On the back of a tricky trial period, a new look Cranbrook first XV side will look to outrun their opposition when the 2024 CAS season kicks off on Saturday.

Coach Dean Michniewicz said his side has shown glimpses of their best in recent weeks and seemed confident Cranbrook’s attacking style will add excitement to the CAS competition in the months ahead.

Overview with Dean Michniewicz: 

“We’re really excited to get stuck in to round one. Our trial form has been mixed and it’s been hard to settle on a team with injuries, rugby league commitments and a few other things going on,” Michniewicz said. 

“So we’ve haven’t had the same team on the park together yet. But we’re getting closer to it and we’re super excited to give the competition a good shake. 

“We went out to Orange for a camp and have done that for a few years now. We stay in the Kinross boarding houses and they host a few different teams at the same time. Schools like Marist from Canberra, TAS has been there before, Eddies (St Edmund’s, Canberra).

“We played against Marist and Kinross this year and although we had quite a few players out, it was still a good hit out. 

“Through the trials we’ve had some mixed results against Pius, St Pats, Kinross, Stannies and Augustines. 

“Augustines were very good and super sharp right across the field. Most sides have specific strengths in certain parts of their team, whereas they are strong right across the park from 1-15. 

“We’re not as big as some of the other teams but we’re hoping our fitness, our skills and our ball movement can unsettle some of the other CAS teams.” 

2024 Squad: 

“We’ve only got three kids back from last year and we’ve added probably four or five sixteen-year olds into the side,” the coach said. 

“There will be a number of those boys starting for us in round one, which is really exciting for them and for the school. 

“Our No.8 Cam McKenzie is a great player and is back from last year. He’s a strong ball carrier and knows how to get us over the advantage line. 

“Our flanker/hooker Jed Smith is also back and our centre Lance Tovio is back for his third season in the first XV.”

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

“We’re not going to run over the top of anyone and I don’t think we’ll set piece teams out of the game,” Michniewicz said. 

“But I think we’ll run the ball a lot more than we have in previous years and a lot more than what we’ll see from other CAS teams. 

“Sides like Barker and Knox are very set piece dominant and like to pick and go and use their driving maul. 

“We’ll look to move the ball a bit more with short passes from our forwards and then link well between our forwards and the backs. 

“If we can keep the ball in play as much as possible, then we’re hoping our fitness will have a big impact towards the end of games.”

What are you expecting this season? 

“Set piece dominated teams like Barker and Knox will look to utilise their big forward packs and use their pick and go around the corner. 

“Against them, it’s a matter of us keeping them out of our 22 because once they get in there, sometimes physics just takes over. 

“We play Knox in the first round and we’re looking forward to that challenge. 

“Waverley play a little more unstructured and off the cuff. Trinity will also be a really tough match as well, they are always very unpredictable.”