Three weeks out from round one and the Yass Roos are in full flight, according to coach Jarrad Forlonge.
“I think we’re shaping up really nicely.”
“It hasn’t been a Covid affected preseason this year, so we’ve been able to get stuck in and build some strong momentum, especially with all of our new players this season.”
“We’re looking for and just excited to play footy more than anything,” he said.
Jarrad, who will share coaching duties with Dominic Johns, described a tough, fitness-focused preseason for his Roos.
“Preseason so far has been good, we’ve managed to tick off all the running and fitness stuff we mainly wanted to focus on, and now we’re really getting stuck into the football stuff, which the boys are much more excited about”, he said.
After grand final heartbreak last year, the Roos have had a big offseason of recruitment, and some familiar faces look set for a big 2021.
“We’ve got quite a few new boys this season, so there’s quite a few that I’m keen to get a look at in the blue and white.”
“Fraser Cloney and Darcy Paine are looking really sharp so far.”
“We’re also keen to see a lot of the returning boys who have started so far with a fire in the belly to go one better than last year,” said Jarrad.
When asked what the goals were within the Roos camp, Jarrad did nothing to lower expectations in his response.
“Obviously every coach in the comp is going to say win the premiership but I truly believe that a grand final appearance is our minimum.”
“We’ve made 4 grand finals in the past 5 years, yet we’ve only won 1.”
“We think we’ll be more than competitive this year, so I’m keen to see us really challenge for another premiership,” he said.
The Roos officially kick off their season at Joe O’Connor Park on the 17th against the Southern Cats.
Max O’Driscoll
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