NSW Country Eagles coach Darren Coleman hopes the University of Canberra Vikings might still be "ironing out some chinks" ahead of their National Rugby Championship clash at Woollahra Oval on Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Vikings - who won two from eight games last year season and scored a one-point victory over the Greater Sydney Rams in round one - had a bye last week, which Coleman believes is an advantage.
However, he says, there is one small negative for Country.
"I'd love to think we've got an advantage and the benefit of having had one performance to blow out any cobwebs," Coleman said. "You generally find your first game of the season you're always ironing out chinks so I'm just hoping they've got a lot of chinks to iron out.
"The downside though is they've studied you playing one game whereas we have not had the benefit of watching them play to do some analysis."
Don't be fooled into thinking the Eagles' task will be easy. The Vikings' forward pack includes a swag of Brumbies players, including captain Jarrad Butler and vice-captain Jordan Smiler at the back of the scrum.
Coleman knows a more consistent effort across the park is needed to go two from two.
"They'll be definitely one of the competition front runners, there's no doubting that," Coleman said. "I think their whole forward pack is contracted, plus they've got some good backs. They've got Wallabies player Ben Alexander on the bench, so it's an indication of how strong they'll be. We'll definitely need to be up a notch on last week and be on our game to compete."
Despite it being so early in the season, NSW Country have a number of injured players, including Mike Dowsett, who is not expected to return this year after dislocating his shoulder at training.
Dowsett's injury gives 19-year-old Randwick colts halfback Mitch Short a chance to show his potential after injuries to "four of five first string halfbacks" which prompted Coleman to make shifts in the backline.
"He's an ex-Australian schoolboy and he's got a big future in the game and it'll be a good test up against a fully loaded Brumbies forward pack," Coleman said. "If we can exert pressure in all aspects of the game, I'd like to think we could cause some errors and keep ourselves in the game."
In other games on Saturday, the North Harbour Rays travel to Perth to take on the Spirit, who are coming off a loss to Brisbane, while Melbourne Rising host Brisbane City at Harlequin Rugby Park.
