Clydesdales up for the challenge of Brisbane
RUGBY LEAGUE: The Toowoomba Clydesdales will have more than pride on the line when they line-up in Warwick today.
In the first representative fixture of the season, some of Toowoomba’s best players will come together to tackle Brisbane Wests, with the hope of securing bragging rights and further rep honours.
Spots in the TRL All Stars team to take on the South West Emus are up for grabs, and coach Ned Murphy believes this esteemed group of players can lead the way in 2019.
“We had a training session on Wednesday which was high quality. Both teams looked very sharp already and there is good talent to choose from for the All Stars,” Murphy said.
“A lot of the players in the Clydesdales have already been chosen for the Emus, but there will still be plenty to choose from.
“It will be a good trial for the 47th Battalion later in the season as well.”
In order to give as many players as possible a strong look-in, Murphy opted to keep a number of key combinations in place when splitting the teams in two, as they come up against a battle-hardened squad from the city.
“We tried to keep out combinations together as much as possible,” he said.
“With only the one session, our big thing was keeping blokes that are familiar with each other. From there they can get out and play their natural game, and it helps them to impress when there are already established combinations.
“I don’t know a great deal about Brisbane Wests, but I’ve heard they’re a good defensive team with their tackling and wrestling. They’ve been training since November and have a former Toowoomba player in Mackenzie Reid who is a good little halfback.”
Murphy expected a number of the squad’s young core to stand up today, and push their claims for further honours.
“Daniel Jennings looks really good, and both Josh Stanton and Nathan Gaulton have looked sharp in that team,” he said.
“Sam Betros will come off the bench with Sean Loxley starting. I watched Sam play against Highfields last year, and he’s a very busy halfback that defended very well.
“He will learn a bit of game management and talk through Sean and Cory McGrady, and he will go back to his club and be a lot better for it. He hasn’t looked out of place and looks made for it (representative football).”