Pirates co-coach Mick Squires says they couldn't have asked for "a better first day on the park" as they prepare for a third attempt at winning a fifth straight Central North premiership.
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Making their return to the Armidale Knockout on Saturday, the 2019 Central North champions continued their success in the pre-season tournament defeating Kempsey 14-nil to claim the silverware.
"We had a lot of guys that were unavailable so we were really really happy with how we performed," Squires said.
He counted probably 15 either regular first graders or players who are in the mix, who were unavailable through other commitments.
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But that didn't seem to hamper them too much.
Their first hit out since late July, Squires said they weren't that great in their first couple of games but got better as the day went on.
One of the most encouraging aspects was the improvement in some of the areas they identified from last season they needed to work on and have been really focusing on in the pre-season.
There were a few times where it was highlighted that they were "not quite good enough yet", but Squires said you "could see some real progress made in some of those areas".
"One of big things that let us down (last year) was a lot of teams got second phase ball against us," he said.
Something they were renowned for and made them so formidable at the height of their recent dominance, they are trying to bring that back into their own game and on Saturday made some "good progress popping the pass".
"Our set piece, even though we chopped and changed players, remained pretty strong," Squires continued.
"Our defence got better as the day went on. Obviously it's something we're working really hard on."
"And some of our attack was pleasing".
The likes of Conrad Starr and Andrew Moodie really controlled the game, especially in the big games. Moodie's boot was one of the "big differences" in the final, the veteran five-eighth keeping Kempsey under constant pressure.
Squires said they (Kempsey) would have been lucky to have had the ball for "five or six minutes out of the 30".
The tournament also served as a good chance for Squires and co-coaches Doug Biffin and Evan Kellow to get a look at some of the new faces and see where they might fit in.
Mitch Mack was one of those to impress and is going to be "a big plus" for them, Squires said.
"We knew he was moving to town last year so we swooped on him," he said.
"We'll probably play him in the second row but it gives us three really strong ball carriers in Conrad (Starr), Nick (McCrohan) and Mitch."
It was something they probably lacked against the other top teams last year.
Their attention now turns to the Dubbo Roos on March 26.
The two clubs have met annually for a few years now and Squires said they'll be "good for rounding out our preparation".
Then it's Quirindi at home, on what will be Old Boys Day.
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