The Bowral Blues senior rugby league will be facing some stiff competition this weekend.
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Hoping to head into their 2019 season with a bit of momentum, the Blues will be facing last years second division premiers, Cambelltown City in a trial match.
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President of the Bowral Kookaburras Club, Peter Howard said it will allow rugby league supporters to see the 2019 in action.
"The guys are playing last years premiers, we performed well in our first year back and we finished fifth, just missing the finals," Mr Howard said.
"We've already got a solid squad together. We have around 20 players on the books.
"The guys are upbeat and very keen to get the season underway. For a lot of players who had previously retired, the competition has given them a second lease on life. It will test the fitness levels for sure."
Head coach for the Bowral Blues senior squad, Mark Williams has high hopes for this squad.
"We've had a pretty good turnout for team numbers," Williams said.
"I'll be mixing it up giving players as much of an opportunity in as many positions that I can.
"Building up match fitness is important, I think that let us down a little bit last year, so getting that fitness up is paramount to cement a solid team for round one."
The Blues are facing last years premiers Cambelltown City. It will be a tough match but they're looking for more than a win.
"Obviously a win is always good," Williams said.
"But it's not a main focus of this weekend. The main thing is to be working out combinations, but it would obviously be good to come away with a win. It'll be a great confidence boost heading into the season though."
There may be new faces on the team, but the way the Blues play the game will stay the same.
"We'll be running a similar system to last year," Williams said.
"We'll be playing positive football. We don't want to get dragged into that mentality of just bashing it up the middle and hoping for the best.
"We have a smaller side so we'll be looking to play some creative footy and get the guys really enjoying the game."
After returning to the league last year, the Blues have big hopes for this season.
"We'd like to go all the way, obviously that's why we all play," Williams said.
"Improvements are the key, if we were to go backwards and finish lower then we did last year then that's disappointing. The goal is to win the premiership but a goal between fourth and first is improvement which is what we're looking for this season."
The trial match will be held at Looseby Park on Saturday, March 16 at 3 pm.