Pre-season games can in new Tamworth coach Andrew Jack's words be "ugly" but there was plenty for him to like about the Magpies trial against Sydney subbies club Brothers on Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
A nearly full house was on hand at Tamworth Rugby Park to watch the Magpies beat the Sydneysiders 38-15 and continue their build-up for the season.
Following on from the Armidale Knockout the previous weekend, Jack was happy with the performance.
"They played well in the first few quarters, then got a little bit tired and things fell away, but they managed to get it back together at the end," he said.
READ ALSO:
As is the nature of trials they were continually swapping players around but overall he was "positive about the whole day".
He has them playing a bit of a different system, which is geared towards a more ball in hand style of game.
There has been "a bit of angst over what we are doing" but the fruits of it are starting to show.
Jack said when they "picked it up" on Saturday they started to find the gaps and through their ability to support the ball carrier were able to keep the ball in play for longer periods.
"Our aim was to continue on more than three phases and when we did that the gaps started to open up," he said.
The communication was also a lot better between the players. The defence is also looking better, he said.
"[But] Like everything we've got some things to work on," he continued.
They will get another chance to iron out some of those things this coming Saturday when they host reigning Central North minor premiers Gunnedah.
Jack said there were a number of players who really put their hands up on Saturday, singling out Jono Dunlop, who "did as expected", and front rowers Col Fogarty, Adam Wallace and Harry Mills.
The latter two both scored doubles, Mills particularly thriving in a bit of a different role on attack.
Rather than following rucks around, Jack is looking to utilise him as a bit of a punch runner, posting him out in the backline, which worked to pretty good effect.
A few of the new faces also impressed.
"We've got some new faces who have come through, who have come to Tamworth and are going to be a bit of a bonus for us," Jack said.
He said the "Brothers boys" put up a good fight and enjoyed the day.
"It was the first time they'd seen sunshine for a while," he joked.
Prior to the men's game the Magpies women had a hit out against Pirates.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark northerndailyleader.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News