The Gloucestershire Gladiators faced the Birmingham Lions Sunday October 14th for their first and only preseason game.
The Gladiators go into the year with a large amount of uncertainty and pressure, after the recent appointment of a new high level head coach, they go into this year with a large target on their backs.
So this pre-season game shone a light on what level the team are at, after only a short amount of time training and recruiting.
We sat down with senior players, and captains Harry Owen and Louis Trotman to get their thoughts on the state of the team following their preseason fixture.
The biggest question going into the season was how would the team develop after a large number of players left and what that would do to the pre-match culture,
“It was pretty demoralising seeing such a low amount of players, felt like we were going there and not going to have a good time. The atmosphere was flat”, Owen said.
Trotman expanded by saying, “I think it was like a new pair of shoes, it pinches a bit at first. A lot of new people brought a lot of uncertainty for the returners and the coaches. The vibes weren’t the best pre-game, which is understandable for where we are in the season.”
With the Gladiators relying heavily on rookies for this preseason match, the overall teams performances was going to be shaky, Owen and Trotman agreed that problems were expected;
“It was a bit of a mixed result, it started off horrifically. A lot of issues all over the field. Especially with a large majority of the O-line being rookies, it caused a lot of problems.
“I think we put a massive workload on the rookies, they were coming against a team that will be a much higher level then they’ll see in the future. I think everyone was working to shake the rust off. The rookies were just getting used to the sport.”
With such a short turn around of training starting and this preseason match, getting up to game speed and level was always going to be difficult. Trotman had this to say on the level the Gladiators brought,
“I’m not sure in truth that many of us found our game speed. Birmingham credit to them they’re a powerhouse unit. They’d shut us down instantly. I think the preseason game speed isn’t always found, this is the time to make mistakes.”
Birmingham Lions are a top team in the country, two divisions above the Gladiators. We asked how facing them in the preseason benefited or hindered the team,
“I think playing Birmingham will be very beneficial to this team in the long run. We will not play anyone to the level of the Lions the remainder of the season. I believe this preseason game will only have a beneficial impact on us going forward,” said Owen.
As much as American Football is a team sport, individual performances is important, we asked the two players how they felt they played in the match;
“I scored four touchdowns, personally I’m really happy with the way I played. Doing that against such a high level team fills me with so much confidence going into the regular season.
“I think it was impossible to make a judgement on myself. I only played one drive in my position then I was moved around the field due to the lack of numbers. But I can’t judge myself as a player as I didn’t do anything beneficial for myself and my development going into the season,” Trotman exclaimed.
Like any match, but more so with a preseason game, weaknesses and setbacks are more common. But it seems the biggest set back for the Gladiators had nothing to do with on field limitations,
“Our biggest set back was our numbers, recruitment is key. And we learnt that when we lost 2 players following an injury. Everyone was playing all over the field. We can have all the coaches, we can have all the current players, but if we don’t get more numbers we will be struggling when injures come, and they will come” said Trotman.
Owen, who is the recruitment officer for the team, had this to say about the impact low recruitment will have on the team,
“It all starts on the field. Some games you’ll have players playing every snap. This leads to more injuries and as the season the goes on the more injuries that occur the higher the likelihood is of the team not being able to field enough people to start a match, which means forfeiting matches and likely losing more players due to that. Without backup players this team won’t be able to compete.”
Looking forward to the regular season we asked if the future looked bright for the team, Owen said,
“We can certainly be optimistic, I can’t say it looks entirely positive. As a whole its to early to tell, once we’ve faced opposition in our division only then will we see how our season will pan out.
“It’s too early to tell, with low numbers and against such a high level team we did a job. Which can only be positive going forward. Obviously there’s things to work on, and when we have our full team available and recruit a bit more I think we will be going into the season with confidence.” Trotman added.
The Gladiators begin their 2024/25 campaign at home on Sunday November 17th , where they play long time rival the Worcester Royals. Only here will we get a proper look and where this team will stack up against the rest.
