BEING strong in the contest is what the Blues have been working on all pre-season according to assistant coach Tim Clarke.
Returning to his former role overseeing the midfield at IKON Park, Clarke cast an eye towards some of the changes for the Blues play 2022, and that will all kick off in their clash with the Saints on Thursday morning.
“Our brand is our brand, against the Saints on Thursday: what we’ve been working on all pre-season will be rolled out against them,” Clarke said.
“It’s great to finally play against an opposition team. When you play against yourself for a couple of months, the boys are itching at the bit to play some real opposition.”
After months of pre-season training, the group is keen to put what it has learned to the test against another opposition, with Clarke emphasising a strong focus on knowing your role and executing at the source.
“A lot of what we’re focused on is around the contest, what it looks like at the source and then how we attack off that, how we defend from our contest,” he said.
“There’s a number of decisions that will come off a contest that you need to make, and we want our players to have a really good understanding and have the trust in each other that they’re going to play the role at any given time.”
Clarke is happy to throw it back to basics and attack the ball at the source, getting the game on the Blues' terms from the outset.
Having a strong list to choose from will definitely make it easier for Clarke and company to adjust their on-ball brigade, dictated by the course of the game..
“We’ve got multiple guys who can go into a centre square bounce and they know they’re really good contest players, they’re good stoppage players,” he said.
“Whether it’s a half back that can change and play on ball, whether it’s a number of our half forwards who can play roles through the midfield, it does give you flexibility to be able to move things around if you need a bit of speed or you need a bit of stronger bodies, there are some things you can do to change that.”
In terms of midfield spots, Clarke admitted there will be a fair bit of competition for those starting four centre positions, with many players putting up their hand to take on the challenge.
With the whole team putting in the effort, Clarke concedes that it’s going to be a tough time when it comes to deciding the best 22.
“We’ve got Cripps who has played for a number of years here as the captain, he’s obviously going to be a big presence for us,” he said.
“Adam Cerra and George Hewett have come to the Club and hit the ground running with their work ethic and their leadership, their expectations in and around the contest.
“Matty Kennedy, Paddy Dow are in really good form, I’m talking about the guys playing in and around the ball: we’re going to have some tough decisions over the next three or four weeks as these guys get to roll out their brand of football against oppositions.”
