WEST WYALONG KNOCKOUT
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
COOTAMUNDRA coach Mark Elia believes the pre-season talk and grapevine rumours will be silenced from the first kickoff at the West Wyalong Knockout tonight.
- DRAW: West Wyalong Knockout
After months of speculation, rumblings and predictions, Elia yesterday admitted there will be nowhere to hide once the whistle blows on the first hit-out of the season at Ron Crowe Oval.
While Bulldogs are one of five Group Nine teams to contest the $12,000 carnival tonight and tomorrow, Elia insists an early look at the competition is an important strategy for the rest of the season.
"We've been looking forward to West Wyalong for a while actually, it's one of those comps that forces you to put all your cards on the table straight away, you can't make any mistakes, really," he told The Daily Advertiser yesterday.
"Basically from kick-off it's full on, it asks a lot of questions of your team straight away.
"It'll be good for us, I'm hoping we give a good performance and we'll see where that leads us."
After months of training, Elia is confident he has assembled his best team to tackle the unknown Woden Valley Rams from the Canberra domestic competition in the first round tonight.
However, Elia is hoping a mix of experienced players and talented youth will shine.
"I'm pretty excited to see what's going on with us and what we can come up with," he said.
"We're kind of the baby Bulldogs, eight of those players are under 20 and I think about seven of the 13 are under 20.
"The thing is though we've got Grant Miller, Aaron Byrne and Grant Boyd in the six, seven and eight so I'm hoping their experience balances out the enthusiasm of the kids.
"In our situation it's a beautiful ground to play on and the facilities are fantastic.
"We're playing at 10pm at night so we miss the heat and we're playing against a team that we know absolutely nothing about.
"Of course they'll have our full respect coming over from the Canberra comp but normally you play people that you know, and that's the beauty of this competition."
Bulldogs will debut several new faces tonight, including returning prop Grant Boyd as well as fresh recruits Sirla Pera, Phillip Salue and Henry Sang-Yum.
WHAT'S ON AT THE WEEKEND
TONIGHT
West Wyalong Knockout
(Ron Crowe Oval 6.30pm)
Barellan Masters Games
Temora dogs
(First race 7.30pm)
TOMORROW
West Wyalong Knockout (Ron Crowe Oval 5pm)
Narrandera Rodeo (Rodeo arena 6.30pm $20)
Balranald races (First race 1.05pm)
Junee trots (First race 7.15pm)
Australian Powerboat GP (Lake Albert 9am)
Barellan Masters Games
SUNDAY
Australian Powerboat GP (Lake Albert 9am)
O'Farrell Cup (Wagga Cricket Ground 10.30am)
Barellan Masters Games