|
Written by Jamie Troughton
|
|
Wednesday, 30 April 2008 |
There were few surprises but the message was clear - the Steamers don't intend facing another season as Air New Zealand Cup roadkill.
Last night's glitzy season launch in Tauranga announced four major re-signings, with Simms Davison, Mike Delany, Tanerau Latimer and Colin Bourke all committing for this season at least.
It was hardly earth-shattering stuff but in the context of the year so far - with a backdrop of huge financial losses, major sponsor woes and board resignations - Steamers coach Kevin Schuler was positively jubilant.
"It's been a pretty tumultuous off-season and even into the preseason, a lot of the news stories haven't been good," Schuler said. "But in the last little while, there's a real sense of getting on with this year and we've been back focusing on our core jobs. I can understand some of the players feeling a bit of trepidation with what happened in the off-season so it's great to get the backing of some of them."
Most of the 2008 squad attended last night's function, while Latimer, Davison, Jamie Nutbrown and skipper Ben Castle all traveled over after Chiefs training in Hamilton. They headed straight back over the Kaimai Ranges last night to prepare for their 18-day, three-match tour of Australia and South Africa, which begins tomorrow.
Going the extra mile is something New Zealand Maori flanker Latimer has been doing ever since he broke into representative rugby, so signing again with his home union wasn't too much of a stretch.
"I'm blue and gold through and through and there's a lot of guys here I grew up playing with," Latimer said. "I didn't want to leave them in the deep end and I wanted to stick by the boys. There were a few other options but I decided to give it a crack here for another year and we'll see how it goes."
Bourke was one of the few absentees last night following the death of his father, but indicated earlier he was more than comfortable staying with the Steamers.
"I can't really see myself playing for another union," the 23-year-old said. "My partner's here, I've got a house here now and it feels like home. I had a few offers from overseas but it's not time for me yet. I had a good stint in the off-season last year and next time I go, it will probably be for a long time but I'll wait around for a couple of years and give things a good crack here."
Bourke was confident last year's disastrous 13th-placing was behind them, and with other unions hemorrhaging players overseas, the re-signings became important.
"We'll have a pretty similar team to last year - we just have to cut out those little mistakes that cost us so much last year. We're still quite a young team but with those guys re-signing, it gives a nice edge of experience."
There are still some glaring gaps in the playing roster, with the likes of Warren Smith, Anthony Tahana, Murray Williams and Aaron Rameka likely to be absent.
Two new player signings are expected next week, while Schuler indicated they may also lean on their Chiefs franchise partners to help fill voids, particularly in the wafer-thin locking stocks.
"There's a loyalty aspect but at some stage we have to make the call to get a competitive team on the paddock so that people that have invested in us and people that want to watch us play get something back," Schuler said. "There will be some hard calls to make in the next month."
Schuler will spend the next few weeks watching the sub-union competition, before selecting a squad to take play a couple of matches under the Wasps banner. The full Steamers squad will be picked after a Bay XV takes on Poverty Bay in Opotiki in late June.
|
News and Opinion 
