Ellis with last year.
"It has just been an amazing year," Ellis said. "It has been everything I was expecting when I came over from England where rugby league hasn't got the attention it has over here.
"I haven't been disappointed one bit."
Ellis is also ready to test himself against Dragons back-rower Ben Creagh, who he rates as one of the best players in the world.
"I came out here to play against the best players in the world and Ben Creagh is certainly one of them," Ellis said. "He has been outstanding this year and plays a role like mine. We are both edge players but I reckon he is a bit quicker than me.
"He is a fantastic player and I am looking forward to the challenge of coming up against him and the Dragons.
"They are a great outfit because they don't let up for a minute. I think we will have to be at our best as a team and as individuals to beat them."
