By Matt Findlay

With the 2015 National Rugby Championship just over a week away, Rugby News begins its season previews with a look at the Melbourne Rising, Perth Spirit and UC Vikings.

Melbourne Rising – 2014 Semi-finalists

After securing the inaugural National Rugby Championship (NRC) minor premiership in 2014, Melbourne Rising’s bid for the major title fell agonisingly short.

The Rising were trumped 46-29 by the Perth Spirit in their semi-final last season, but after Melbourne’s 2015 squad announcement last week punters are suggesting head coach Zane Hilton has compiled another group capable of pushing for a title.

Hilton’s squad includes 13 Melbourne Rebels-contracted players, along with representatives from all nine sides competing in the Dewar Shield – Melbourne’s premier club competition.

Fifteen of last year’s minor title winning squad have returned.

Wallabies allocations Tom English, Luke Jones and Sean McMahon will be joined in the squad by fellow Australian capped players Lloyd Johansson and Dom Shipperley, but Hilton said he is particularly looking forward to seeing Melbourne Rebels pairing Colby Fainga’a and Jordy Reid, both back-rowers, in action.

Fainga’a will also lead the Rising, named as co-captain alongside fellow flanker Scott Fuglistaller

“[Fainga’a and Reid] had really good Super Rugby seasons, and are really excited to play in the NRC,” Hilton said.

Hilton said his squad is a direct reflection of the law variations on show in the NRC, which should allow the Rising to play a fast, innovative brand of rugby.

“That’s the really exciting thing about the competition, it’s a very different type of game to even Super Rugby,” he said.

“For us, [preparations] have really been about trying to get our game style down pat rather than looking much further ahead than our first game.”

The Rising face Queensland Country at the Gold Coast’s Bond University in round one on Sunday, August 23, and Hilton said that game would give a fair indication of his side’s approach to the 2015 competition.

“Honestly we’re looking forward to getting some sun and playing on, hopefully, a dry track,” Hilton laughed.

“I’ve mentioned it to a few people, but how we come together as a side will determine how successful we are in the early rounds.

“We haven’t really had any more time than the other franchises [in preparation] but there is a really good feel around the group.”

The Rising will take all four of their home games to regional centres around Victoria, with their games against reigning champions Brisbane City, Greater Sydney Rams, NSW Country Eagles and Sydney Stars to be played in Ashgrove, Morwell, Geelong and Frankston respectively.

PLAYER TO WATCH:

Justin Masters (fullback) and Stacey Ili (wing):

Both uncontracted players in Melbourne’s Dewar Shield competition – with Harlequin and Melbourne Uni respectively – Hilton said the pair are set for huge NRC campaigns.

With quality playmakers inside and a running style of rugby on the cards for the Rising, Masters and Ili could be set to reap huge rewards in the outside channels.

“They’re both exciting, free-flowing players with exceptionally good feet,” Hilton said.

“They’re both very really looking forward to stepping up to the next level … and are looking for a big NRC.”

SQUAD:

Cruze Ah-Nau (Footscray, Melbourne Rebels), Mitch Andrews (Melbourne), Duncan Chubb (Southern Districts [NSW]), Steve Cummins (Harlequin, Melbourne Rebels), Jack Debreczeni (Endeavour Hills, Melbourne Rebels), Murray Douglas (Harlequin), Colby Fainga’a (Footscray, Melbourne Rebels), Maradona Farao (Harlequin), Scott Fuglistaller (Moorabbin, Melbourne Rebels), Stacey Ili (Melbourne Uni), Sam Jeffries (Melbourne Uni, Melbourne Rebels), Lloyd Johansson (Harlequin), Pat Leafa (Box Hill, Melbourne Rebels), Justin Marsters (Harlequin), Ben Meehan (Box Hill, Melbourne Rebels), Tim Metcher (Moorabbin, Melbourne Rebels), Sakaria Noa (Southern Districts), Junior Paila (Endeavour Hills), Jonah Placid (Melbourne Uni, Melbourne Rebels), Jordy Reid (Melbourne, Melbourne Rebels), Fereti Sa’aga (Melbourne Uni), Dom Shipperley (Melbourne Uni, Melbourne Rebels), Taiso Silafai-Leaana (Melbourne Uni), Pom Simona (Harlequin), Leo Taliu (Harlequin), Sione Taufa (Harlequin), Lopeti Timani (Footscray, Melbourne Rebels), Sasa Tofilau (Melbourne Uni), Sione Tuipulotu (Southern Districts), Mike Tyler (Power House), Tom English (Melbourne Uni, Melbourne Rebels), Luke Jones (Moorabbin, Melbourne Rebels), Sean McMahon (Endeavour Hills, Melbourne Rebels)

FIXTURES:

ROUND 1: Sunday, August 23: vs Queensland Country; Bond University, Gold Coast; 3.30pm

ROUND 2: Saturday, August 29: vs Brisbane City; Harlequin Rugby Club, Melbourne; 2pm

ROUND 3: Thursday, September 3: vs North Harbour Rays; Manly Oval, Manly; 7.30pm

ROUND 4: BYE

ROUND 5: Saturday, September 19: vs Greater Sydney Rams; La Trobe City Stadium, Morwell; 2pm

ROUND 6: Saturday, September 26: vs Perth Spirit; McGillivray Fields, UWA Park; 3.30pm

ROUND 7: Friday, October 2: vs UC Vikings; Viking Park, Canberra; 7.30pm

ROUND 8: Thursday, October 8: vs NSW Country Eagles; Simonds Stadium, Geelong; 7.30pm

ROUND 9: Sunday, October 18: vs Sydney Stars; Frankston Oval, Victoria; 1.30pm

Perth Spirit – 2014 Grand finalists

Eleven points was all that separated Perth Spirit from the inaugural National Rugby Championship (NRC) title, going down 37-26 to Brisbane City in the 2014 final.

So, as a result, with the 2015 season just under a fortnight from kicking off Spirit head coach Tai McIsaac said this campaign is about one thing – going one step further.

It all starts for McIsaac and his charges when they travel to Brisbane’s Ballymore Stadium for their campaign opener against Brisbane City on Thursday, August 20, in a mouth-watering grand final rematch.

“[A title] is always the goal, like every team in the competition the goal is to come out the end of the competition with a win,” McIsaac said.

The Spirit’s mentor said while he’s confident his squad is capable of going all the way in 2015, he did concede the fact the Pindan Premier Grade – Perth’s top club competition – doesn’t finish until the weekend of the NRC’s opening round is “less than ideal” in terms of preparation time.

“We’re in a bit of a unique situation … the way it pans out we’ll probably only get about a week and half with everyone in the squad together before the first the game,” he explained.

“I think we need to fit as much into the first week and a half as we can and really look at our how we want to be playing … and we’ll build on it through the matches.”

McIsaac has a wealth of experience at his disposal, with the 16 Pindan Premier Grade players named set to be good foil for the 14 Western Force players in the squad.

“I think we’ll get quite a bit out of a lot of guys, but someone like (inside back) Luke Burton … I think he’ll take more a leadership role in a young group. It will be good for him,” McIsaac said.

“Other young kids like (loose forward) Kane Koteka who got a bit of Super Rugby experience this year, and also had some games in the NRC last year. I think this year he’ll really put the foot down and have a good season.

“Most of our guys, with the exception of about four or five, have all played together in the NRC last season, and the other guys have played together in Super Rugby all year so we’re kind of lucky … they have trained together a bit.

“So I don’t think we’re as far behind the eight ball as some of the other sides, who have to put a squad together quickly and go from there.”

PLAYER TO WATCH:

Kyle Godwin (five-eighth/centre):

One of the Spirit’s two marquee selections, Godwin is coming off an up and down Super Rugby season, although for the first time he did get the chance to start in all 16 of the Force’s games.

Godwin returns to the Spirit after last year’s inaugural NRC season, and McIsaac said he’s expecting the 22-year-old to make a huge impact.

“He didn’t have the best Super Rugby season but he seems to be in the right frame of mind now and really wants to put his best foot forward,” McIsaac said.

“There’s a lot less pressure on him in the NRC, and I think he’ll really shine throughout this campaign.”

SQUAD:

Chris Heiberg (Western Force), Heath Tessman (Western Force), Oliver Hoskins (Western Force), Rory Walton (Western Force), Ross Haylett-Petty (Western Force), Chris Alcock (Western Force), Kane Koteka (Pindan Premier Grade), Angus Cottrell (Western Force), Ian Prior (Western Force), Luke Burton (Western Force), Brad Lacey (Western Force), Kyle Godwin (Western Force/Marquee), Ammon Matuauto (Western Force), Sevuloni Mocencagi (Fijian Sevens), Albert Nikoro (Western Force), Francois Van Wyk (Western Force), Harry Scoble (Pindan Premier Grade), Tetra Faulkner (Western Force/Marquee), Anaru Rangi (Pindan Premier Grade), Adrian Hall (Pindan Premier Grade), Riley Winter (Pindan Premier Grade), Auega Seumanatafa (Pindan Premier Grade), Richard Hardwick (Pindan Premier Grade), Alex Rovira (Pindan Premier Grade), Hayden Anderson (Pindan Premier Grade), Ryan Louwrens (Western Force), Michael Ruru (Pindan Premier Grade), Nicholas Jooste (Pindan Premier Grade), Junior Rasolea (Western Force), Onehunga Havilli (Pindan Premier Grade), Maalonga Konelio (Pindan Premier Grade), Daley Harper (Pindan Premier Grade), Byron Hutchinson (Pindan Premier Grade)

FIXTURES:

ROUND 1: Thursday, August 20: vs Brisbane City; Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane; 7.30pm

ROUND 2: Saturday, August 29: vs North Harbour Rays; McGillivray Fields, UWA Park; 3.30pm

ROUND 3: Saturday, September 5: vs Sydney Stars; Leichhardt Oval, Sydney; 3pm

ROUND 4: Saturday, September 12: vs UC Vikings; McGillivray Fields, UWA Park; 3.30pm

ROUND 5: Saturday, September 19: vs Queensland Country; Rugby Park, Rockhampton; 6pm

ROUND 6: Saturday, September 26: vs Melbourne Rising; McGillivray Fields, UWA Park; 3.30pm

ROUND 7: Sunday, October 4: vs NSW Country Eagles; McGillivray Fields, UWA Park; 3pm

ROUND 8: Saturday, October 10: vs Greater Sydney Rams; Concord Oval, Sydney; 3pm

ROUND 9: BYE

UC VIKINGS – 2014 6th 

 

With a strong preparation under their belts, you could be forgiven for thinking a bye in the 2015 National Rugby Championships’ opening round is the last thing the University of Canberra Vikings would want.

Head coach Brad Harris said the opposite.

Considering his side will open its campaign in round two against the NSW Country Eagles – semi-finalists in 2014 – on Saturday, August 29, Harris said the Vikings will benefit from having the first week off.

“NSW Country will be tough, but we have an advantage in that we’ll get to have a look at their one game before we play them, so we’ll do that closely,” he explained.

“But for us [the opening rounds are] just about competing for the full 80 minutes, that will be crucial for us, being really solid defensively and capitalising on attacking opportunities when they present themselves.”

Harris said he’s confident the 37-man Vikings squad – announced last week – is more than capable of doing so, and putting last year’s “disappointing” seventh finish behind them in the process.

All seven John Dent Cup sides are represented in the Vikings squad, with defending champions Tuggeranong Vikings, somewhat expectedly, having 18 representatives named alongside players of the calibre of Ben Alexander, Rory Arnold, Ita Vaea and former Queensland Reds Aidan Toua and Albert Anae.

“We’re really happy with the squad we’ve got,” Harris said.

“In terms of the contracted boys we’ve got a really good profile of players.

“A lot of those guys are young and hungry and really keen to test themselves in the NRC and provide a bit of a platform to kick on to Super Rugby for the Brumbies next year,

“Likewise we’ve got really good depth when we throw the club boys into the mix. There’s really good competition across the squad for places which will help us.”

Harris said his side has learned from last year’s campaign, where they were “caught off guard” by the emphasis placed on set-piece, thanks to the competition’s law variations.

He also mentioned the Vikings camp has made significant changes to their training schedule, and programming, in a bid to improve results in 2015.

“The scrum, maul and lineout was all critical with the law changes, we’re going to look to be really solid there,” he said.

“In our programming and in terms of the scheduling of training and what-not I think we’ve made good adjustments to that this year and hopefully that will help us perform a bit better than last year.”

With so many changes to their system, and a blockbuster squad named, the burning question is whether the Vikings can compete for the 2015 title.

If you ask Harris, absolutely.

“That’s certainly what we’re aiming for,” he said.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Ita Vaea (No.8)

One of the NSW Country Eagles’ best in the inaugural NRC competition last year, Vaea will turn out for the Vikings this season and Harris said not only is he expecting the 119kg wrecking ball to match his performance from 2014, he’s expecting him to eclipse it.

“He had a fantastic Super Rugby campaign with the Brumbies as well, he’s come back into training and is working really hard,” Harris explained.

“He’s such a destructive attacking player, we’re really expecting him to continue the form he’s shown for the Brumbies and for the NSW Country side last year.”

SQUAD:

Leslie Leulua’iali’i-Makin (Queanbeyan), Ben Alexander (Uni-Norths), Tyrell Lomax (Tuggeranong), Albert Anae (Easts), Robbie Abel (Royals), Connal McInerney (Tuggeranong), Allan Alaalatoa (Uni-Norths), Phil Kite (Tuggeranong), Sione Talua (Tuggeranong), Rory Arnold (Gungahlin), Blake Enever (Easts), Gareth Clouston (Tuggeranong), Dave McKern (Wests), Jordan Smiler (Easts), Dean Oakman-Hunt (Tuggeranong), Michael Oakman-Hunt (Tuggeranong), Rowan Perry (Tuggeranong), Dan Penca (Queanbeyan), Ita Vaea (Gungahlin), Jarrad Butler (Tuggeranong), Joe Powell (Tuggeranong), Brent Hamlin (Royals), Mitch Third (TBC), Rod Iona (Tuggeranong), Jerome Nuimata (Tuggeranong), Lausii Taliauli (Royals), Jake Rakic (Tuggeranong), James Dargaville (Gungahlin), Frankie Fainifo (Tuggeranong), Nigel Ah Wong (Tuggeranong), Jake Knight (Tuggeranong), Ratu Tagive (Wests), Isaac Thompson (Tuggeranong), Aidan Toua (Wests),Christian Lealiifano (Tuggeranong), Henry Speight (Gungahlin), Joe Tomane (Uni-Norths)

FIXTURES:

ROUND 1: BYE

ROUND 2: Saturday, August 29: vs NSW Country; Woollhara Oval, Sydney; 3pm

ROUND 3: Saturday, September 5: vs Greater Sydney Rams; Viking Park, Canberra; 2pm

ROUND 4: Saturday, September 12: vs Perth Spirit; McGillivray Fields, UWA Park; 3.30pm

ROUND 5: Thursday, September 17: vs Sydney Stars; Viking Park, Canberra; 7.30pm

ROUND 6: Saturday, September 26: vs North Harbour Rays; Pittwater Rugby Park, Sydney; 3pm

ROUND 7: Friday, October 2: vs Melbourne Rising; Viking Park, Canberra; 7.30pm

ROUND 8: Saturday, October 10: vs Brisbane City; Viking Park, Canberra; 2pm

ROUND 9: Thursday, October 15: vs Queensland Country; Sunshine Coast Stadium, Sunshine Coast; 7.30pm