THE Boggabri Kangaroos' trial match against the Coonabarabran Unicorns has helped the club discover some new potential first-grade players for the upcoming Group 4 season.
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The Roos may have been gone down 50-16, but Nick Lyons impressed during the clash.
A regular for the Gunnedah Red Devils, Roos coach Shane Rampling said he was confident Lyons would play for both clubs throughout the season.
"I think he's still committing to union, but when rugby allows, he will come and play with us," Rampling told the Leader.
"There is still a bit of work for him to do in regards to some of the differences between the two sports.
"However, he did a lot of really nice things during the game on the weekend.
"There's a lot to like about him."
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The clash with the Unicorns also marked the first game for one of the club's newest recruits, Bevan Flanagan.
"Bevan was really good, despite being played out of position for a lot of the game," Rampling said.
"To be honest, I wasn't too worried about the scoreline at the end of the game.
"I was more interested in giving guys a go and seeing what they could do, and I was really pleased with how that went."
Rampling said a lack of available first-grade players meant the game was "more of a reserve-grade trial".
"We were missing quite a few guys due to cricket and things like that," he said.
"However, there was a lot of guys, who have played reserve grade, that put their hands up to play a bit of first grade this season.
"All up we had about 26 players on the day, so it was really good to be able to chop and change everybody around. It was good to give guys a chance in a variety of different positions."
Rampling said he was confident more new recruits would continue to help the club improve ahead of the season.
"The latest guy we are hoping to sign up is Edan Blewitt, who is originally from Gunnedah but has just returned from Toowoomba," he said.
"We're confident he will come across. Another guy we're very excited about is Marty Beckett, who is back after not having played in six years.
"Hopefully those guys will really help us aid some depth to our list and take us to the next level."
The Roos will continue their preparations for the Group 4 season with the Jack Woolaston Nines competition on March 21, before taking on the Moree Boars in a final trial match.
"At this stage it looks like we will be playing Moree in the first round of the season, so it should hopefully be a good gauge of where we're at," Rampling said.
"We have locked Craig Summers in as our reserve-grade coach, so if anyone wants to get involved before the season they are more than welcome."
Billy Jupp
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
