Churchie will have to wait a few more days to kick start their 2021 GPS campaign after a bye in round one but head in to the season full of confidence.

New coach Ryan Schultz watched his team upset BBC in a trial last weekend but still thinks his side has plenty of room for improvement in the weeks ahead.

Overview with Ryan Schultz: 

“We’ve got the bye in round one, so that gives us a little bit of extra time to refine our critical skills and structures before finalising preparations for the start of the season,” Schultz told Rugby News.

“Being new to the school this year, I cannot fault the squads application so far. They’ve trained together with determination throughout the preseason and have all been committed to growing and developing themselves both on and off the field.

“We’ve also been able to give plenty of boys an opportunity to earn a spot in the first XV and as a result, we’ve built some really good depth within the program.

“We had a solid win against BBC last weekend in our final trial but I am sure the boys will take plenty of confidence out of it.

“In saying that, after playing such a quality side like BBC, we also identified certain areas that we still need to improve in.”

What style of rugby can we expect to see from your side this year? 

“We’ll continue with the way Churchie have played over the last few seasons. We want to use the ball and play attacking rugby.

“In saying that, we want to be tactically smart and make sure we’re playing with the ball in the right areas of the field.

“We also want to make sure we’re creating a strong backbone to build our game around through our defensive structures.”

2021 Squad: 

“We’ve got a good balance of experienced first XV players who are mostly in year 12 along with a really promising under 16 age group coming through the ranks.

“We’ve got some younger players who have earned the opportunity to play first XV as 16 year olds through strong trial form, and they will be supported by the experienced within the group who know what it’s all about.”

Player/s to watch:

“There are certainly some players that I’m excited to watch. I’m looking forward to watching our backline and there will be a number of players in the backs that I think will impress if we can get them quality ball in the right parts of the field.

“We’ll be led really well by our captain Max Craig. He was picked as the QLD U18s hooker earlier this year and is a no nonsense player that does all the hard work.”

Bold prediction for the season ahead: 

“We’re not focussing on results at all at this stage, we just want to prepare as well as we can for each match and if we do that, then the boys should have an enjoyable and successful season.

“Looking at trial form, there’s probably not a standout team this year as much as there has been in recent years.

“Nudgee have been the most consistent and strongest through the trials, so they’ll be very hard to beat again. I think it will be a very competitive competition and am excited for the season ahead.”