You’ve waited through the long off season, and now, with the season just around the corner, your team is starting to play trial matches.
So how much can you get out of trial games? How much can you take from trail game results?
You can do all of the fitness work you like, but nothing beats the fitness you build up by playing games. What it comes down to it, this is what trail games are for. It allows teams to build up that bit of match fitness, and get their eye back on the ball so that when the season starts they hopefully hit the ground running.
Most coaches I would suggest don’t worry too much about pure results in the pre season. They will look at a few different combinations, maybe see how certain players react to positional changes or how the team takes on a new style of play or new tactics, but most coaches just want to get a run into their squad and come away with no injuries.
If your team wins big, great, but that doesn’t mean they will be great during the regular season. If your team loses, it is not the worst thing in the world.
I only ever get worried about pre season losses when they are big losses and there are a lot of them. Sometimes you see some teams that have a losing habit will lose most of their trail games. That sort of thing usually carries itself into the regular season.
This is all why we can’t really have a pre season competition in Rugby League. Teams really do need this time to prepare for the regular season start. It is also why I don’t like seeing NRL teams having to fly over to the UK to to play in the waste of time that is the World Club Challenge.
While everyone back home is is easing themselves into a new season, the NRL Champions are dealing with jet lag and conditions they will never have to face again for the rest of the year. It is a disruption no team would want.
Some clubs play other NRL teams. Some clubs play lower grade sides. The opposition a lot of the time really isn’t important.
Clubs sometimes agree to extended squads or a much higher number of interchanges. Some teams agree to play the game in quarters. We have even seen some pre season games where an NRL side will play one team in the first half, and another team in the second half.
It is all just about getting a run into your legs.
So with the pre season about to kick off, keep an eye on results, but don’t live and die by them. Ideally your team gets pushed a little and comes into round one injury free. Win, lose or draw, if your team his Round One of the NRL season in some type of decent form, you’re club probably had a good pre season campaign.
