First chance to assess the opposition’s strength

By Rob Turville

THE champions and the team many thought would or even should have been champions meet tonight in the traditional curtain-raiser to the new season. St Martin’s, who snatched the Priaulx League Trophy from under the noses of great rivals North - and at Northfield to boot - welcome the runners-up to Blanche Pierre Lane for the Martinez Cup.

While there is silverware to be won, both teams will also be assessing their opponents’ strengths for what also promises to be another close league campaign.

And the match pits two sets of great thinkers against each other on the sidelines: in the striped corner, the ‘Dream Team’ of the two Colins, Fallaize and Renouf; in the chocolate-and-blue corner, Geoff Tardif, a fine ambassador for the game, with Phil Corbet and Grant Chalmers as his seconds.

Both are wary of giving too much away, but have named full squads for the match.

‘Haven’t quite finalised the starting side yet,’ said Fallaize.

‘It’s always been a strong squad: that makes players work hard. People have said we haven’t picked up many players, but we’ve developed what we’ve got.’

‘I’ve been quite brutal with changing the squad for this game but there are some other players that we need to have a look at,’ said Tardif.

‘It’s always been the aim to have one style of play throughout the club so that you could take a player from even the Corbet Cup team and put him in the Priaulx side and he would know what to do; the only difference would be the physical side.’

Their styles may be different, but both are effective.

Saints - solid, hard-working, great keepers of the ball, difficult to break down and with a fine team ethic - versus North - flowing, flying forwards, a tough midfield and a back line that would run through a brick wall to win a tackle.

Fallaize is taking nothing for granted this season.

‘We all know what assumption is: it’s the mother of all cock-ups.

‘We are setting out with the same goal as we had last year: to take each game as it comes and respect every opponent. Each Wednesday and each Saturday there’s three points to be won. You start out at 50-50 and work from there. Playing football is about enjoyment.’

The match kicks off at 7.30pm.

Article posted on 18th August, 2004 - 12.00am