Good morning everyone! And what a glorious morning it is today as the Charity Shield game day is finally here!!! It's been a long Off-Season and it was great to see the Red and Green back out there last week but this is always the one you really wait for, the official unofficial start to the Season! We take on our old rival the Dragons tonight in what should be a cracker of a contest. We have a lot of history with St George Illawarra, a history which stretches back over 100 years now, and although we perhaps don't hate them like we hate the Roosters, I think I can speak for a lot of Souths fans when I say I certainly don't like them. The feeling is there. So a lot of history and this one and the traditional Charity Shield fixture is always a highlight.
Yes, it's officially classed as a trial match but I think we all know, this ain't just a trial. It's the Charity Shield and there's silverware on the line. It means something and the result matters. We are gunning to retain the shield for an incredible 10th time in a row. Whether we can do it or not remains to be seen.
It's not going to be easy tonight that's one thing I do know. In fact, I feel like this year's Charity Shield is going to be tougher than previous years. In the past we've made it look easy but I certainly don't think that's going to be the case tonight. Not just because of the players we've lost, but because this Dragons side is a lot stronger and more settled than years gone by. It's a trial so always tough to know what to expect but I'm expecting them to come out firing and really make us work so we're going to have to be on our game. Limiting their big forwards is priority number one. From there we really need to keep our eyes on guys like Lomax, Sullivan and Sloan in particular.
I'm sure our boys are going to be extremely fired up for this one too. That Grand Final loss has burned all Pre-Season and for most of those players, this is the first chance they get to put that fire in the belly form last years defeat into practice. I really can't wait to see a near full-strength side trot out there today! We're missing Trell and Captain Cam but that's about it. I said the Dragons would be tough be we should prove a huge challenge for them too! Particularly looking forward to seeing how Lachie goes with the stars around him, how Cody's role has changed with more responsibility and also the left centre battle between Jaxson and Josiah. It's the first game back so I'm not expecting a perfect performance but it'd be good to show some signs and get the result.
Always love the Charity Shield! I'm so pumped and soooo ready!! let's get out there and put on a show for Mudgee!!!
