DON'T HOLD BACK: Orange City's Josh Tremain (left) will be fighting for a starting spot in the Central West Blue Bulls team in today's trial match against the Canberra Royals.
RUGBY UNION
THE Central West Blue Bulls will play their first trial of the year when they take on the Canberra Royals in Grenfell today.
The senior squad has been training since selections in January and head coach Matt McRobert is looking forward to seeing his players face some strong opposition.
The coach said this was a good chance to test different combinations.
He expects the players to perform well after good showings at training.
“We’ve had good numbers at training and the guys are working hard. I couldn’t be happier with them,” McRobert said.
“The plan to get around the zone and train at different venues has helped some of the players with travel.”
After the initial selection trials McRobert said he and his coaching panel would have selection headaches.
He hopes today’s trial will alleviate some of the pain.
“The good thing about this year is in the same position, there’s lots of competition,” he said.
“There are some different combinations we’ll have to investigate. It’s a good spot to be in.
“We’ve got Peter Nau (Dubbo Roos) and Josh Tremain (Orange City) in the No.2 and that theme is repeated across the squad.”
The Royals will be a good test for the Blue Bulls but McRobert said they wouldn’t back down from a physical game.
The trial will be played over three 25-minute periods, with McRobert expecting every player to get between 40 and 50 minutes on the field.
The Blue Bulls will have another trial the following week before a training camp in Parkes on March 15.
The NSW Country Championships will be played in Tamworth on March 23 and 24.
Today’s senior trial will be played at Grenfell Rugby Club from 4pm.
The Central West Colts will take on their Canberra Royals counterparts at Grenfell today from 2.30pm.
