RUGBY LEAGUE
BROTHERS will unleash one of the fiercest backlines in the competition at the West Wyalong Knockout next month after coming to terms with Group 20 star Travis Lightfoot.
Joining fellow Group 20 recruit Noa Fotu at the Brethren, the representative winger was a classy backline bookend with grand finalists Tullibigeal-Lakes United last season.
The dashing duo will link with Group Nine star Matt Ward in the backline, forming a lethal combination of speed and skill the Brethren have been missing.
Already five weeks in to the preseason, co-coach Adam Vanzanten insists the Brethren are building towards something special, starting with the West Wyalong Knockout.
"The club has been really proactive off the field during the off season so we're just trying to continue that now on the field," he told The Daily Advertiser yesterday.
"We started training five weeks before Christmas, so we've done 10 sessions already.
"It was certainly a great beginning to our season, we had great numbers and intensity and everyone brought a willingness to train, which is what we needed.
"We'll do some general fitness and build towards that as it gets closer but the aim is to peak later in the season, that's our main target."
The Brethren have scraped through the Group Nine season over the past two years, landing the wooden spoon in 2011 before finishing eighth at the end of last year.
A changing of the guard has elevated former NRL star Adam Perry to the coaching chair alongside Vanzanten, taking the reins from former coach Blake Dunn, who will remain with the Brethren in a playing role.
With just over a month to go until the first challenge of the season, Vanzanten said the Brethren were still on the hunt for a prop to complete the package.
"We're pretty set for the outside backs, but we're still chasing another prop to bolster our forward pack," he said.
"We've got a couple of things in the pipeline, but the three guys that we've secured are already on top of the guys we had last year, and we had a very good squad with a lot of ability.
"Getting Adam Perry to join us as co-coach was obviously a huge gain for us too."
Vanzanten said Brothers had not scheduled any trial games other than the preseason competition with Group 20.
"At this stage no, we're pretty happy with the format of the Group Nine and Group 20 preseason comp, it saves us having to organise anything else and it's a great opportunity for us to play against teams you wouldn't normally get the chance to," he said.
"Since about November we've been able to plan around these dates and work out when we need to be ready, so it's ideal."
- Want the draw for the pre-season competition? Here it is.
