By LIZ MOORE

The excitement surrounding last year’s grand final rematch at Brothers this weekend is anything but wasted on Brethren captain, Tom Moloney.

Moloney said the rivalry between the clubs was long-standing, and has grown stronger in recent years. 

“Of all the clubs that has shown a lot of consistency in the last sort of decade, Uni is one of them. It’s going to be an exciting match, I’m sure.

“It’s always a very big game, regardless of the grade,” Moloney said. “Having a home game in this shortened season makes it a spectacle, and probably that little bit more exciting for us all.”

With the Red Heavies on top of the table again this season, Moloney is remaining focused on what his side will bring to the field. 

“I think it’ll just be important in the shortened season that we worry about ourselves and stick to our game plan for 80 minutes.

“Our last game was pretty high scoring,” Moloney said of their 49-47 win on the bell against Wests. “So we’ll probably look to shore up our defence this week.

“The big part of the game will be the forward packs for both teams, so our set piece and being clinical in the scrum and lineout.

Moloney said last weekend’s rest had been beneficial for his side. “We took advantage of the bye last weekend and had a pretty solid session last week to sort of fix those problems.”

The 26-year-old Moloney is no stranger to the preparation needed for hot contests. 

While he started his rugby career at Brothers as a four-year-old and played there through high school, Colts and into grades, the loosehead prop then took his rugby further afield. 

Initially to Victoria where he played for Melbourne Rising in the NRC before spending three years with the Melbourne Rebels, followed by a season playing in Japan playing for the Panasonic Wild Knights.

On his return to Brothers last year, Moloney took on the captaincy and has looked back only to ensure he’s brought the best of his experiences home with him. 

“I’m pretty fortunate with the experiences I’ve had. I’ve played for some really good leaders both off and on the field. I’ve tried to take a couple of learnings from my time away and bring that to this new group.

“We’ve got a pretty young group at the club, in our team at least. And we’re just trying to nurture them through,” Moloney said. 

“We’ve had some guys that have gained some quick success and got higher honours, and then there’s certainly a group of guys that are still working away and finding their feet in the Premier rugby system.”

Moloney said losing scrumhalf Reuben Wall to injury earlier in the season was a setback, but replacement halfback Isaac Tarabay was one of those new players who has quickly adapted to Premier Grade. 

“The depth within the club has allowed us to bring up guys from second grade and Colts level, and those guys are really taking the opportunities with both hands,” Moloney said.

“Isaac has played in a good second grade team for the last two or three years. As soon as he was given his opportunity, he’s really taken it with both hands and performed for us week in and week out.”

 IMAGE: BRENDAN HERTEL / QRU