Wagga Brothers coach Terry Westblade will coach against one of his sons when the Group Nine side takes on Coogee Dolphins in their annual pre-season fixture for the Dave Mavroudis Cup on Saturday.
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Westblade’s eldest, Ben, will play for the Dolphins at Parramore Park, but the coach’s focus is firmly on the Brethren.
“I want to see our guys get a good hit out, hopefully a few minutes on the park for some of them,” Westblade said.
“A lot of the players were going to be in the All Stars game so with that being cancelled, we’ve sort of missed a game.
“They’ve been training well but nothing substitutes a game and see how they go ball in hand.”
Brothers had hoped for separate first and reserve grade games against Coogee but it could end up being three 30-minute contests if the Dolphins don’t bring enough players for two full games.
High-profile recruit Cameron Breust won’t be playing, as he’s still recovering from a rib injury picked up at the West Wyalong Knockout but Westblade is keen to see some of their young players in action.
Brothers’ game time at the February event was minimal, after they were knocked out in the first round by tournament winners Shellharbour.
“Not a lot,” the coach said, when asked what he could take out of the 30 minutes of play.
“But it was good from a couple of points because there were a few things Shellharbour did, showing us what we need to do, and other teams need to do, to get on the front foot. Like their work on the ruck.”
Coogee have proven too strong for Brothers the past two years, winning 24-14 last year and 20-10 in 2016.
The Dave Mavroudis Cup is played in honour of the former Wagga rugby league player who was killed in the Bali terrorist attacks of 2002 on an end of season trip with his Dolphins teammates.
The action gets underway at 3.30pm Saturday.
