NRL: Eels hoping for record crowd

It's been dubbed rugby league's battle of Sydney, and is tipped to pull a record 60,000-plus crowd for a non-grand final here on Friday night.

But for the Parramatta Eels it was just another training day as they filed in to begin the buildup for their National Rugby League (NRL) grand final qualifier against fierce rivals the Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium.

The Nathan Cayless-captained, Jarryd Hayne-inspired Eels have won nine of their past 10 and stormed into premiership second-favouritism behind Melbourne with their 27-2 win over Gold Coast on Friday.

Hayne, the new megastar of the game in Australia, said they would just continue to ride the wave against the Bulldogs.

"It's a bit more exciting, a bit more pressure and nerves so that's good," he said.

"As a team we are (coping) very well. (Nathan Hindmarsh) and Cayless are starting to feel the itch but I'm just more happy and excited."

That `itch' is the Eels' premiership drought which stretches back to 1986 and includes a gutting semifinal defeat to the Bulldogs in 1998 and a grand final loss to Newcastle in 2001.

Cayless, the World Cup-winning Kiwis captain, and veteran Hindmarsh both experienced that pain but tried to play it down.

Said Cayless: "You try and learn from it, but I'm just loving it. The amount of commitment the boys have shown to each other and the position we're in at the moment, it's a credit to the coaching staff and whole club that we've been able to turn it around and we're in this position.

"We've had a couple of good opportunities but you can't dwell on it... you can't control that and there's no point wasting energy thinking about it."

Coach Daniel Anderson, who guided the Warriors to the 2002 grand final against the Roosters, had instilled a confidence and fearlessness in the side after a horror start to the season.

Friday will be a new level again, as the NRL bean counters target a 60,000-plus crowd in the race to face off with Melbourne or Brisbane in the grand final nine days later.

The previous record for a match outside a grand final was 57,973 for St George versus Parramatta in 1963.

Hayne said the Bulldogs, who welcome back Brett Kimmorley from a fractured cheekbone, were still the NRL benchmark.

"Obviously they're the team to beat, they finished second they probably should have finished first," Hayne said.

"They're a class to themselves and they're getting Brett Kimmorley back and that will make it hard for us.

"We know what we've got to do and as long as we play out of our skins, that's all we can hope for."

The Eels have their own injury concerns with young five-eighth Daniel Mortimer in doubt with a hip pointer injury.

Mortimer quipped he would try to play "with a broken arm", but was cautiously optimistic about taking the field.

"The physio is pretty happy so far, I'll be doing everything that I can to get right. The (doctor) said I'm a 75 per cent chance so he's given me a bit of confidence," he said.

"But it's still pretty sore and I probably won't run until Wednesday or Thursday and we'll see how it goes then."

- NZPA