HE’S tasted premiership success in league and union and now Nathan Hamlin is hoping to help the Roosters crow again.
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Hamlin has stepped up to coach Kootingal this season after joining the club last year.
It marked his return to league after a few seasons playing rugby with Pirates.
“I was keen,” Hamlin said about putting his hand up to coach.
“I always wanted to coach.”
The former Wests star though conceded he was a bit worried at first, not knowing if he’d get the respect of the players, but he needn’t have been.
“I’m positive about the pre-season – the boys seem interested,” Hamlin said.
They’ve been getting about 20-25 players to training.
“Getting that sort of numbers at this time of the year is good,” he said.
He said they’ve got a few players backing up from last season, as well as a lot of new faces – some of them old faces coming back.
Commitment will be a big thing for him.
“I want them all committed, not just half the boys rocking up,” he said.
Defence will also be a big focus.
“Second Division in general you’ve got 38/40 scores,” Hamlin said.
“If you can cut down the points you concede that will go a long way to winning games.”
Hamlin isn’t questioning the side’s ability to score points.
He’ll get his first good look at what he’s got next weekend.
They’ve got a trial against Gulgong at Kootingal on Saturday.
Two weeks later (March 15) they’ll host the annual Pepperell Shield.
It will be a full day with seven clubs participating and the ladies’ league taggers also playing.
The Roosters will again be fielding a side this season but will have a very different looking squad to last year.
“We’ve only got the three Sullivan girls returning from last year,” Roosters secretary and league tag player Jessica Smith said.
“We’ve got a lot of new girls.”
It will be a new experience for most of them.
“Only seven have played oztag and only four have played league tag before,” Smith said.
This year will be also a bit different, with ladies’ league tag going to 13-a-side and full field.
Gulgong doesn’t have a women’s side so the ladies won’t be playing next weekend but they did have a hit-out against Dungowan last week.
