Jason Ferris commences TRL coaching career in Oakey’s first trial

The Oakey Bears will have their first official run under new coach and former NRL player Jason Ferris on Saturday

Oakey hosts Caloundra on Saturday. Photo: Kevin Farmer

RUGBY LEAGUE: The winds of change are in the air at Oakey.

With a few tough seasons under their belts, the Bears are looking to turn their TRL fortunes around, and new coach Jason Ferris has put the wheels in motion for a turnaround.

The former NRL veteran of 123 first grade games will make his Toowoomba Rugby League coaching debut on Saturday night as Oakey hosts Caloundra at Trevor Mickleborough Oval.

He said the early signs have been promising since taking the helm, as the club prepares for a comeback season.

“We’re building pretty nicely,” Ferris said.

“The boys have had a good block of six or seven weeks of hard training and we’ve tapered off for the last couple (heading into trials).

“It means a bit more to us than other clubs. We haven’t really set the world on fire for a few years.

“Our last grand final was 2011 and our last win was 1999.

“The boys can’t really do anything about that, but as coach I need to help change a bit of the culture and attitude, and I think we’re slowly doing that.”

Oakey will carry a bit of a lighter pre-season than most clubs heading into the new season with this their only stand-alone trial.

Ferris said that was by design, as they look to head into round one with a bit of freshness on their side.

“The boys have been training the house down,” he said.

“We won’t learn too much, but will be picking the best side available. This will probably be our only trial, and we’ll look at the TRL knockout at the end of March.

“We haven’t got the depth that a lot of other clubs do, so we can’t afford to cop any injuries. We don’t want to bust our players for round one. We want to be smart about it.”

“There’ll be no excuses, we want to hit the ground running.

“I’ve told the boys that no matter what happens, the buck stops with me. I’m pretty confident in my own abilities as coach and the boys are reacting well.

“I just want to make sure that we keep improving on and off the field each week.”

Oakey vs Caloundra gets underway at 3pm with the U18s, followed by reserve grade at 4.30pm and A-grade at 6pm. Entry is a gold coin donation.

LOCALS NAMED IN NRL TRIALS

Brodie Croft will line for Brisbane against the Cowboys in Redcliffe.

Ash Taylor and Beau Fermor have been named for the Titans, while Jake Simpkin is expected to play for the Tigers against Manly.

Originally published as Jason Ferris commences TRL coaching career in Oakey’s first trial