AFTER what happened in his last game for the Northern Pride, you cannot blame Alex Starmer for counting down the days until the start of the trials.
The prop broke his collarbone in the opening minutes of last season’s Queensland Cup grand final and was helpless to do anything as the Pride went down to the Sunshine Coast 32-18.
"Gee, thanks for reminding me," Starmer said jokingly yesterday.
"I’d nearly forgotten about that.
"The off-season is so long. You do all the training and it just gets to the stage when you want to get out and play."
Starmer has the chance to do just that over the next two days.
The 24-year-old has been named on the bench for the Pride’s trial against the Cowboys Under-20s in Tully tonight and will start tomorrow night’s match against a young St George Illawarra outfit at Davies Park, Mareeba.
New Pride coach David Maiden is using both matches to tinker with some combinations ahead of the opening round of the Queensland Cup on March 13.
Maiden took over the Pride coaching role from Andrew Dunemann, who was recruited to the Newcastle Knights last October.
Starmer said Maiden had the respect of the club’s players.
"I think he’s fitted in pretty well," he said.
"Everyone sort of knew him before, so there wasn’t any awkwardness there. You felt comfortable around him immediately.
"He hasn’t changed too much with how we play.
"He seems to have kept the same game plan, which has worked well for us in the past."
What has changed at the Pride is playing personnel. One of the club’s biggest off-season buys was forward Jaiman Lowe.
A former Rabbitoh and Cowboy, Lowe adds a 108kg frame and 98 games’ worth of NRL experience to the Pride pack.
"I’ve been learning so much off him," Starmer said of Lowe.
"He’s got a lot of experience. He’s played in the NRL and I’m just happy to be playing in the same forward pack as him.
"He’s come up and fitted in really well and has added a lot to the club."
Kick-off today is at 6.30pm,
while tomorrow’s game starts at 7.30pm.
Tickets for the Mareeba trial are available from the Northern Pride office, Pride Leagues Club, Brothers Leagues Club and Mareeba Leagues Club. Corporate tickets are available by calling Chris Sheppard on 4031 3511 or 0411 465 731.
