A fitter, faster Cranbrook squad with a history of winning head into the 2023 CAS first XV season with plenty of confidence on the back of some impressive trial form.

While coach Dean Michniewicz thinks his sides best rugby is still ahead of them, he’s confident they can find it and be right in the mix this season.

Overview with Dean Michniewicz:

“We’re pretty excited about how things are looking at the moment and we’ve got one more trial to play on Friday night. We play an annual game under lights down at Woollahra Oval and I know all the boys always look forward to that match,” Cranbrook first XV coach Dean Michniewicz told Rugby News. 

“We’ve had a few minor injury concerns over the last few weeks and we rested a few boys last week, but by the time round one comes around, I think we’ll be back to close to full strength. 

“I felt we were probably a game or two short throughout this trial period. We came to our first trial against St Augustine’s and they’d already played two or three trials beforehand. Whereas that was our first full 70-minute fixture. 

“We’ve definitely got better in each trial we played though. We haven’t had the same team play from one week to the next yet so we haven’t been able to build combinations as much as we would have liked. 

“But we’ve improved every week and I think the cohesion will come pretty quickly once we get everyone on the park at the same.”

2023 Squad: 

“We’ve got four or five Year 11 boys who are in and around the first XV team at the moment,” Michniewicz said. 

“Then the rest are returning Year 12 boys. 

“Our second XV were really strong last year. They were undefeated all year, through both trials and the CAS competition and a lot of those boys have stepped up. 

“Then we’ve got a few talented boys coming up from the under 16s.”

What style of rugby will we see from Cranbrook this season?

“We’re hoping to play a fast style of rugby,” the coach said. 

“We’re not going to have the same sort of size that sides like Barker, Knox and Waverley will have but I’m hoping we can be a little fitter and a little faster and move those teams around the park and play an expansive style of football. 

“We’ll look to create a lot of opportunities and we’ll look to find space and then we’ll back ourselves to make the most of those chances when they pop up.”

Which teams post the biggest threat this season? 

“Obviously Barker. They’ve been going well again on the back of a great season last year. I know a lot of players have left, but it’s obviously a very strong program and they are always strong. 

“Knox have also been getting some good results in their trials. You can’t pay too much attention to trial results, but there’s obviously something in it. 

“We play Waverley first and then Trinity before the holidays and we’re super keen to try and get to the break with a couple of wins under our belt. 

“If we can do that, then anything can happen in those final few rounds. 

“With so few teams in the comp and with such a short season, every side is a chance and you’ve got to take it week by week and prepare for each opponent as best as you can.”