Rebuilding Bulls put bad start to good use
ONLY four rounds have been played and already Nerang Bulls coach Steve Sloan says a 2015 premiership is out of grasp for the struggling club.
Things went from bad to worse for the Bulls in the preseason when, after a lacklustre 2014 campaign, Nerang lost many of their best first grade players as well as their berth in the third grade competition.
But Sloan says club officials have accepted that 2015 will be a rebuilding year for the club.
As such, he has blooded a host of young players in the opening four rounds of the Gold Coast District Rugby Union competition and Sloan hopes they will lead Nerang into an era of dominance in years to come.
“It’s been a tough start to the year for us not only on the field but off the field,” he said.
“We had to bring in younger players so the average age of our team has dropped by about eight years.
“I guess the issue for us once the competition round started was the younger guys are taking a while to get up to speed with senior rugby.
“We see this year’s team as an investment in the future.”
The Bulls lost about seven players in the off-season.
Sloan says some returned home to New Zealand while others retired or made the switch to Surfers Paradise.
What’s more, the coach says about half a dozen of his Bulls are only available fortnightly due to fly-in fly-out work commitments.
Sloan said the aim was to be a challenging side in the competition by the end of the year.
He said he was positive about the club’s future but admitted he thought some elements of the game should be addressed in coming years.
“We’re not downhearted by any means … we know where we stand,” he said.