HE'S got the keys to the Ferrari again and he can't wait to drive it - that's how Tyson Medlyn sees his role as coach of the St Pat's under 21s.
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After guiding the Saints to victory in last year's inaugural Western under 21s premiership, the blue and whites beating Dubbo CYMS 20-16 in the decider, Medlyn was not sure if he'd be back due to the birth of his son.
But with the competition run over three rounds then a three-week finals series from February 12, Medlyn is able to work his coaching duties around fatherhood.
"I did want to coach this year but because I had the little bub I didn't want to be greedy and take my time away from my partner in case she needed me, but she said it was fine," Medlyn said.
"So I've ended up taking on the role again, I love all the boys, I still get my footy fix so it's all good.
"When people said to me 'Your boys won' I just tell them I was handed the keys to the Ferrari and got to drive it."
The competition has expanded for its second edition, so much so that teams have been split into three pools. The Saints are drawn alongside Bathurst Panthers, Orange Hawks and Orange CYMS. in the eastern pool.
The western pool consists of Cowra, Forbes and Parkes with Dubbo Macquarie, Dubbo CYMS, Mudgee and Coonamble in the northern.
The top two sides in each pool then advance to the cup finals while the others battle for the consolation plate. Not surprisingly it's the cup Medlyn and his Saints have their eyes on and they're already putting in the work to help them be a success.
"We sat down as a team and just spoke about what we wanted to achieve. The boys, they don't want to jump out of bed and come second," Medlyn said.
"They know the recipe to winning, they know how hard it is to win, it's not an easy comp. They know you've got to be fit first and foremost, so it's about being committed to what we want to achieve and that's winning again.
"So we'll be training three days a week just because we have a short turnaround with boys coming back from Christmas and a couple of kilos heavier than they'd like to be. So we'll try and shave as much as we can off the kebab."
While Medlyn has lost lock Aaron Mawhinney and halfback Cooper Neilsen from last year's squad, he has retained a number of the premierships winners as well as having an injection of young talent.
The coach feels it is the right mix to see the Saints go all the way in the 11-team competition.
"We'll be missing our two captains which is a big blow, but in saying that we're pretty lucky at Pat's, we've got a lot of young boys coming through that can fill that role," he said.
"They're not the same players, so it's about me finding what their best footy is and trying to get them to play that style of footy for 80 minutes rather than trying to turn them into blokes like we previously had.
"That will be enough, they're good enough footballers to keep us in games and lead us to those close wins. I have full faith in the boys, they're hard workers. It's always been that way with Pat's."
Medlyn will get his first chance to drive that Ferrari again on February 12 when facing Orange CYMS.
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