Early-season rust as Gunnedah Red Devils record trial victory

The Gunnedah Red Devils first graders registered a win but were far from polished as they had their first hit-out of the year last Saturday.

The hosts scored seven tries to one against the Dubbo Rhinos on the training field at Gunnedah Rugby Park, as conditions were spongy and heavy in patches on a very warm afternoon.

The game featured 20-minute quarters as Gunnedah utilised 32 players while Dubbo had nearly 30. A number of first-choice players were absent, while about 10 players made their first appearance for the Red Devils.

After having a cancelled trial match against the Tamworth Magpies at the same venue the previous Saturday due to wet weather, the Red Devils are likely to enter the Central North season with just the one trial match under their belt.

Having made a comeback from injury, James Perrett said the players would pick up the intensity and would “go hard against each other at training” before the season began on April 26.

Rather than focus on last Saturday’s scoreline, Perrett said “the objective was to get our team building and get our structures in place and see what we needed to work on”.

Red Devils coach Daniel Martin said he didn’t want to sound too negative or critical, but that there was plenty to work on.

Moments after last Saturday’s trial match finished, Martin said the line speed in defence wasn’t quite right and nor were some other aspects.

Gunnedah’s coach also expressed the sentiment of “needing to lift the intensity at training” while their match fitness also required attention.

“We know our base, so we can build from there,” he said.

Martin also said he needed to “have a think about things” as the make-up of the team for the start of the season was nowhere near being settled or sorted out.

One of the players, Matt Hannay, said it was “very healthy” that there was competition for spots while players would have to fight to earn a spot.