Barker fell just short of their third straight CAS title in a Covid interrupted season in 2020 but return a year later with an experienced squad desperate to go one better.

Arguably the form team of the trial period, Barker seem to be the team most rival coaches are talking about ahead of round one.

Overview with Dean Hargreaves:

“We’ve been really happy with our preseason. It’s been a massive improvement on last year obviously without as many Covid concerns. This year, we’ve seen some good development through the trials and we’re looking forward to getting started,” Hargreaves told Rugby News.

“We were due to go up to Queensland for a camp but that got cancelled so we stayed local and spent a few days training up on the Hawkesbury river. That went well culturally and technically. Following from that, we’ve been training well and slowly building.

“We’ve been happy with our trial form. All our metrics are showing improvement from week to week, players are enjoying it and developing their game performance and awareness.

“Looking back at last year, obviously we were a little disappointed with one tight loss. However, given all the dramas, we were thankful for being able to play as much as we did.

“On reflection, through all the false starts, we were able to pull things together pretty quickly pretty quickly. Given the short preparation, I think we played some pretty good footy in 2020 all things considered.”

What style of rugby will we see from your side this year? 

“I think we’ve got the capacity to bust through the middle or find space around a team. We aim to play with an ability to make decision based on what we see. That’s what we’ve been working towards,” Hargreaves said.

“We’ve got the capacity to change up our attack from week to week based on what suits best against different oppositions.

“In defence, we pride ourselves on a really solid ‘red wall’ and repeat efforts. It’s as simple as that.”

2021 Squad: 

“We’ve got six boys back from last year and in addition to that, we’ve had some really impressive U16s come through. I think it’s a pretty good combination.”

Player(s) to watch: 

“There are a number of players who I think will push strongly for representative honours later in the year, across the roster they are all playing very well.

“As a squad we are very conscious of contributing to a strong team performance each week. No.1 through to 23 all have a responsibility and that’s more important to us than individual performances.”

Bold prediction for season ahead: 

“I think we’ll be there at the pointy end of things. We’ve played some good rugby in the trials and if we can keep building on that and have all our players on the field, then we’ll certainly be in the mix.

“I think Knox are a little underrated and I think they’re flying under the radar. I’m not taking anything away from any other team, but Knox have been really impressive and capable of some great attacking rugby.

“It’s a tough comp and every team has the capacity to make you pay if you are not in your game.”