Manly Marlins coach Matt McGoldrick says that a good start and harvesting bonus points when they are on offer will be essential for success in the Covid-19 affected Shute Shield competition.

The Marlins boss believes that seven wins from the 12 games scheduled will have his charges in line to play finals footy once again in 2020.

“Every point is going to be crucial and that means we’ve got to throw in bonus points whether they be from winning or losing when we talk about teams making playoff,” McGoldrick said.

Rugby News caught up MATT MCGOLDRICK earlier this week about how the season is going to pan out

WHAT LIES AHEAD:
It’s going to be a tough competition to win. Every point in going to be crucial (bonus points etc) in the wash up at the end of the season.

Managing injuries and squad depth is going to another important factor. Six home games and six away games probably means that sevens wins will likely see you in the mix of the finals but getting up and running in the early part of the competition will be crucial.

The shortened Super comp will likely see the Tahs dropping back into the mix at the finals as usual so being able to mix it with Uni at set piece will go a long way towards doing well in the comp.

LAST SEASON:
Nine wins, one draw and seven losses to finish sixth. knocked out by eventual premiers Sydney Uni in the first week of the finals.

Finishing in sixth spot and playing in the first week of the finals was probably what the Marlins deserved to get out of their season in 2019. Injuries and other disruptions struck at different times and they are looking for a far more steady but better go in 2020.

COMINGS AND GOINGS:
Ins: Ivan Fepuleai (Marist St Pats Wellington), Gafa Su’a (Counties Manukau)
Outs: Brad Hemopo (Northern Suburbs), Beaudein Waaka, Alex Humphry, Ben Howard, Luke Croker, Ben Cotton.

WHERE WE’LL NEED TO IMPROVE:
Our defence needs to be better, our ability to score points will always be fine but we’ve conceded too many points in the past few seasons. Our game management needs to improve and has been a large focus for the nine month long pre-season we are currently in.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:
As have said before we are going through a bit of a reset at Manly and we are concentrating on the talent that we have in house. Consequently it is nice to report that I reckon guys like Max Douglas, Van Stewart, Hutana Coffin and Yool Yool will be names that I hope will be more familiar to the Manly Marlins faithful by season’s end.

HOPES AND EXPECTATIONS FOR 2020:
We need to improve as a team and club across the board in pretty much all aspects. We finished sixth last season and seventh in club championships. We want to improve both those finishes.

OUR BIG IMPROVERS WILL BE:
These are names that will be familiar to many that come and have a look at us at Manly and they are a mix of guys who have been around for a number of years and some guys who are ready to play Shute Shield after being through our colts system. So keep an eye out for Conor Davison,
Sio Tatola, Aaron Blacklock and Jack Veitch

WHO WILL YOUR TEAM PLAY IN THE GRAND FINAL?
How good would a Marlins v Rats grand final be? I reckon it would be enough to bring back the printed version of The Manly Daily.