St Mary’s Rugby League club will play in their first competitive fixture this weekend at the Cabramatta Nines before entering the Ron Massey Cup and Sydney Shield 2016 competitions.
The tournament will be used as an opportunity to showcase their young and explosive talent within the club, and also to reward the players who have put in the extra effort during pre-season.
They have the honour of opening proceedings, kicking off the tournament’s first match against Narellan at 9:20am, and their Rugby League manager – Adam Przybyla – says the club is ready for the test.
“[The players] are excited for the Nines, it’s something that’s been running for a long time now, it’s the first time we’ve been able to generally be a part of it,” Przybyla said.
“It’s the first piece of competition football wise they will play and they’ve had a long pre-season as most clubs have, so they’re all excited.”
Due to their new promotion into the Ron Massey Cup and Sydney Shield competitions, the players and coaching staff of St Mary’s are unsure what to expect when it comes to on-field performances in 2016.
Therefore, while the nines tournament will not be used as a direct trial, it will be used as an opportunity to blood some young talent in the club.
“[The Nines] enables to give a few younger players in the club an opportunity, and we’re also using it as a way to reward those who have trained exceptionally well to recognise their efforts,” said Przybyla.
While St Mary’s have not trained specifically for the tournament, Przybyla explained that some of the training drills in their program throughout pre-season will benefit them this Saturday.
“Pre-season these days consists of small sided type games – whether it’s [Nines] format, but they’ve played a lot of small sided games in their training program,” Przybyla said.
The action-packed day is a Rugby League fan’s dream day, with some genuine international Rugby League talent on show.
St Mary’s share Pool A with fellow domestic sides – Narellan, Cabramatta and Guildford – which will certainly give them an idea of what they’re up against, and whether they will be a dominant force in season 2016.
