Hogs fired up for a restart
THE coronavirus has robbed the defending champion Helensvale Hogs of a smooth preparation to their title defence but the fire rages on in their quest to build a GCDRU dynasty.
New skipper Scott Stokes has already endured a sterner test of his leadership than most of his predecessors faced in their careers as he shepherds his squad through training in isolation
The weekend’s revelation that teams could return to training on June 1 and play on July 1 has sent a bolt of fresh energy throughout the group, the champion halfback said.
“We’re all excited to get back into it,” Stokes said.
“It’s a bit of shame we did all our pre-season then a few weeks beforehand the season gets postponed.
“The boys have been really good training at home on their skills or gym work, we’ve all stayed pretty active and sharp.
“We’ve been making sure they (the team) kept interested in rugby; if we can keep rugby on their mind and get them back on the field we should be able to take off where we left off.
“Everyone’s excited to get back in because where we might have had a few little injuries or niggles, now everyone should be fixed and ready to go.”
A fast start will be essential because the Hogs’ 2019 grand final opponents have only grown in strength.
Griffith Uni Knights coach Johnny Ngauamo said his players had spent their quarantine period running 4km time trial races for the fun of it.
“We’re happy to have a starting date because the boys have kept up their training plans from day dot, just to keep fit,” the proud coach said.
“They’re raring to go, I know that.”
Hogs and Knights were due to play a grand final rematch in the first round of competition on April 4.