NEW Eels coach Brad Arthur has confirmed Will Hopoate will honour his Parramatta deal, with scientific data showing he is now faster and stronger than the teenager who played State of Origin.

Hopoate is a fortnight away from completing a Mormon mission in Brisbane and there were fears the two-year stint would jeopardise both his Eels contract and capacity to play NRL.

But Arthur, now in charge at the Eels after being overlooked by the Cowboys, set the record straight on dual fronts.

Not only will Hopoate feature in the Parramatta centres next year, but the club’s statistical benchmarks indicate the 21-year-old will be physically equipped to fire in the NRL.

Parramatta have gone to remarkable lengths to ensure Hopoate’s success next year, transporting training equipment 920km and setting up a private gym at his church in Brisbane.

Currently holidaying in Bali, Arthur begins a new chapter at Parramatta this Monday and says Hopoate will be a key plank in his plan to make the Eels a finals force next season.

"I’ve spoken to Will's father John and he’s informed me that he will definitely be at Parramatta next year which is good news," Arthur said.

"I’ll be using him in the centres. When you have a player of Will’s quality, he needs to get the ball in his hands as often as possible so I’d like to see him closer to the action.

"He’s had a few years out of the game but I’m confident Will can make an impact when he settles in.

"It’s a big year for everyone at the club. I know people look at the Eels coming last (in 2013) but I don’t want us finishing 12th or 14th next year, I think the top-eight is a realistic goal and that’s what I’ll be working towards."

Hopoate was just 19 when he made his Origin debut for NSW in 2011. Since then, he has devoted himself to religion in Brisbane, raising doubts as to whether he can make it back after two years out of the NRL system.

But Parramatta high-performance guru Ciriaco Mescia is convinced Hopoate can again scale the code's representative heights. The evidence lies in the data and testing Hopoate is subjected to every five weeks.

"Every session we've had has been exceptional. There has been nothing there to suggest that he wasn’t committed to the cause," said Mescia, who returns to Brisbane this Monday for a final testing session.

"We had to start from a lower base than we would have hoped but every time we have gone up there he has improved.

"His speed has improved and so has his strength. Every time we test him, there are significant improvements.

"In some areas he has been exceptional given the circumstances.

"We’ve had to create a gym for him. We basically sent a heap of equipment up to Brisbane and got it all set up. We had to create a little training centre in his own backyard ... dumbbells, barbells, pre-hab equipment, speed equipment and weighted vests.

"Will’s had limited time to train so he only had early in the morning before his mission work.

"We are grateful to the church for allowing us access to Will because if they didn’t it would have made it very difficult to get him up to speed to play NRL.

"Whenever I have given him a target, he has been so professional in meeting it.

"He is a very proud person and that’s what drives him ... under the circumstances, he has done extremely well."