What a difference 12 months has made to the Red Devils’ sevens side – the no expectations of their debut season in 2018, in the competition’s foundation year, replaced by a fervent desire to win the premiership.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
And the player who adds the “grit” to the side, says coach John Hickey, is 52-kilogram dynamo Bec Smyth – whom the veteran multi-sport mentor has described as “tougher” than most men he has coached in any sport.
As Gunnedah prepare to launch their new campaign, Hickey has spoken about what he says is the team’s massive improvement in a year and the big spike in player confidence stemming from that.
She’s just a champion.
- John Hickey on Bec Smyth
He said that last year Gunnedah just wanted to field a side each week “with no expectation of winning”, given that the vast majority of his charges had never played contact sport before and some had never played sport at all.
They lost their first 12 matches, going tryless in their first “four or five games”, Hickey said, before a stunning form reversal catapulted them to the grand final. There, they lost to the vastly more experienced Inverell.
Hickey said the team’s goal this year was to “win from the get-go”.
READ ALSO:
“We’re expecting to be competitive in every game we play,” he said. “We don’t believe there’s any side we can’t match, and we’re way ahead of our preparation compared to where we were a year ago.
“Our objective is obviously to win the comp. Yes, our expectations are higher and we do have this desire to win the grand final and a premiership for Gunnedah.”
At the heart of the Red Devils feelgood story is Smyth.
Hickey said that at the Byron Bay Sevens, following the 37-5 grand final loss to Inverell, Smyth broke two ribs in the preliminary final and still played in the B-grade final won by Gunnedah “as if nothing was wrong”.
“We wouldn’t be doing it without her,” he said. “She’s the grit in our side – a never say die attitude … She’s just a champion.”
