The start of the Rural Manitoba Football League season was postponed for a week after the Transcona Nationals folded less than a week before the season was to start.
As a result, the schedule was remade, with the Dauphin Clippers now opening the season at home, Sept. 20, against the St. Vital Mustangs at 1 p.m.
Clippers coach Nathan Thacker said the delay will actually benefit the local high school team.
“We’ve still struggled right up until the last couple of weeks with numbers. So we had a little influx with school starting,” he said.
“So this is going to give us an opportunity to prepare some kids a little more that were already there. But also, potentially, get some of our younger ones a chance to get a couple plays in on offence or defence and specialty teams.”
While he liked the idea of starting the season against Neepawa as originally scheduled, because of the proximity, Thacker understands changes had to be made for everybody.
With an extra week to practice, Thacker said the focus will be on execution on both sides of the ball.
“Knowing your responsibility. Making sure everyone is safe. The idea that it’s still your first game of the year, you’re in that spot where you’ve tackled each other, but you haven’t tackled someone that you don’t know.
“And the speed of the game means that tackles are a bigger collision than they are in practices. And on offence, when you’re going to catch a ball, our defensive guys generally put their hands on you and say, ‘hey, get your head up.’ You’re not liable to see that from an opposing team. So we get a little more time to prepare for that.”
The game against St. Vital will be a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which the Winnipeg school won.
Thacker knows the Mustangs will be well prepared. Being a club team, he said, they will have had good numbers throughout training camp.
“And now with them being the only club team in Winnipeg this season, they’re not going to be short of bodies,” he said.
“But they also have a long trip to make. I don’t think teams in the city naturally like driving for three-and-a-half hours to play a game.”