Round 1 of the Benelux Shield and Championship this weekend. It is notable for the inclusion of a Shield for the first time in a Regional competition.
This is a very positive step forward as it provides all the players with competitive games. Previously, established teams, second teams and newly formed teams were all grouped together. The result was some very lopsided encounters which did no-one any good.
By splitting the competition, it is hoped participation can be increased by giving players more meaningful games.
In the Championship section, it will be ourselves, Amsterdam, Hague and Lux. Early season form suggests we go into Saturday a little bit behind the rest after defeats to The Hague and Amsterdam a few weeks ago. Lux surprisingly travel with one team which may indicate they'll be going gung ho for a win. Early season duals are always difficult to predict due to the influx and exodus of players over the winter.
We will face off against Amsterdam and Dusseldorf in the Shield and there shouldn't be much between the teams here.
Normally there would be no talking to me the week of a tournament. There's a load of crap to worry about; chasing players, organising lifts, picking panels etc etc. Of course, Collie B takes the lead in most aspects but I feel some stress as we want everything to go smoothly. I feel relaxed ahead of the weekend and that’s probably down to our preparation.
We've had a team from Wexford over, travelled to The Hague invitational and had two in-house games. Training has been fairly well attended and we've mixed fitness, skills and games well. We've focused much more on attacking play and probably did more shooting in the last two months than the half year I was taking training in 2011!!
It's as good a group as we have had in terms of attitude and application. The fact we are travelling with 26 players, despite lads continuing to leave, is testament to that. In addition, Paddy and Al are injured but they too will travel to help out. Conan will have his Bainisteoir bib so we will be 29 in total. No mean feat.
Resilience is the underlying trait of this group. I don't think there are too many clubs, who could have suffered so many exits & injuries, still get two teams out and be competitive. We'll need buckets of it over the coming months because the task that faces us is significant.
We know we are not yet at the standard to win a Championship and Shield at the business end of the year. We must improve from last year and that doesn't happen over night. Our play must evolve and be a little bit more about adventure than containment.
We're definitely on the right road and I reckon we wouldn't be a bad outside bet for the weekend. You always have a chance in the Regionals and with two balanced panels we go to win.
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