A young Brisbane Grammar side will look to out enthuse their bigger and more experienced opponents this season, according to coach Phil Mooney.

Mooney has been pleased with his side’s trial period, but knows they need to start the season well, with three tough matches scheduled in the opening three rounds.

Overview with Phil Mooney: 

“We’re going to be a very young side this year. We’ve got three boys back from our first XV last year – a prop, a lock and a winger. 

“Then the rest of the boys are looking forward to their first season playing first XV. We’re going to be a young side, but we’re excited to see what this group can do. 

“Like any team when you’ve got lots of new faces, we’ve spent a lot of time during the trial period trying to build combinations and working out what our best XV looks like. 

“In some positions, we’ve got some good, healthy competition for spots. We’ll also rely fairly heavily on our returning players to lead the side. 

“In terms of our trial form, it’s shown that we’ve got the potential to be strong in the forwards. The majority of our young players are in the backs, so the trials have been a steep learning curve for some of those boys but they’ve all taken it in their strides. That’s what trials are all about. 

“We’ll spend three days in camp at the end of the holidays, then we’re playing Toowoomba Grammar in a trial up there and I think that will be a great challenge for us. Toowoomba are going to be one of the better sides this year so it’ll be great preparation for round one against BBC. 

“As coaches, you can always learn from your last season but with so many new faces coming into the side this year, essentially it’s a new group and we’re really excited to see what they can do this season.”

2023 Squad: 

“A lot of the new boys were playing under 15s last year and are still eligible for the under 16s. This year is going to be a challenge for them but it’s exciting for the future of the school. 

“We’ve got a good core forward pack, with some experience, then we’ve got a lot of youthful enthusiasm in the backs.”

What style of rugby can we expect from Brisbane Grammar this year? 

“We’ve worked really hard on our set piece through the preseason. We’re not going to be in a position to play the same style of rugby as some of the other schools, so I think it’s important that we find and stick to our way of playing. 

“The other schools will be heavily structured, whereas we are going to have to attack differently and look to create opportunities.

“We’ve got a tough start to the season with BBC first, Churchie second, then a trip up to play in Toowoomba, so hopefully the boys can learn from those early matches and really build into the season.”

Which sides pose the biggest threat this season? 

“Without having seen all of the schools, I think Nudgee will be strong, as they always are. I haven’t seen Southport either but I imagine they’ll be strong. 

“BBC and Churchie have been in the mix and have strong rugby programs. 

“But I think Toowoomba are the dark horse. They’ve got a good rugby program and they were a young side last year and have plenty of boys returning. 

“It’s always a tough trip up the range and it’s going to be even tougher this season.”