TTM Canberra Raiders Cup Round 1 Preview
Belconnen United Scholars v Queanbeyan Kangaroos on Saturday at 3:00pm at Northbourne Oval
The TTM Canberra Raiders Cup kicks off this Saturday and what better way to start commence the season off than with a re-match between last year’s Grand Final combatants, the Belconnen United Scholars and the Queanbeyan Kangaroos.
After going excruciatingly close on several occasions the Scholars finally reaped Grand Final glory last year and Captain Channon McAskill is adamant that his team is not going to give up the silverware easily as they strive for back-to-back premierships.
“We’re definitely aiming to go back-to-back this year after going close for so many years,” said the hard-as-nails lock forward.
“The Roos first up is going to be a very big test for us. It’s the Grand Final replay so we’re straight into it. They’re always the benchmark the Roos, they’ve been to plenty of Grand Finals and there’s been an intense rivalry for the last three years now so it’s sure to be a big one.”
Conversely, Queanbeyan Captain-Coach Aaron Gorrell is looking to seek some revenge after last year’s heartache.
Amusingly both sides have labelled each other as the ‘benchmarks’ for the year.
“It’s always disappointing to finish the year on a note like that but we’ve got a few new faces and hopefully we’ve put that behind us and we’ll look to make amends this year,” said Gorrell.
“To do that we’ve got to move forward and get the two points this week. It’s a big ask but it will be good to get it out of the way early on. We can see where we are and what we’re doing well and where we need to improve.
“They will be the benchmark again and we’ll aim to be somewhere around them.”
Assisting the Roos chances are the acquisition of some handy recruits from both regional Australia and abroad.
“We’ve got a halfback from Huddersfield, he’s only a kid but he’s showing a lot of potential. Then we’ve got two new centres, one from Castleford who played a few Super League games and another one from Tumbarumba. I’m really looking forward to seeing those three play.”
Belconnen United will have a similar outfit to that of last year. Whilst the line-up will include 2012 Les McIntyre Medal winner Brent Crisp for round one, the star five-eighth may not be there for the remainder of 2013 unfortunately.
“Brent Crisp may be going to the mines and that will be a big blow to us if he does decide to go. To have him for round one will be good though and he will no doubt help us to start the season on a winning note,” said McAskill.
This year in the TTM Canberra Raiders Cup will see the banning of the shoulder charge and the amendment of the unlimited interchange rule. Interchange is now restricted to 12 interchanges per team.
Both Captains agreed that it was a good move for the competition.
“I think it’s a good change for the competition,” said Gorrell. “It will bring out the better players in the competition and let them shine towards the back end of the games and make it more attractive to spectators.”
Queanbeyan Blues v Goulburn Workers Bulldogs on Saturday at 3:00pm at Seiffert Oval
The recruitment by the Queanbeyan Blues for 2013 has been a major talking during the off season and their home fans will be able to see first-hand how the new recruits fare this Saturday at Seiffert Oval when they take on the Goulburn Workers Bulldogs.
Queanbeyan’s recruitment has been headlined by two former Raiders stars in halfback Marc Herbert and utility forward Trevor Thurling.
Thurling has been enjoying his time back at one of the clubs he grew up playing for as a junior and believes that new coach Simon Woolford has given Queanbeyan the necessary discipline to improve on the Blues finish in 2012.
Queanbeyan finished in 4th place last year however the proud club has high expectations and Thurling believes this year’s roster is capable of achieving those in time.
“It’s going well at the Blues and I’m enjoying myself there,” said Thurling. “We’ve had a good pre-season and we’ve got a new coach in Simon Woolford who has been very good.
“He’s been very strict and that’s one thing that we’ve worked on during the pre-season, our discipline. Everyone’s been turning up to training on time and doing extras to make sure that we’re right on game day.
“He’s brought a lot of new structures to the team and we’re looking forward to the start of the season. The inclusion of Marc Herbert is exciting and I’m looking forward to seeing him steering the ship around.
“There’s a lot of hype around our team due to some of our new players and we’ve got new expectations on ourselves as well.”
Meanwhile, Goulburn will prove a worthy adversary for the Blues after being one of the most impressive teams during the trials under the new restricted interchange rules.
Whilst former NRL player James Aubusson will be missing from the field this year, he will be able to concentrate his efforts solely on coaching.
Captain Daniel York believes this will be advantageous for his side especially with the acquisition of a highly capable dummy half replacement in Ben Picker.
“James Aubusson will just be coaching this year and Ben Picker who was a part of the Raiders’ Under 20s last year will slot into that hooking role comfortably,” said York.
“With Benny’s experience in the 20s hopefully we don’t miss out on too much. He’s slotted in really well in the trials so far and it also allows James to concentrate on the coaching side of things which will help us as well.
“Our minimum expectation is to make the finals. The limited interchange is going to suit us really well. We struggled against some of the bigger sides last year so that should help us out in the back end of most games.”
Woden Valley Rams v Gungahlin Bulls on Saturday at 3:00pm at Phillip
The Gungahlin Bulls are celebrating their 20 year anniversary this year and will look to celebrate the milestone in style.
Canberra Region representative Josh Ayres will again Captain the side and will look to lead the side from the front this weekend against the Rams.
The Rams have concentrated on developing some of their highly promising juniors over the off-season which has Captain Josh Burns excited about the upcoming season.
West Belconnen Warriors v Tuggeranong Bushrangers on Saturday at 5:30pm at Raiders Belconnen
Former Canberra Raiders NYC star Michael Brophy has returned to Tuggeranong after a stint in the Queensland Cup and has had a marked impact on the Bushrangers during the pre-season according to Captain Jarrad Teka.
Brophy will line up at fullback and has been instrumental in developing the club’s talented young halves combination of Carl Johnson and Ryan Gowing.
“Brophy is looking fit, fresh and fast and I can’t wait to see him play this weekend,” said Teka.
“He’s come back and he’s brought a wealth of knowledge with him from the Queensland Cup. He’s helped make a good environment at training with his quality and the players around him are really feeding off him and the club’s in a good place at the moment.”
Meanwhile West Belconnen will be looking to atone from a disappointing year last year in which they picked up the dreaded wooden spoon.
The Warriors are traditionally hard to beat at home and will look to kick their season off on a positive note in front of their vocal home fans.
*For an insight into the thoughts of the eight TTM Canberra Raiders Cup Captains watch the following video by Raiders TV -
http://www.raiders.com.au/news-display/ ... view/72763
Canberra Raiders media
Statistics: Posted by greeneyed — April 19, 2013, 4:49 pm