THE TARGET IS ON JCU MARINERS
It’s a daunting task to take on the role as the premiers’ coach, writes Matthew McInerney
JCU Mariners will have a target well and truly on their backs when the new FNQ Rugby season kicks off on Saturday, but the defending premiers’ new coach is not fazed.
Nick Moller leads an all-new coaching team at JCU, which features former premier grade gun Jack De Guingand and Vincent Silulu, and has a roster which will be among the favourites as the club chases its third premiership in four years.
But as his side prepares to kick off their premiership defence against Port Douglas, the team they beat in last year’s grand final, Moller conceded the time he found the task “daunting” had passed.
“It was daunting to take on the role at the start, just the amount of work that goes into it all,” Moller said.
“In terms of defending the title, yeah, we’ve spoken about how nice it would be but it’s not something we’re bringing up every week.”
JCU’s first-round clash with Port Douglas is the main event of a massive opening round at West Barlow Park, which will welcome all eight Agrade
teams to the venue for four games throughout the afternoon.
Stan Afeaki has stepped up to coach Port Douglas in 2022, but warned his team won’t be firing on all cylinders from day dot as they viewed long-term success.
“We’ve taken more of a club focus this year,” Afeaki said.
“We didn’t have too many home games last year so that’s impacted a few things, but we’ll work on bringing the club together.”
Afeaki, who has been on the Reef Raiders’ staff for the past few years, said his team would adopt a more expansive and mobile style of play.
“We’ve lost a bit of size through the forwards so, with the new players we do have, we’ll be changing a few things there,” Afeaki said.
“With Matty Mallard out, the size in the back row is considerably less. We’ll focus on fitness and mobility, so the game plan has moved away from the middle.”
The return of Penrhyn and Mudcrabs to the A-grade competition has made for the first eight-team competition in years, though the premiership race will be expected to feature the usual suspects like the Mariners, Barron Trinity, and Southside.
One club out to make moves on the field is Brothers. The club has been starved of success, but coach Peter Collins is feeling optimistic about the team’s chances.
“I’m feeling much happier now with the amount of depth we have in key positions,” Collins said.
“That’s where we struggled more than anything last year ... we lacked depth so players had to move around.
“The biggest difference will be our better game management. We moved people all the time last year so it was a bit erratic, but it’s an area we’ve put a lot of focus on, and have more depth.”