Cairns trip a primer for club’s title quest
A TRIP to Cairns in the middle of summer is more than a holiday for ACT Premier Division rugby club Wests.
The club is bringing two full squads to Far North Queensland this week for trial games against FNQ Rugby’s representative team, the Thunder.
It is an opportunity for FNQ Thunder’s players to impress coaches at a club with direct links to Super Rugby’s Brumbies, but Wests also stand to benefit.
Craig Robberds was until last year the First XV’s head coach, and this season will slot into a new role as backs coach.
While the club is deep into pre-season as it looks to again climb the mountain and claim a title, Robberds said the Cairns trip could play a major role in their premiership quest.
“It’s a good opportunity for players to show what they’ve got,” Robberds said.
“It’s a good chance for bonding and doing a bit of sightseeing as well.”
The ACT club is developing strong links with FNQ Rugby clubs, with former Thunder and Barron Trinity premiership-winners Declan Meredith and Jimmy Ngutlik among those to have left Cairns for the Australian capital.
Those links could be further strengthened should the Thunder sufficiently challenge Wests on Saturday afternoon.
Thunder coach Wayne Meredith has selected his squads, dividing them into a First and Second XV to face Wests’ Premier Division and Colts teams.
The team will fly into Cairns on Thursday night, and run a training session at Barron Trinity Bulls’ Machans Beach home ground.
The curtain raiser will kick off at 2.30pm, with the main game from 4pm.