REFUSING to show his hand, Ag College coach Richard Turnbull isn’t giving anything away ahead of the Southern Inland Rugby Union major semi-final at Conolly Rugby Complex tomorrow.
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Tight-lipped on his game-day calculations, Turnbull kept his cards close to his chest when probed about his plans to flick aside Albury on the path to a fourth straight SIRU decider.
Speaking yesterday, Turnbull revealed he is treating tomorrow’s game like any other.
“It’s not all that different, it’s mostly about fine-tuning a few things,” he told The Daily Advertiser yesterday.
“When you know the opposition and you’ve got a fair idea who they’re playing you’ve got a better idea of how they play.
“You’ve got to try and make subtle changes to try and compensate for the way they might have analysed you as well though, but when you meet them you don’t really know how it’s going to turn out.
“At the end of the day, you can only do so much and the rest you have to try and adapt.
“You don’t know what the day is going to bring you, the weather, the surface, the bounce of the ball.
“All I ask is that the players do everything to execute correctly and to enjoy themselves.
The Steamers were leading the SIRU competition on an undefeated streak until Aggies disposed of them 38-14 at Beres Ellwood Oval in round 13.
Led in part by two of the competition’s biggest improvers, Ben Ashton and Ben Leaper, Aggies are at next to full-strength to take on the Steamers tomorrow.
“They’re two players who have the ability to move up to the next level of play,” he said. “They can play much higher and they’ve probablybeen one of our better players this season.
“I wasn’t here last year but they they’ve really blossomed this year.
“These guys were playing in seconds and thirds last year and for some reason or another they’ve turned it around this year.”
While keeping is predictions under wraps, Turnbull said he expects no less than the best from his players tomorrow.
“When we approach a game, we do it to play the best rugby that we possibly can, and then whatever the outcome is you’ve got to be satisfied with that,” he said.
“I’ve never spoken about winning with this team, or with any of the teams I’ve ever coached. It’s always been about playing to the best of your ability on the day and the outcomes will take care of themselves.
“What’s the use in winning a game when you haven’t played your best?”
