Jones steps into captaincy role

New Brahmans captain, Blackwater’s Sam Jones, will be out to cross the tryline once again when the Central Queensland side tackles the Gold Coast this weekend.

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When Rockhampton supporters saw the name of Sam Jones on the Brahmans team sheet they asked, “who is that?”

Now they know, because the boy from Blackwater is the Brahmans captain.

When the team’s regular skipper, Jono Bradbury, was struck down by injury at Townsville and failed to recover for this weekend’s trip to the Gold Coast, coach Jack Lloyd junior had no hesitation in naming Jones as the replacement captain.

“I was pretty surprised,” Jones admitted.

Not that Jones is a newcomer to the sport as he has played rugby for most of his life, starting in New South Wales as a schoolboy.

However, having played for the past three years with Blackwater in the lower levels of the competition he admits his surprise that “sub-union” players were looked at, never mind taking on such a role as the captaincy. Jones said the main reason behind his “promotion” was the number of Blackwater players in the squad.

“I didn’t think sub-districts would get a place in the Brahmans squad,” he admitted.

Now he feels the Blackwater boys who won the Senior Reserve competition last year have grown into valuable squad members.

“They are gelling together,” he said.

The Brahmans’ new captain plays at outside centre, although he admits he has a preference for the other position in the centres.

“Outside centre is a bit different as they (the opposition) are trying to run around you – and not through you,” Jones joked.

Jones has worked out how he will approach the captain’s role and sees it as a position where he needs to communicate, especially with the forward pack throughout the 80 minutes.

“I’ve just got to get vocal, especially with the forwards, I have to get inside their heads,” he said.

The skipper is enjoying the challenge of being a part of the Brahmans and sees the inclusion of youngsters on the bench as a good way of trying to promote players for the future.

He said the results of the Brahmans’ campaign might not have been as good as many had hoped, but there were positive signs during the weekend at Townsville, especially in the match against Cairns.

Despite proving he has the quality to play A-grade rugby, Jones said he would continue to play with Blackwater in the Reserve competition. The club had been asked to move up, but was forced to decline.

“We didn’t have any answers when the questions were asked,” he said.

Blackwater is looking at staying one more year in Reserve grade.

The team

CQ Brahmans open team v Gold Coast:

1. Brad Howland, 2. Tom Hale, 3. John Galvin, 4. Stuart Whyte, 5. Scott McPherson (vc), 6. Ryan Brownlie, 7. Royce Beitzel, 8. Anthony Pearce, 9. Martin Thompson, 10. Mathew Page, 11. Joel Saunders, 12. Sam Jones (c), 13. Oliver Mayo, 14. (Zac Moss), 15. Brad Reeves, 16. Riki Matheson, 18. Darren Gibson, 19. Trent Flynn, 20. John Ford, 21. Nickolas Hickey (U19), 22. Aaron Longbottom (U19). Coach: Jack Lloyd. Assistant Coach: Frank Busby. Manager: Len Lawlor.