Tamworth Swans prepare for tough trial against Coffs Harbour Breakers

This, just days out from the club's only pre-season trial game, is inopportune news for the club, but Swans co-coach Paul Kelly remains upbeat.

"We've got a few out, we're a bit short," Kelly said.

"Blokes are still away, some have got COVID, so we won't be at full strength but we'll still have a pretty good side."

They will take on the Coffs Harbour Breakers this Saturday at No. 1 Oval, who Kelly expects to provide a stern test less than a month out from the start of the season.

"I'd say they'd be a pretty good team," he said.

"They'll be very fast with a lot of outside runners, I think. It'll be a very different style to what we play, so it should be good."

Instead of ruing their lack of numbers, the Swans intend to use the game as an opportunity to test out some of the newcomers.

As several fresh faces have joined the club ahead of the 2022 season, Kelly is eager to see what they can do and intends to play them in various positions throughout the game.

"We've got a few new blokes, it'll be good to see how they go," he said.

"We'll probably end up moving them around a bit just to try them forward or back. One midfielder's come back, and we've got a new midfielder, so it'll be good to see how they go."

Due to the consistent rain in recent weeks, the Swans have often been forced to cancel training sessions. This, combined with several team members missing training for health and personal reasons, means the team is "not really" where Kelly had hoped they would be just weeks out from round one.

But with a drier forecast for the next week, Kelly hopes Saturday's trial game can mark the beginning of an intense period of preparation for the club.

"We've still got a few more weeks until the season starts, so we'll start ramping things up a bit," he said.

"We'd hoped to be more advanced in our fitness and game style, but when you've got blokes missing from training, that makes it a bit harder.

"Hopefully everyone stays fit and well in the next few weeks and we can get a bit done."

The Swans' trial games will get underway this Saturday from noon with a women's fixture, before the men take the field at 2pm.

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