Western Clydesdales new star reveals his side’s secret to upset
The Western Clydesdales have started their campaign in stunning fashion. Playing their inaugural match, up against Gus Gould’s Canterbury Bulldogs, it’s safe to say something special is afoot.
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LEAGUE: Western Clydesdales look to have a bright future on the cards.
With a dominant effort from some of their youth and development sides, to a historic victory in their inaugural match, the Western Clydesdales showed they have a solid foundation for the season ahead.
In a match that was time-affected, resulting in 30 minute halves and no conversions, the Clydesdales didn’t let this distract them, winning 24-16.
Having to modify their game-plan and rolling through many substitutions, the side showed the crowd that they were up to the challenge.
Head coach Jason Alchin was impressed with how his side played, considering it was their first official hitout.
“We are going along ok, but let’s not get too excited just yet,” Alchin said.
“It’s one game, we have many more to come.”
“The time-delay did affect our game plan and strategies, so we adapted, but you’ve got to remember that the game changed for Canterbury too.”
Cohesion and connections between the players will always be a concern for any side entering a new season, especially for a team that has only been together for four months.
“Because the game got called short, it meant I couldn’t leave guys out there for longer than 20 minutes, so we had more shuffling around than I would’ve wanted, and that sort of hurt us a little bit with our cohesion. But they played well,” Alchin said.
“Defence wins you games. We did get caught out on the left, but that’s just the centre not playing with the winger before, but we did make some very good defensive reads.
“It’s one game, we have a lot more to work on to get ready.”
Making devastating runs and putting defenders on the ground, Melino Fineanganofo is on track to become a cult hero.
With people calling him the Clydesdales’ ‘Tongan Thor’ – Fineanganofo says he’s actually the “Tongan Gorilla.”
“Besides a couple of defensive errors, I feel like I played all right. I’ve still got a way to go yet though. It was my first game in over a year – so yeah I’m kind of happy actually,” Fineanganofo said.
“Our 17 is pretty strong, and I think with the result we had today, we will have a good fight with the Dolphins next week.”
Clydesdales captain Darryn Schonig praised his teammates’ performance, despite the challenges they have endured leading up to and during the game.
“The game was cut short, which stalled us a little bit, but at the end of the day, you need to adapt and cope with changes. If not, you probably shouldn’t be playing at this level,” Schonig said.
“We are a completely new team. None of these boys have played together before, and a lot of these boys haven’t played this level before, so for us to come away with that result, I’m just stoked.”
Not knowing what style and type of footy they are going to play heading forward, Schonig was pleased with the performance of his playmakers and his side’s effort in defence.
“It was nice to see that we have some really good playmakers, with Drew (Timms), Riley (Moore) and Cory (McGrady), so it was an upbeat style of play,” he said.
“I think defensively we were able to cope with the pressure as the boys are definitely fit.”
“What Jason got us to do prior to Christmas is really helping us with defence, we’ve still got a long way (to go) as far as our defensive systems go but yeah, for a first hit out, I’m happy with how we played.”
Looking to their next fixture, the Western Clydesdales will face the Redcliffe Dolphins at home on February 11.
“The Dolphins are always a strong outfit, so it’s going to be a massive test and we will be able to see where we are at,” Schonig said.
Games Schedule:
U21 Colts – 10.30am
Cyril Connell – 12.05pm
Harvey Norman Women – 1.30pm
Mal Meninga – 2.55pm
Hostplus Cup – 5pm
Other information from the day’s play:
The Clydesdales junior and development sides played Wide Bay Bulls.
The U16s drew 12-12, their U18s won 32-12 and the U19s women’s side put the Bulls to the slaughter, defeating them 52-0.
The star player of these three games was the U19s captain Mackenzie Zeller.
She bagged a hat-trick, leading her side to a dominant victory.
The U21s went down to the Bulldogs’ Jersey Fleg side that was ended prematurely after one of the Clydesdales’ players sustained an injury, resulting in him being taken away in an ambulance.
Thankfully the club has confirmed that the player was given the ok by medical staff and is at home with his family.
The main event was the trial match between the Canterbury Bulldogs NSW Cup side – which had Jersey Fleg players also – against the Western Clydesdales’ Hostplus Cup side. The Clydesdales came away with a stunning 24-16 victory.
The game was time affected resulting in kick-off not occurring until 4.55pm
Thirty minute halves were played in a bid to save time, nor were conversions taken after a try.
The timesaving measures were to make sure the Bulldogs players and staff did not miss their return flight to Sydney.
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