French may be on the move

Eels winger Bevan French may leave Parramatta at the end of the season to pursue his long-term goal of playing fullback.

The 22-year old comes out of contract at the end of the 2019 season, but he is free to begin exploring his options as of November.

French is currently behind Eels regular number one Clint Gutherson, and his desire to play fullback could lead him to another club.

“I’ve had a little chat with my manager and come the end of the year we’ll have a sit down and have a chat about that and chat with the club and see where I sit,” he told the Daily Telegraph. 

“A lot of people’s opinion is that I’m a better winger than fullback but I’d be pretty disappointed if I spent my whole career out on the wing.

“I don’t want to look back and say I didn’t try. If I try and go somewhere and try to be a fullback and it doesn’t work out, at least I know I gave it a crack and I’ll be happy to play anywhere then.”

The Tingha product said there was other factors he would consider if he were to look at other clubs.

“You have to look at the clubs and the facilities and what I can learn,’’ French said.

“I have learnt a lot here and I’m sure if I do stay here I’ll continue to learn a lot. I’ll have to sit down and go through the pros and cons of things at the end of the season with my manager. It’s something I’ll have to start thinking about soon.”

With Roosters winger Blake Ferguson joining Parramatta next season, French said the competition for spots was a healthy problem the Eels would be faced with.

“It’ll be healthy for our club and the team in general,” he said.

“I think we already have strong competition with the roster we have.

“Everyone is sort of pushing for positions every week. He’s only going to add to that.

“It doesn’t bother me what side I play or anything like that. Come preseason it will be interesting to see who is going to play where and the competition is just going to put everyone on their toes.”