Last season is now a distant memory & the heroics shown are only talked about in The Grapevine at around 11pm on those hazy Saturday nights. This is a new season with new hope & ambition, and although the lads have been working hard behind the scenes for over 3 months, this Saturday is the first opportunity we have had of showing off our 'new look' team.

The opponents are N.Manchester, who have come up to N.Lancs 1 as Champions of N.Lancs 2 (the same league TC were promoted from only 2 years ago). N.Manchester are not in unfamiliar territory in this league though, as the year TC came up, they suffered a bad year & were relegated. Their N.Lancs 2 life was short lived & I am sure that they will be looking to maintain a much more comfortable league standing than 2 years ago in N.Lancs 1.

But let us not forget, this is a new TC squad too. We have attracted a huge number of new players to our ranks, along with backroom staff, but maybe most importantly there is a new Head Coach in town! Mark Hanson took over his new role as Player Coach in July & has truly taken the bull by its horns. Whilst bringing in fresh ideas & new ways of thinking he kept the good solid fundamentals that have worked so well for TC over the last 3 years.

Pre-season has been superb, made so by the players commitment to training & improving themselves. This goes for both players from this weekend's 1st XV squad & a huge number of the 2nd XV squad travelling to Aspull. With a number of the 2s players extremely unlucky to miss out on selection for the 1s.

Although, it wouldn't be a pre-season without injuries, which means unfortunately we lose a number of players for contention, such as Players Player & Coaches Player of The Year, Rob Meekins (shoulder) the ever'green' Jon Green (ankle) & new signing, Ellis Wolstencroft (ankle). I myself shall be glued to my phone awaiting regular updates from a bar in Prague!

Despite the injuries & the globetrotting we have put together a strong team to face the new boys. In this league 'Home Wins' are crucial to the success of a team, something we hope we can achieve on Saturday. The squad is littered with new faces (4), who have through training all individually earned their shirt for Saturday. Dom Griffiths joins from Ormskirk & will be taking my trusty 7 shirt, & is more than capable of doing it justice. Will Gardner is new to the area & aren't we pleased he joined?! Electric pace with a super understanding of the game. Next up is Sam Smith who joins us from Fleetwood, Sam has been one of the top trainers this pre-season (despite his grim feet & toes causing him some bother) & his power in the backline will be felt, especially partnering up with our very own Dan Bilzerian, Jack Reville. Lastly there is Phil Raw. Phil is an old Club Captain & certainly knows a thing or two about the game. Phil is going to bring a huge amount to this club, an older head may have been somewhere that we fell short last year. Oh & did I mention, he's not too shabby a player either!

Chris Clapp takes over Captaincy duties in my absence, where I know he will ensure everything is perfect from 13:30 until 01:30! Pete Macauley beats off strong competition to claim the illustrious '10' jersey. Whilst two of last season's star players, Michael Docherty & Young Player of The Year Simon Hoddinott, re-unite in the back row. Ross Mellor-Clark, Ben Calvert & Toby Holder-Williams all start after a seriously impressive pre-season!

I would also like to say a huge 'GOOD LUCK' to our 2nd XV who travel to Aspull in their first game of the season too. The lads have been a credit to themselves & their Captain, Jamie, throughout pre-season & I am sure you will be seeing a number of them representing the 1st XV during the 2014/15 campaign. Best of luck fellas, let's be celebrating 2 wins in The Ashley come 5pm.

Our game kicks off at 3pm on Saturday & take my word for it, all the support really does make a difference. Please head on down & cheer the boys on, you are all warmly welcomed to The Ashley for post game drinks. It is the start for our season but a start for yours too, let's all do it together on Saturday.

From Prague with love,

Brannigan