Queensland U18 player, Lachie Weller, shares his insights into the 2014 rep season.
Last weekend’s win over Eastern Ranges was a real confidence booster.
We knew we always had a chance, and we had boys that have been adjusting to the standards early, but everyone stepped up their work rate and it paid off.
That was probably the biggest thing on Saturday, everyone said we played so well as a team, even parents and coaches who were there to watch, and we are really feeling that on the field too.
It’s really starting to come together – we’ve had a lot of time together and Fletch has really earned the respect of the players and we all want to play for him.
He’s really pushed hard for us to play as a team and last weekend we really did that.
Games like that give you a lot of confidence and we’re really starting to believe in ourselves and our ability.
Our last few games have gone down to the wire so it was a really different feeling to be out in front all day.
I was talking to one of our ruckmen, Brayden Preuss, after the game and he was saying he hadn’t won a game of football in about a year and you kind of forget how good it feels.
And that was the thing, we were out in front but we didn’t want to stop there, we really wanted to make a statement and win by a lot.
I don’t think we ever got to that point last year where everyone was playing together and it does make a big difference.
It’s exciting to play for Queensland because you really feel like you’re a part of something and a part of a team – success and seeing improvement is a big part of that too.
I think the structure this year has really helped us – we’ve play four games now before nationals.
On and off the field, all the guys are really good friends, and that friendship is really important.
I drive up to Brisbane with some of the other Gold Coast players so at the start it was so easy to stay in your own groups and not mix in with the Brisbane boys, but the last month one of our focuses was to mix in and become a real team.
Which has started trusting each other and the want for everyone to go well and that’s huge.
It really is just simple, everyone’s open for a chat and when there’s a new player around, you try to help them fit in straight away.
In rep teams, it’s pretty rare to get a feeling like this because you really don’t spend that much time together.
With the new structure, more TAC Cup games and the Academy program, we’re together for longer and we’re having success, that’s all just brought us together.
It’s crazy now, we’ve got our first Nationals game against the Tassie in two weeks and you look at the calendar and it’s like nationals and the season’s nearly done.
Follow Lachie on Twitter: @lachieweller
