Brendan Hands has dream NRL start for Eels against the club he grew up supporting

There is no way Thursday night could have been any better for Parramatta’s Brendan Hands.

At 24, he’s not the oldest debutant in the game by a long shot, but there were times, even this year, that he thought he was never going to make it.

The Penrith junior rose through the ranks of the system with Stephen Crichton and Spencer Leniu, but took the “scenic route” to first grade, as he describes it, while they excelled quickly.

And on Thursday night, finally, he got to live out his dream almost two decades in the making.

“It’s crazy. I grew up in Penrith, I still live out there,” he told CODE Sports after the Eels’ 17-16 win over the Panthers in the grand final rematch at Commbank Stadium.

“I’ve been going to Penrith home games with my dad since I was six or seven.

“I had to leave there for a better opportunity, and I ended up here [at the Eels in 2022] and ironically got to debut against them and score a try and win in golden-point, so I can’t ask for anything better than that.

“I was behind Api [Koroisau] and Mitch [Kenny]. They’re a pretty good side so they’re hard to crack into. Brad [Arthur] gave me an opportunity here and I’ve tried my best to take it.

“Everyone who knows me knows that this is all I’ve ever wanted to do. It’s not your typical debut story, I’m a bit older, 24, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Hands was given 40 tickets for friends and family for Thursday night, and they were all seated at the northern end of the stadium, right where he scored a breakaway try in the 57th minute.

It was a huge celebration for his loved ones who had seen him battle his way through injury to find an opportunity like this.

At times he’d doubted if he would make it, and a leg fracture just before the start of the season ramped up that head noise. He wondered if an NRL career was on the cards for him.

“There’s always those times when you go through that. I had a couple of injuries and had one earlier this year and I was thinking to myself, maybe that's it, maybe it’s passed me by,” he said.

“But I had the attitude of, ‘If it’s not this year when is it ever going to be?’

“I put all of myself into this year and into my training and it’s paid off so far. I know this is just the beginning. There’s plenty of work to go from here but this is where I’ve wanted to be my entire life.”

Hands was out for six weeks with the leg fracture, but played three games of NSW Cup with the Eels before Arthur called him in to have a chat before training on Tuesday.

Although he was a five-eighth coming through the grades, he played No.9 in NSW Cup the week before and impressed, and Arthur eyed him for the utility role off the bench for first grade.

Hands is still on a development contract so the club applied for an exemption to allow him to play this week. It will be a week-to-week prospect, but Arthur confirmed there are spots available in the top 30 should they choose to upgrade him.

“He’s not a part of our top 30, he was given an opportunity and has done a really good job,” Arthur said.

“He didn’t overplay his hand, he just pushed through and got lucky with a nice try.

“He’s one of those blokes who the boys like to see rewarded especially on the back of how hard he trained in the pre-season.”

All of those decisions are up to someone else, so in the meantime Hands will stay busy.

He’s full-time with the Eels on his development deal, but on the side he’s studying a graduate certificate in exercise rehab to go along with the sports science degree he earned at the end of 2021.

He also does one-on-one coaching with kids as well, helping them to hone rugby league skills. It keeps him busy so he doesn’t overthink his own career.

“I’m on a development contract, going from there, they got an exemption this week but I’m just doing as much as I can to turn that into a top 30 spot,” he said.

“I try not to worry too much about that, I can’t control that, the only way that can change is in the way I train.”