The South West Rocks Marlins are hoping to further build on the platform they began to lay last season as they are bringing back co-coaches Sam Drew and Sam Howe to lead the side for a second straight year.
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The Marlins had a successful campaign in Drew and Howe’s first season in charge.
They returned to the finals, were competitive in all of their games and snapped a five-game losing streak against rivals the Lower Macleay Magpies.
However, their season ended in the first week of the finals as they suffered a narrow 34-26 defeat at the hands of the Magpies.
Drew is hopeful the side will be able to take the next step this year and believes team continuity will be key.
“We are going to keep the same core group from last year, I have spoken to a few of the players and all signs are pointing towards the majority of players returning,” Drew told the Argus.
“Last year, we started the season a bit rusty as there was a lot of players playing with each other for the first time.
“But towards the end of the year we really started to combine well and began to reach our potential.
“We now have a full season under our belts and hopefully we can continue to build on what we started last year.”
While Drew didn’t go as far as to say the Marlins are chasing a premiership, he did mention the Marlins will be in the finals this year.
“We definitely want to be in the top five again and hopefully go deeper into the finals series,” Drew said.
While the Marlins are hopeful the majority of their players return, they are still very welcoming of new players.
“Pre-season starts on Tuesday January 15 at 6pm and everyone is welcome to come down for a run,” Drew said.
“Hopefully we can pick up a few more players.”
The Hastings League season is expected to commence in April.
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