New Marlins head coach Chris Delooze is looking to introduce a faster and more explosive playing style at Manly Oval this year. 

The Marlins were the form side of the competition for two-thirds of the regular season in 2022, after several disappointing seasons, but struggled towards the backend of the year. 

Delooze, who was an assistant under Phil Blake last year, thinks speed can help his team take the next step. 

“We’ve worked really hard on our strength and conditioning under Dave Kennett and had a particular focus on speed,” the coach told Rugby News. 

“The whole game is about being explosive. There aren’t many periods in the game these days where you’re going for longer than two to three minutes. 

“We want to play fast but to do that, you need to be really strong in the contact areas of the game. 

“If you don’t win the contact, it makes it very hard to move the ball. So we need to be explosive in everything we do.”

The Marlins have lost Catchpole Medal winner Max Douglas to Japan and flyhalf Kemu Valetini, who spent the summer training with the Fijian Drua on the back of a breakout season last year. 

“It’s fantastic to see Kemu doing so well. He’s been signed for the remainder of the season and will be with the Drua for the next little period,” Delooze explained. 

“We’ll hopefully touch base with him and it’d be great to get him back if he isn’t in that Fiji World Cup squad. 

“He’s looking really trim though and sounds really happy and content in a professional environment so I’m confident he’ll play some good footy when he gets his chance.”

Valetini arrived at Manly Oval from Melbourne last year without a huge reputation but quickly became one of the dominant playmakers in the competition and caught the eye of Drua coach Mick Byrne in the process. 

“I think the thing Kemu did really well last year was to enjoy and focus on his footy at Manly. By doing that, he clearly impressed some people and the opportunities popped up.

“Hunter Ward was similar. He had a great year with Manly last year and picked up a training contract with the Waratahs and has trained with them all summer. 

“It shows the pathway is there for our players and I think it’s important that we continue to foster an environment where guys enjoy their footy and play with a smile on their face. 

“If they can do that, the other stuff will take care of itself. 

Manly face one of the tougher starts to the season with road trips to play Hunter and Newcastle followed by clashes against Easts and Norths in the opening month. 

“It’s going to be a really exciting season and it’s hard to know exactly what to expect outside of that,” Delooze said. 

“At times, it’s easy to think that it’s going to be our year at Manly, then you hear whispers and start to think it’s going to be really tough. 

“We’re focused on round one though. It’s a cliche but we’ve got a tough road trip ahead of us and we’ve never beaten Hunter in first grade. 

“That’s our first goal, then we’ll start to look at the rest of the competition.”