An injury riddled Barker first XV side head in to Saturday’s opening round CAS clash against Trinity quietly confident despite the fact they’ll be missing a number of key players. The 2018 and 2019 CAS premiers won four of their five trial matches in recent weeks and will be looking to hit the ground running when the official season kicks off this weekend. "I think we’ve learnt and improved every week through the preseason, this team is very conscious of consistent growth,” coach Dean Hargreaves told Rugby News. "We improved every week in different areas of the game. From our tactical play, to our mental toughness and our game style. “We’ve just been struggling with injuries all year and I’m looking forward to a week when we hopefully have everyone available for selection.” Barker beat Riverview 33-31 at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday in a curtain raiser to the Waratahs match and also claimed victories over Joeys, Stannies and Oakhill during the preseason.