In The Spotlight – The Alliance

In the sixteenth edition of In The Spotlight, the Alliance’s Tim Glazebrook speaks about his team’s preparation in the lead up to the Elite Eight.

How does it feel to be a part of the 2011 Elite Eight series?

It feels great to be a part of something new and exciting like this. It is pretty clear that the sport needed to change from the old format to take on a more marketable and professional set-up. I think the Elite Eight is a great way to showcase the best talent in the country and ultimately sell Touch Football to the public. It’s also a great modality to push the playing group in a World Cup year and pick the best possible Australian teams.

How is your team’s preparation going in the lead up to the event?

The team’s preparations have gone very well. Sfeirsy (coach – Paul Sfeir) seemed really happy after the recent camp in Sydney and it is clear that we have all taken a big step since the camp way back in September. We now have a couple of day’s preparation in Port and then hit the ground running against the New South Wales Mets on Wednesday morning.

What would you say are the strengths of your team?

We have a really solid and committed bunch of no-nonsense blokes who have all invested a great deal of time and travel to be a part of this program. No-one is going to turn up out of condition so we will run all day. We also have a little bit of an unknown factor going into a tournament like this so the other teams will be unable to plan for us as they would the other sides. We are also really motivated by the fact that we are not rated as highly or given the respect of our New South Wales and Queensland counterparts.

Who do you expect to be your toughest opponents?

Having played against the New South Wales Mavericks at Yass earlier in the year it is really hard to bet against them. I would imagine the Queensland Fire will be very solid too with a good mix of running and slower, more technical stuff.

What would it mean to you to win the Elite Eight series?

To win the Elite Eight series would be a fantastic reflection of the work done by us to represent our home states. It would be great to head home afterwards as some of the best players in the country.

To keep up-to-date with all of the latest news and information in the lead up to and during the 2011 X-Blades National Touch League, go to www.ntl.mytouchfooty.com. Don’t forget to follow Touch Football Australia on Twitter and Facebook by clicking on the following links:

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