Blue Bulls head coach Dean Oxley has made the extraordinary admission his own miscommunication somewhat stalled Central West’s bid for the 2017 Caldwell Cup.
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And he’s determined to not make the same mistake in 2018.
The Blue Bulls officially kick-off preparations for this year’s Country Championship, to be staged in the Western Plains heartland of Warren, on Sunday with a training run at Molong’s Dr Ross Memorial Recreation Ground.
Oxley, also the 2018 Bathurst Bulldogs coach, said his goal was to simplify the 2018 program in a bid to get the best players on deck for Central West come April’s tilt at the Caldwell Cup.
And when he gets those players, Oxley is certain to ensure they’re all on the same page as the zone guns for its first country championship crown since 2014.
“I suppose our cohesion is the biggest thing,” Oxley said, the Blue Bulls losing to Newcastle-Hunter 58-8 in game one last year before avoiding relegation with a 48-3 win over Central North.
“We learnt a lesson last year. We need to get all of the players to buy in and heading in the same direction, that would be good.
“I take some responsibility on the miss communication last year and that won’t happen this year. There will be a clear message.”
That message, Oxley says, will deliver the players selected in this year’s Blues Bulls squad a licence to attack.
In his second year running in the top job, Oxley said he’ll allow players to bring their own style of rugby to the fold.
“I do love to allow players to play nature game … you take away flare and it’s boring and predictable,” he said.
Training at Molong will kick-start at 9.30am on Sunday, with players in attendance put through some training drills, rather than any opposed rugby games at this point.
Oxley said this year’s campaign will be condensed to just 10 sessions, with trials on top of that.
Those trials won’t be rushed though, not like last year as Central West pushed to be competitive against a NSW Gen Blue side in early February.
Oxley said he was determined to ensure the best players, as well as those that supported last year’s campaign, from every tier in the Central West were available to play for the Blue Bulls.
“We need that. The strength of Central West is the amount of footballers that are playing,” he added.
“We had players from all divisions last year at the trials, some of those made it through from GrainCorp.
“Can’t afford to not have the best selected.”
Training is at Molong on Sunday from 9.30am.
Nick McGrath
Editor, Central Western Daily
Editor, Central Western Daily
