WORLD-CUP HERO RETURNS TO TRL
Offerdahl joins the Boars
RUGBY LEAGUE: Goondiwindi is going all out in their bid to return to finals football in the Toowoomba Rugby League.
The club has bolstered the brains behind the team after they announced former junior Mark Offerdahl as playercoach for the 2019 season.
It marks a return to the Boars for Offerdahl after he last played in the U18s competition more than a decade ago.
Since then, he has enjoyed stints with the North Wales Crusaders, London Broncos and Sheffield Eagles in the English Championship, as well as representing the United States in the 2013 World Cup, and captaining the side in 2017.
The decision to come home has been on his mind for a while now, and Offerdahl said he was excited to make it a reality in the upcoming season.
“I was always going to come back when I was getting older,” he said.
“I’ve got my family and friends here, and it’s growing into a really good team. My brother (Michael) still plays in the side and I’ll lace them up again. I’ve still got a few years left.
“There’s a lot going on in Goondiwindi and it’s a great town to live in.”
After winning just three games and going down in a number of close encounters on their way to finishing ninth in 2018, Offerdahl knows there are challenges ahead.
“It’s been tough for them. Sporadically there have been a few good performances and they’ve been playing good for a majority of their games,” he said.
“We’ve written down reasons of what has gone wrong, and we’re working on them to keep improving.
“When looking at training and mindset, it’s not a onesize-fits-all approach.
“Once you get to a few players, others will see that it works and jump on-board. By the end of the pre-season we will have set a heap of realistic targets for training, both skills and weights based, and we’re already starting to see the benefits.”
The club has wasted no time in assembling their personnel for the new season, and Offerdahl is impressed with the talent on show.
“It’s been a lot of fun so far. We have some really good people behind the scenes that have recruited well for us,” he said.
“They have created a really good squad, and presented it as a lifestyle choice to come down to Goondiwindi.
“We’ve re-signed all of our local boys, like Carl Clement and Levi Wilson. We’ve also added Dave McGrady (previously with Warwick).”