Marlins leaping high

THERE was a strong sense of excited anticipation and high spirits in the Shellharbour City Marlins camp at last Wednesdays training session as the club prepares itself for the 2007 season and its first ever participation in the Jim Beam Cup competition.

Regular club stalwarts Matt Coelho, Aaron Carney, Jamie Manankanga, Nathan Cooper, Matt Hillcoat, Adam Taylor, Brendan Tunbridge and of course the irrepressible Schuster brothers are joined this season by young club up and comers Craig Paku, Ben Cole and Jeff Zwolsman three names which Marlins Junior Vice President, Ralph Sablowski, say we should look out for in the coming months.

Adding depth to the clubs 2007 squad are several new imports including Kevin Neighbour - the Marlins first International signing.

A 23-year-old 5'11", 88 kg dynamite from the Gateshead Thunder in England, Kevin oozes talent and plays Winger, Centre or Fullback.

Having won 1st grade Player of the Year, Players Player, Coaches Player of the Year and more recently the 'Man of Steel' award Kevin looks forward to making an impact in the Jim Beam Cup Competition. Out of 137 1st grade appearances from a total of 141, Kevin has scored 42 tries and kicked 17 goals for a total of 202 points.

Joining Kevin will also be Mohamed Hijazi, a relative newcomer to the game of Rugby League who first played at Port Kembla in 2005 before being joining the famous Arncliffe Scots Club in the St. George District, where he played in the outside backs scoring 19 tries in the A grade competition. With plenty of speed to burn Mohamed is likely to repeat that feat next season.

Next on the list of imports is Lewis McPhail, a mobile hooker/second rower who hails from Yepoon/Rockhampton in Queensland.

A Queensland state schoolboys representative player in the 15's and 17's, Lewis has played SG Ball for the Illawarra Steelers and Jersey Flegg for St. George Illawarra Dragons. Lewis Has also played 1st grade for the Thirroul Butchers and the Corrimal Cougars in the Illawarra competition.

Another of the new imports is Bryce Poisel - a tough half/five eight who comes from the Group 6 area.

Bryce brings a wealth of experience to the Marlins, having played Harold Matthews Cup and SG Ball for the Parramatta Eels, Jersey Flegg for the Western Suburbs Magpies and North Sydney Bears and Jim Beam Cup for the Ourimbah Magpies. He played 1st grade last season for the Picton Magpies.

Jamie Dunning is next - a tough, no nonsense front rower who hails from the Dapto area. He has played a number of seasons with the St. George Illawarra Dragons Jersey Flegg and Premier league teams.

Joining Jamie and the others is Ian Catania, a solid as a rock fullback who in 2006 played for the Dragons Jersey Flegg team. Ian has played all his junior football with the Dapto Canaries.

Another of the Marlins imports for 2007 is James Keelan.

Built like a brick proverbial, James is a Warilla junior who plays in the backrow.

He is very experienced and played with the Steelers in Harold Matthews and SG Ball and has spent the last two seasons with the Dragons Jersey Flegg Team.

A promising young forward from the Kiama Knights Club, Luke Gilmore has also joined the Marlins this season. Luke is making every post a winner at training and is confident of making the Jim Beam Cup squad, along with Simon Rushby, a tough backrower from the Riverina town of Young in Group 9. Simon has played 1st grade for the last 5 years with Young and Cootamundra and has represented the Riverina Under 21s.

Last, but by no means least are Mark Mooney, a solid forward who has played with the Balmain SG Ball team and last season played for the Kingshead Cowboys and represented with the St. George inner city club challenge team, together with Mitch Muir, who drove down from Logan City just south of Brisbane to be at training on Wednesday night. Mitch comes with very strong recommendations from the Dragons.

Ralph Sablowski says the club is confident about its performance in the 2007 Jim Beam Cup.

Weve got what we think is a very competitive side with lots of depth and experience, Ralph said.

Coach Dave Walsh bring a wealth of experience with him as does Trainer Brendan Max OMara to deliver a team that will hit the ground running.

With this being our first year in the Jim Beam Cup competition, we have our sights firmly set on at least getting through to the semi-finals.

We have two trial games coming up, the first being against the Penrith Panthers Jersey Flegg Team at Ron Costello Oval on Friday evening February 23 and the second against the South Sydney Jersey Flegg Team, as the curtain raiser to Dragons v Souths Annual Charity Shield match at Telstra Stadium, Homebush on Saturday March 3.

These two games will give the boys a taste of what lies ahead of them this year and will help us sort out the Jim Beam Cup squad.

Whatever the final outcome is for the season, Marlins sponsors such as Shellharbour Workers Club, One Steel, Matrix Planning Solutions, Addisons Seafood Restaurant, Warilla Bowling Club, Beach Street, the Links Golf Club in Shell Cove and more, should all get a good run for their money.

The club is also in negotiations with Kia Australia and Corben Kia for sponsorship support in 2007.

We cant thank our sponsors enough for all their support, and we are confident that the boys will deliver the goods over the season, Ralph said.