Armidale Rams are aiming to improve on their 2017 season when they line up for their first clash on Saturday against Tingha Tigers.
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The A grade side failed to post a win last year but a new coach and a strong pre-season has created a buzz around the club.
While they aren’t expecting miracles, coach Steve Ware is hoping they can build on everything they have put in place.
“Everything is alright, the boys have worked hard and we have one more training session tonight [Thursday] so we will have a team run and see how everything pans out for Saturday's game,” he said.
“We are still learning combinations and things like that.
“The trials games were a good indication of who is playing where, we should be fine for Saturday.”
Scott McIntyre will miss the Tingha game with a knee injury but half Tyler Carson has been cleared to take the field after suffering a neck injury in the team’s trial against Guyra last month.
“It is a relief otherwise me and Mikey [Ware] would have been playing in the halves this weekend but Tyler's a smart kid and he has come away from that injury pretty well, he trained on Tuesday pretty well,” Ware said.
Tingha suffered a 60-22 loss to Moree Boars in round one but Ware isn’t concerned with other teams and is focused on bringing out the potential in his side.
“That's what we are worried about at the moment, we are worried about our group, our team and aren't really worried about everyone else at the moment,” he said.
“The boys have been training hard through the pre-season so I can't wait until we play on Saturday and hopefully we come away with a win against Tingha.
“I am just really looking forward to it, Saturday can't come quick enough.”
The Rams will have four grades take the field this season with numbers particularly high in the league tag.
In the weekend’s other local match, Narwan will take on Glen Innes at the Uralla Sporting Complex on Sunday from 12pm.
Narwan’s season got off to a poor start with a 42 points to 14 loss to the Inverell Hawks.