Tuggeranong Bushrangers v Woden Valley Rams on Saturday at 3:00pm at GreenwayWhen former Canberra Raiders lower grader Michael Brophy decided to return to the TTM Canberra Raiders Cup after a year in the Intrust Super Cup in Queensland there was only ever one club that he was going to play for, his beloved Tuggeranong Bushrangers.
Brophy played for Tuggeranong from the time when he first laced on a boot to when he was picked up by the Raiders.
The talented outside back went onto win the National Youth Competition title in 2008 alongside Jarrod Croker and Shaun Fensom and went close to making his first grade debut, being named as 18th man.
“I wouldn’t play for any other club,” said Brophy adamantly.
“No amount of money would change that. I’ve played with Tuggeranong from under 6’s straight through to 16’s and I absolutely loved the club.
“It was a good experience playing in the Queensland Cup but I’m happy to be back home now playing for the Bushies.”
Brophy last played for the Bushrangers in 2011 when they went agonizingly close to making the semi-finals only to be knocked out in the final round by eventual premiers the Queanbeyan Kangaroos.
With Brophy leaving the club in 2012, the Bushrangers had a forgettable season finishing second last.
“They had a bit of a down year last year,” said Brophy. “We had a lot of injuries and used up to 50 players in both grades.
“The mood wasn’t that positive when we first got together in pre-season so I’ve been trying to lift everyone’s spirits. When I was at the Raiders Josh Miller was always bouncing around and I try and approach each training session with the same sort of enthusiasm and energy.
“There are a handful of players still there from 2011 but we’ve got a lot of talented new young players who have got me excited for the year. Last week was a massive boost to our confidence. I’m only 25 and there are only two blokes older than me. We’ve got a young side but it’s a side that you can build a club around.
“I think we’ll surprise a few people this year.”
Tuggeranong’s young guns and Brophy himself were on fire in round one demolishing the West Belconnen Warriors 52-4.
Whilst Brophy was playing for the Burleigh Bears in Queensland he picked up on a bitter rivalry between his side and Tweed Heads.
The star fullback wishes to emulate that rivalry with Woden Valley Rams and he sees no better opportunity to start than this than this weekend.
“When I played for Burleigh you just hated Tweed and I want our rivalry with Woden to get to that level. A couple of fellas left us last year to go to Woden so hopefully we can make them unhappy that they left.
“I don’t think we’ve beaten Rams in five years or so. Woden are always a surprise packet and they’ve got a good combination with Josh Burns and Tim Crome. I can’t wait for the game.”
Belconnen United Scholars v Queanbeyan Blues on Saturday at 3:00pm at Northbourne OvalBelconnen United Coach John Hawke believes that his side needs to work on their execution and discipline this week against the Queanbeyan Blues after a narrow loss to the Kangaroos.
“Our execution and discipline needs to improve this week,” said Hawke. “We probably dropped two or three tries in a game that could have gone either way and it ended up costing us.”
“We still could’ve won the game and while I was fairly happy with the boys’ efforts there’s plenty of room for improvement. We’ll be better for the run and we’ll need to be this week against the Blues.”
Hawke believes that the Blues will be a serious title contender after their stellar recruitment both on and off the field.
“The Blues have recruited really well playing wise with guys like Marc Herbert and coaching wise in bringing in Simon Woolford.”
Whilst Hawke said that his side cannot afford to concentrate on specific players he highlights the halves combination of Marc Herbert and Ben Nicholls as their danger men.
Putting a dent in the Scholar’s fortunes of going back-to-back this year has been the loss of 2012 Les McIntyre Medal winner Brent Crisp who leaves the competition to go and work in the mines.
Gungahlin Bulls v Queanbeyan Kangaroos on Saturday at 3:00pm at Raiders BelconnenAny side missing their key player is going to struggle however last year’s runners up the Queanbeyan Kangaroos are fortunate enough to have a more than capable replacement for Captain-Coach Aaron Gorrell.
Gorrell is out injured for the opening couple of rounds and his place has been taken by Luke Jones who proved a capable replacement in last weekend’s win over the Scholars, scoring two tries.
“I did feel the pressure, I was a bit nervous going into this game to be honest,” Jones said afterward.
“But Goz [Gorrell] has been leading me well at training, telling me to keep it simple and stick to the plays.”
Halfback Jones will again need to be at his best this weekend against the Bulls who went down narrowly to the Rams last weekend.
Goulburn Workers Bulldogs v West Belconnen Warriors on Saturday at 5:00pm at Goulburn Workers ArenaGoulburn Captain Daniel York has drilled into his side not to read too much into West Belconnen’s early season form.
The Bulldogs thumped the Warriors in a pre-season trial however York is wary of his side going into the match over-confident.
“There aren’t any easy games in the Canberra Cup and we definitely won’t be going into the clash lightly,” said York.
“West Belconnen will be disappointed in their opening loss to the Bushrangers and will no doubt look to come out firing.
“I’ll be making sure that the side is ready to match them. We definitely weren’t at our best either last week against the Blues so we’ll be looking to improve also.”
Source: Raiders Press Release
Topic: TTM Canberra Raiders Cup Round 2 Preview
