Essendon Mazda Coach’s Comment: Ferrante’s Royals primed for action after week off

Senior Men’s Coach Mick Ferrante is keen to see his men back on the park this weekend after a week off.

The Royals Round 6 game against Brimbank Stallions on Friday was postponed due to the waterlogged pitch at Cross Keys Reserve.

The postponement meant that the Royals had an extra eight days to prepare for battle against Corio SC.

“To be honest, it was a bit of a shame for us that the game was postponed because we were really up for it, and the boys were in good nick,” he said.

“But we’ve used it to our advantage and we’ve had a great week at training, so the boys should be primed and ready to go after a good week.”

Ferrante said the extra time was a blessing for some of his players coming back from injuries, illness and leave.

“With the exception of Mo [Abbas], we’ve pretty much got everyone back,” he said.

“The extra few days have been good for the guys coming back so I think that will serve us well heading into the rest of the season.”

The Royals take on Corio SC on Saturday evening at Hume Reserve.

Whilst the Geelong-based outfit has not had a great start to the 2022 season, Ferrante said there could be no taking Corio outfit lightly.

“I know they’ve not had the start they wanted, but you could say the same for Strathmore and we managed to drop points against them,” he said.

“That’s a reminder to everyone that you can’t take anyone lightly in this league. We’ve got to be 100 per cent up for it.

“There are no easy games in this league and I think the majority of our squad have been playing in it long enough now to know that.

“They’ll be up for it – most teams are up for it when they take on the Royals – so they’ll see this as a good opportunity to lay down a marker for the rest of their season.”