JUST five players from last year’s Caldwell Cup-winning squad of 25 have returned to defend the NSW Country Championship title next weekend in Bowral.
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Parkes’ Ryan brothers Dan and Ben, Orange City inside centre Mesui Lemoto and last year’s bench forwards George Quigley (Trangie) and Josh Tremain (Dubbo ’Roos) will move to the starting front row as the Blue Bulls prepare to tackle Illawarra in game one of the championships next week.
The large turnover of players just 12 months after Central West claimed the crown in Mudgee has come off the back of a heartbreaking scheduling, with NSW Country officials voting to move the tournament from pre-season to the beginning of May, three rounds into the Blowes Clothing Cup.
And co-coach Mick Gray admits the move has left both he and co-coach Steve Hamson “between a rock and a hard place”.
“We’ve been getting 13 to 14 to training,” Gray said.
“But we haven’t been getting the same guys ... we’ve probably had a core group of about eight players there for each run.”
In seasons past the Blue Bulls have trained regularly throughout the pre-season before a series of trials in the lead-up to the championships.
But Gray said it was a tough ask to make aspiring rep players back up after Saturday’s club games.
“And not everyone wakes up fresh Sunday morning,” Gray continued, the Blue Bulls also going to Bowral without a trial game.
“A lot of guys are pretty sore after games. There was some suggestion we could have a trial match (tomorrow), but that could mean we’d have to pull players from club games (today), and as a club coach too I wouldn’t want our best players not there this weekend.
“It’s been tough.”
Central West plays Illawarra in game one next Saturday, while Central Coast play Newcastle Hunter in the second game.
The winner of both will progress through to the Caldwell Cup final.
CENTRAL WEST BLUE BULLS: 1 George Quigley (Trangie), 2 Josh Tremain (Dubbo Kangaroos), 3 Naiase Haveleta (Orange Emus), 4 Dan Ryan (Parkes), 5 John Korff (Kangaroos), 6 Keith Howarth (Emus), 7 Duncan Young (Orange City), 8 Ben Ryan (Parkes), 9 Aaron Payne ( Kangaroos), 10 Adam Perri (Emus), 11 Tom Green (Emus), 12 Mesui Lemoto (Orange City), 13 Moavaku Kaeaefiafi (Kangaroos), 14 Cameron Cole (Orange City), 15 Josefa Lasagavibau (Orange City); 16 Darcy Garlick (Orange City), 17 Grant Lowe (Parkes), 18 Chris Senior (Orange City), 19 Scott Smith (Orange City), 20 Sam Coote (Orange City), 21 Rota Setu (Mudgee), 22 Tom Nell (Orange City), 23 David Birch (Mudgee), 24 Justin Schick (Kangaroos), 25 Jack Marchinton (Emus).