CLICK HERE: NRC PREVIEW PART 1 – MELBOURNE RISING, PERTH SPIRIT, UC VIKINGS.

By Matt Findlay

Despite many of the side’s best from 2014 not returning to don the burnt gold and black again, NSW Country coach Darren Coleman is confident the Eagles can replicate their form, and hopefully results, from last season.

In fact, after qualifying for the inaugural National Rugby Championships semi­finals just nine of the Eagles’ 2014 squad will take the field again this season.

Last year’s skipper Cam Treloar has moved franchises, while Sam Windsor, Stephen Hoiles, Ita Vaea and Paddy Dellitt are among a number of others who have also moved on.

“I think we’ll fill those holes pretty well though,” Coleman said.

“We’ve got some good players around the group like Jono Lance, he should slot into Sam Windsor’s role pretty well, and someone like big Sam Lousi from the Waratahs should fill the gap left by Ita Vaea.

“We’re happy with the squad we’ve got together, I think it’s really too early to predict if we’ll be looking at the play­offs or a final but that is certainly the goal.

“Unfortunately we’ve had a couple of injuries which isn’t ideal, so we’re waiting on some specialist reports and that sort of thing to see how we deal with that.”

The Eagles began training full­time last week, and honed the intricacies of their game­play during a three­ day camp in Newcastle in the lead up to the franchise’s opening game against the Greater Sydney Rams.

“We had the majority of the squad together for the camp, minus a couple of props from Manly and a couple of injured players,” Coleman said.

“It was a really good opportunity for us to come together a bit more as a group, get to know each other and put some things into place.

“At the moment it’s really just about getting everyone on the same page with the way we want to play.

“We’re really only focusing on the first couple of rounds.”

The Eagles will host the University of Canberra Vikings at Woollahra Oval in their first home game, in round two, before taking the remainder of their home games to regional centres across the state.

After playing in Orange, Lismore and Dubbo in 2014, NSW Country will take their clashes with Sydney Stars, Queensland Country and North Harbour Rays to Tamworth, Newcastle and Bathurst respectively.

“Combine that with trips to Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane and it’s a lot of time on the road,” Coleman said.

“But obviously that is a mandate of the side, taking high quality rugby to country areas, so we’re looking forward to those trips.”

PLAYER TO WATCH: Charlie Clifton (centre/wing)

Originating from Bathurst, Clifton had an electrifying Shute Shield season in Eastern Suburbs’ backline. The former St Stanislaus College student, in Coleman’s opinion, could prove to be a real surprise packet for NSW Country in 2015.

“Charlie was my best back at Eastern Suburbs by a way,” Coleman said.

“He’s strong, he got his fair share of tries and is a good defensive player, I’m really looking forward to seeing him potentially take the next step.

“If he can take his performances from Shute Shield and transfer it to the next level I think he could do really well, and potentially get some Super Rugby coaches or people to take notice.”

SQUAD:

Mark Baldwin (Camden), Brogan Roods (Randwick), Charlie Clifton (Bathurst), Michael Dowsett (Brumbies), Nicholas Palmer (Newcastle), Samuel Figg (Randwick), Tom Merritt (Byron Bay), Tom Sexton (Rebels), Tom Staniforth (West Wyalong/Brumbies), Will Fay (Eastern Suburbs), Dave Faeo (Brisbane), Dane Marakai (Manly), Dashville Kuate (Randwick), Andrew Collins (Manly), Ryan Dalziel (Eastern Suburbs), Ned Hanigan (Coonamble), Sam Lousi (Waratahs), Sam Croke (Lennox Head), Will Miller (Nowra), Tyrone Viiga (Eastern Suburbs), Pauli Tuala (Wollongong), Beau Robinson (Dubbo), Jock Merriman (Boorowa), David Harvey (West Harbour), Jono Lance (Canberra), Ed Stubbs (Eastern Suburbs), David Horwitz (Randwick), Jarome Mckenzie (Eastern Suburbs), Andrew Kellaway (Randwick), Joel Brooks (West Harbour)

FIXTURES:

ROUND 1: Saturday, August 22: vs Greater Sydney Rams; Merrylands RSL Park, Sydney; 3pm

ROUND 2: Saturday, August 29: vs UC Vikings; Woollahra Oval, Sydney; 3pm

ROUND 3: BYE

ROUND 4: Saturday, September 12: vs Sydney Stars; Chillingworth Oval, Tamworth; 3pm

ROUND 5: Sunday, September 20: vs Brisbane City; Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane; 3.30pm

ROUND 6: Thursday, September 24: vs Queensland Country; No.2 Sportsground, Newcastle; 7.30pm

ROUND 7: Sunday, October 4: vs Perth Spirit; McGillivray Fields, UWA Park; 3pm

ROUND 8: Thursday, October 8: vs Melbourne Rising; Simonds Stadium, Geelong; 7.30pm

ROUND 9: Saturday, October 17: vs North Harbour Rays; Ann Ashwood Park, Bathurst; 4pm

CLICK HERE: NRC PREVIEW PART 1 – MELBOURNE RISING, PERTH SPIRIT, UC VIKINGS.