CENTRAL West Blue Bulls head coach Dean Oxley has labelled Saturday’s training session with Shute Shield club Manly Marlins as one of the “best rugby experiences” he’s had.
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Former Wallaby and Molong talent David Lyons joined the Bulls and Marlins for the day’s activities at Ashwood Park, engaging in a question and answer session with the Central West men before helping out with drills.
Bulls and Marlins have fostered a strong relationship following last season’s trial game between the Manly and Central West colts teams.
Although Bulls injuries and absentees prevented a full contact trial game against the Marlins from being played on Saturday it didn’t affect a useful learning experience.
“David Lyons was outstanding. It started with a Q and A session for just the Bulls boys where David talked about his time in Molong and Central West Rugby, being first selected at 15 and then just three years later playing for Australia,” Oxley said.
“We asked him about his expectations when he made the jump to the top level but it all just happened so quick he didn’t have time to think about it.
“He showed great mental toughness during his time at with the Wallabies ... and it was great for our guys to hear about his experiences, and that an 18-year-old from Molong can become a Wallaby.
“He ran some drills after the session and the Bulls really enjoyed that.”
Lyons wasn’t the only one who left a big impression on Oxley.
The Marlins squad, and their experienced mentor Billy Melrose, gave the Central West squad a great opportunity to see what areas of their game they needed to work on.
“They gave us probably one of the best rugby experiences I’ve been involved with,” Oxley said.
“Their coach and players were assisting our juniors a lot. We’ve had Shute Shield teams come to Bathurst in the past but none have engaged with our players like they did.
“Because of injuries and players away we didn’t have a full game against them. What was interesting for us to see was that they don’t really do things a whole lot differently to us – they just do it quicker. It showed that we need to be making our decisions just that extra bit faster.
“We could have had a little bit of full contact but with the team we had we knew we wouldn’t handle their size and power. We just went through our systems and that’s helped us to continue moving forward in our preparation.
“Matt Tink, our Central West CEO, has a coaching resume which is exceptional. He led our boys through one of the best scrum sessions I’ve been to, and I’ve experienced some at high levels before. It’s great for people to know that getting into the Central West squad gives you learning experiences like that.”
The Caldwell Cup buildup continues for the Bulls this Saturday when they take on Central Coast in a trial game at CSU Bathurst.
Colts will kick-off from 1.30pm and the senior match will follow at 2.45pm.
The match will be the final chance for the Bulls to leave an impression with the coaching staff before a final team is selected.
