But with the senior Lions team enjoying a rare purple patch with three wins from their past four matches, positions have become increasingly hard to come by.
That has directly affected the likes of Claye Beams, Patrick Karnezis, Elliot Yeo, Jordan Lisle, Sam Docherty and Jack Crisp, who have all been particularly impressive with the Reserves in recent weeks, without getting rewarded at the selection table.
While being regularly overlooked might cause some frustration among the Club’s promising young players, Reserves Coach Nathan Clarke says it helps generate some healthy competition within the team.
“I think all of them would be a touch frustrated at the moment, but that’s a good thing,” Clarke said.
“It’s nice to finally have guys fighting hard for a spot, which potentially wasn’t the case last year.”
“Our guys are also realistic enough to know that’s how it should be. Frustration comes with the football environment. All they can do is continue performing well and push their case forward.”
Clarke himself knows all too well the difficulties of breaking into a winning team, having played three seasons with the Lions at the beginning of the Club’s all-conquering Premiership era.
“It takes me back to when Leigh Matthews was Coach and the team was going really well,” Clarke said.
“Leigh always said that you’re in a fight for your spot and that you’re only ever an injury away from a senior game, so it’s important that you don’t drop your bundle.”
“We’re still a developing side right now and obviously not playing in Premierships, but the same theory applies to both the senior and reserves players.”
