GOONDIWINDI BOARS
LAST YEAR
3-13, 9th
INS AND OUTS
IN: Mark Offerdahl (Sheffield, England) David McGrady (Warwick) William Beale (McIntyre Warriors) Micheal Hazard (Mackay) Malcolm McGrady (McIntyre Warriors), Jason Saunders (Moree Boomerangs), Nacanieli Tuiqali (Wentworthville) Mike Walker (Sheffield, England) Sandy Rae (Tumut. Originally from Newcastle, England), Khaled Tamer (Moorebank) Aaron Robinson (Moree Boars) Reece Richmond.
OUT: Tyrell McCullagh (Gatton), Matt Gardner (Illawarra) Ronnie David (New Zealand) Brandon McGrady
LIKELY TEAM
1. Will Carter 2 Stewart Lowe 3. Jason Saunders 4. William Beale 5. Tyrell Swan 6. David McGrady 7. Michael Hazard 8. Carl Clement 9. Joel Currie 10. Callum Skinner 11. Mark Offendahl 12. Aaron Robinson 13. Levi Wilson 14. Adam Tribe 15. Will Carrol, 16. Sandy Rae 17. Derrick Craige
THE YEAR AHEAD
Big things are happening near the border, as rugby league receives a huge boost ahead of the TRL season.
“We’re excited about the numbers we’ve got,” Boars captain-coach Mark Offerdahl said.
“We signed a C-grade side up last week and have had 27 put their hand up to play Agrade.
“Everyone’s mindset has changed in regards to training, and we’re getting a bit more professional.”
Despite the increased expectations on the back of some strong pre-season form, Offerdahl isn’t getting too excited just yet.
“We still have plenty to work on,” he said.
“You don’t get anything for winning trials, and we haven’t done anything yet. We’re not getting too far ahead of ourselves.
“When we did have our best team on the paddock in the trials, we put points on pretty quickly. But even though we won, there were parts of those games that were unacceptable.”
PLAYER TO WATCH
Dave McGrady. “He makes it look easy when he’s out there. He’s relaxed and controls things so well, and is a great dominant half,” Offerdahl said.
VERDICT
Much has been said of the Boars struggles in 2018. They played far better than their record of 3-13 suggests, however remaining focused for the entire 80 minutes was their downfall. They’re not content to let that happen again, and have made big strides to get back into the race for the finals.
SEVENTH