Bondi Beasts
Sipping their morning coffees at a Campbell Parade cafe overlooking the shores of Bondi Beach on Friday morning, the Bondi Beasts look like a unified squad on the eve of their clash with competition frontrunners the Bulls. If there are nerves in the side they aren't showing, with halves pairing Johnathan Thurston and Gareth Widdop analysing set-plays using sugar sachets and salt and pepper shakers, and youngsters Matt Duffie and Esi Tonga both trying to chat up the same blonde waitress.
In the corner getting to know new recruit Russell Packer is Bondi coach Johns Magic, indulging himself in one of the larger Big Breakfasts the eastern suburbs has to offer.
As one would expect of a coach on a five game winning streak, Magic's demeanour is positive as he discusses the progress of the team's season.
"Yeah look, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy with how the boys were going," Magic says with a wry grin on his face. However quickly, his expression changes to one of seriousness, "But in saying that, the way we started the season meant we had to show this sort of form to be where we wanted to be by midway through the season. Our goal has always been to finish in the top 2 in the regular season, and we've only just clawed our way into that. One loss and we're back with the pack, we're under no illusions here."
It hasn't been all good news for the Beasts however, with the announcement that workhorse hooker Nathan Friend will be out for up to six weeks after undergoing cleanup surgery on his troublesome shoulder. As the lone hooker in the Bondi squad, the coaching staff will be sweating on his progress.
"Yeah it's the same shoulder he had fixed over the offseason and missed the first four rounds with" Magic explained. "He could still play the full 80 minutes with it, he did on Saturday night. But he wasn't going in 100% and we figured it'd be best to bite the bullet now and get him back at his best for finals time. It'll leave us with a big hole at 9 for a while, we don't have any cover there but you have to take risks with your squad and that's one we took. Friendy's injury record before this year has been first-rate so he's been a bit unfortunate."
Round 9 will be a tough one for all clubs with many players unavailable and many backing up from representative matches. The Bondi coaching staff is relatively happy with the lineup they've been able to name this week, albeit with a few holes and five players being hopefuls of backing up after rep duties on Friday night.
Tireless backrower Ash Harrison has been named skipper for the week, a role he feels comfortable with. "Definitely, I'm looking to step up my involvement to take some work off the boys backing up from Friday night," Harrison remarked when asked if he enjoyed the leadership role. "It's a real shame we won't get the chance to take the Bulls on with both teams at full-strength yet, because we reckon we have the side to knock them over. They're the benchmark at the moment and it would have been good to test ourselves against the best. Hopefully we get that chance at the business end of the year."
Bondi Beasts Lineup For Round 9:
1. Billy Slater
2. Matt Duffie
3. Steve Michaels
4. Steve Matai
5. Reece Robinson
6. Gareth Widdop
7. Johnathan Thurston (k)
8. Dan Hunt
9.
10. Russell Packer
11. Ashley Harrison (c)
12. Gavin Cooper
13. Glenn Stewart
14.
15.
16. Brett Seymour
17. Esi Tonga
Coach: Johns Magic
