Toowoomba Grammar finished fourth in 2022, but lost four matches to four sides surrounding them on the ladder by seven points or less. 

A third of that side return in 2023, bolstering a Scott Gale coached side that many believe can take a big step forward this season. 

Overview with Scott Gale: 

“We’ve had a really good preseason and I think we’re a lot more prepared at this point then we were last year,” Gale told Rugby News. 

“The boys have worked really hard through a good, solid preseason and we’re really excited to get stuck in from round one. 

“We’ve had a really promising trial period and we’ve played some strong teams and had some good results, but we’ve also learnt a whole lot about ourselves and about the opposition. 

“I think we’ve got a pretty good idea of where we need to be and the type of rugby we need to play to be competitive in this comp. 

“We’ve worked really hard and we’ve had some promising results so far but we’re also very aware of the quality of the sides we’re going to come up against so we’re going to need to be very good for nine consecutive weeks if we’re going to be up the top when it matters. 

“Most of the boys have been travelling down and back to play in Brisbane for five or six years now, so it’s not something that is new to us. 

“On the reverse side of that, we want to treat our home ground like a bit of a fortress. Coming up to play on the top of the range isn’t an easy thing to do and we don’t want to make the trip any easier for anyone.”

2023 Squad: 

“We’ve got probably five or six guys returning from last year which is a great number. That’s helped with the transition from last year into this season. 

“Then we’ve got a mix of young guys pushing through and some boys who were on the edge last year and we’re exciting to see what a number of those players can produce with an opportunity this year.”

What style of rugby will we see from Toowoomba Grammar this season?

“Hopefully a bit of everything,” the coach said. 

“We’re a side that prides itself on our set piece, so we’re hoping we’re strong there. I don’t think you can be competitive in the GPS competition without at least a strong lineout and a solid platform to attack and defend from. 

“We know how important the first three phases of every play are and we’ve worked really hard on being effective in those early phases to give us a platform to attack. 

“Probably more important than that though is how we defend and how hard we work for each another. 

“I’m hoping we can surprise a few teams by how hard we defend our line because we’re a team that really cares about each other and that always makes a big difference.”

Which sides pose the biggest threat this season? 

“I think the usual suspects will be there and thereabouts. Nudgee, TSS, Churchie and BBC will all be strong. 

“We start our season against a good (Gregory) Terrace side, who I think have a lot of good, young players. They’ll be tough to beat. 

“We also lost in a trial to Brisbane State High, who we play in round two.

“There aren’t any easy games when you look at the draw and we’ve also got to play our Downlands Grammar game in our bye week as well and that makes things a little bit harder. 

“But I think this group is up for it. We’ll need to produce good performances every week and then back that up with even better performances, but I think this group has the ability and attitude to do it.”