One of the coaches under the most pressure entering the season, Brad Arthur, is set to change his approach after an abysmal 2023 season saw the Parramatta Eels miss out on the finals.
Heading into last season, expectations were high for the Eels after making the Grand Final the previous year.
However, injuries, suspensions, and inconsistent form would derail their season as they failed to make the top eight and attempt to break the longest premiership drought in the NRL.
This has caused the 49-year-old coach to change his focus and apply a new-look approach this off-season as he looks to bring success to the club.
"I think he has understood more so than ever the importance of being unified as a team and all working together towards the same goal," Shaun Lane told Wide World of Sports.
"I know he's been doing a lot of work on himself too, it doesn't just stop with us - it starts with our leadership and he's done a great job working on himself over the off-season and figuring out what he needs to do better for us.
"I think it's coming out in our pre-season training program, it feels like the best program I've ever been put through. It's actually been quite enjoyable considering the fact you're getting flogged every day.
"I've been really impressed with Brad in this off-season and I'm confident in what he's been feeding to us."
Despite being at the helm of the Eels for the past decade and coaching over 250 NRL games, Arthur has yet to lead the club to Grand Final success - a feat that separates great coaches from good coaches.
Four players have left the squad from last season - Josh Hodgson, Waqa Blake, Andrew Davey and Jack Murchie - and while they have recruited Morgan Harper and Kelma Tuilagi, they aren't notable additions that will change the team dramatically, meaning they will line up with a similar team to last season.
Forced to watch the finals from the stands, Arthur won't be the only one under pressure this season. Star players Mitchell Moses, Dylan Brown and Clinton Gutherson will need to stand up, as the pressure mounts on the latter two.
Brown has struggled throughout his career with inconsistent form, whilst rumours emerged last season of Gutherson not being the X-factor the club needed. Gutherson, who was reportedly on the outs of the club at one stage last season, spoke about the change of focus of Arthur.
"He's just become more driven, like all of us," Gutherson said.
"You never want to be sitting back watching the big games on TV - you want to be in them and give yourself a chance to win them.
"It's just more drive and more motivation and Brad is no different, he leads from the front every single year. He's the first person to put his hand up when things go wrong.
"The boys have bought into what he is trying to push this year ... it's a great feeling at the club right now."
The Parramatta Eels will begin their 2024 campaign against rivals the Canterbury Bulldogs on Saturday, March 9.
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