VB NSW Cup Representative side Coach and Sydney Roosters Assistant Coach Jason Taylor insists tonight’s clash against the QLD residents will be a great opportunity for the players to show what they can do before what will be the biggest crowd most of the young men have played in front of.
With a sold out Suncorp Stadium expected, Taylor’s men will play just prior to the third State of origin in a clash he expects will be won on similar principles.
“The match will be won on effort not tactics,” Taylor said.
“The team that comes together best during the week will win this game.”
So how has our man JT created that important bond between a group of relative strangers?
“All the bonding has just come through spending time together, sharing dinners and most importantly sweating it out on the training field,” he said.
“The boys have come together really well, they didn’t know each other much when they first came in to camp but now they feel like a team.”
Taylor says he will try and transfer some of the core principals the Tricolours have adopted over the past couple of seasons in to his sides performance tonight, one man he believes is crucial to ensuring that happens is Roosters youngster Willis Meehan.
After running over defenders for fun in his debut efforts for the Newtown Jets in the NSW Cup Meehan was rewarded with an NRL debut and now he gets the chance to step up at representative level against much more experienced opposition.
“This game is big for Willis, he will be coming off the bench and he is really up for it,” he said.
“He has a big role to play for this team, he is as hard to tackle as anyone one out there.”
“I have let our halves know that they need to get him the ball as early and often as possible as we can set up our plays on the back of his runs and fast play the balls.”
Another Rooster in camp who even Taylor wouldn’t have seen much of, is new signing Nathan Stapleton.
Having signed just last week from the Cronulla Sharks Taylor is already impressed with what he has seen.
“He’s doing really well in camp, he has showed a lot of leadership qualities and he’s also a goal kicker which is something he has been working very hard on here in the camp.”
