Under new coach Jack Gooding, Aloys are looking to play a new style of rugby this season to get the most out of their playing group.

But it won’t be easy in round one on Saturday, when they face defending premiers Barker.

Overview with Jack Gooding: 

“We’ve been building as a squad really well through the trials and while you might not see that from some of our results, we’re really positive heading into round one,” new first XV coach Jack Gooding told Rugby News.

“This is a really important year for us at St Aloysius’. We’re looking to change our mindset on how we approach the CAS season and we’ve been working really hard to adapt our playing style to one that suits our players and the CAS competition that we play in.

“I think we’re going to produce some really good performances this season.

“Most people will tell you that the key to success in rugby is cohesion and I believe being cohesive stems from playing a style of rugby that suits the strengths and weaknesses of your playing group, rather than trying to play like some of the other schools.

“This year we want to nail playing our style of rugby at St Aloysius to the best of our ability.

“We played one trial, then we went away on a tour of the Sunshine Coast and that tour gave us a really good opportunity to identify our DNA as a school and a rugby program and then build a playing style around it.

“We also had a lot of year 11 players on that tour which is a really positive sign for the years ahead.”

2023 Squad: 

“We’ve got a few players returning from last year in key positions. We’ve got Harry Woods and Noah Wicks back and they’ll provide a lot of experience and class in the backs.

“In the forwards, we’ve got quite a few younger players stepping up to join some quality year 12 boys so I think there is a good balance there.

“The older boys have taken on a leadership role and understand they need to lead the way and drive not just the results but the performances we produce each week.”

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

“We’re looking to play a bit wider than Aloys sides in the past,” Gooding told Rugby News.

“I’ve come to the school from Sydney Uni so I’ve always played a fairly kick heavy game where we look to exert pressure on our opposition.

“That style of play suits this playing group quite well actually but we’ll adapt that and also look to play with more width in our early attacking phases, then have a big focus on a strong kicking game.”

Which sides pose the biggest threat this season? 

“Being an old CAS boy myself, I know that every CAS side can win on their day and that every competition match is always difficult,” Gooding said.

“Sides get up for certain games and every result really matters in a short season like this.”

“I think Knox are probably the benchmark based on their trial form. They had some comprehensive wins, then a great come from behind win over Joeys.

“But our focus is on Barker in round one this weekend. It’s our reconciliation round, which we’re excited for, and it’s also an opportunity for us to set a benchmark for what we want to achieve this season with a really solid performance.”