ORANGE Barbarians will be catapulted into the national spotlight when the Continuous Call Team cover their round five Centennial Coal Cup clash with CSU Yellow today.
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The call team, made up of legendary players and commentators Ray Hadley, Bob Fulton, Steve “Blocker” Roach and cult hero Darryl “Big Marn” Brohman, will hit Bathurst’s Diggings Oval today after Mungoes ground manager Dean Hodges fired off a hopeful email recently to ask if a visit was possible.
One ground inspection later and the trio was locked in for their first visit to the central west since calling the Woodbridge Cup grand final in 2011.
The team, fresh off calling Wednesday night’s State of Origin epic, will set up and broadcast from a truck parked on the halfway line of Mungoes’ home ground.
Barbarians captain-coach Jason McClymont said his players will not take the unique opportunity for granted, and said he is preparing to face not just the university club’s top team but also a large, vocal crowd.
“They get loud sometimes, but that should just spur us on a bit more hopefully,” McClymont said.
“Hopefully we can roll through the middle, get a win up and put a bit of a show on for them.”
Barbarians president Paul Rudd said the presence of the Continuous Call Team will bring a new found sense of credibility to his club, and the competition.
“Hopefully it might make people take the competition, and us, a bit more seriously,” he said.
“It will show that the competition isn’t just the Group 10 lower division, it’s Midwest Rugby League. This could open up a world of opportunities for a club on the move.
“For the players, it’s the opportunity of a lifetime. To meet those legends and have their name on the radio, you don’t even get that at the top country levels.”
The sixth-placed Barbarians are chasing their second win of the year today after consecutive losses to Wallerawang, CSU Blue and Lithgow.
Barbarians’ clash with CSU Yellow kicks off at 2.30pm at the CSU Bathurst campus.