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Bristol Aztecs Ready for Untested Jets
May 20th, 2010
 Having met eight times over the past four seasons there is no team that the Coventry Jets have faced more frequently than the Bristol Aztecs. Apart from last year's 33-40 loss on the road in the final seconds the Jets’ record is unblemished and includes four post-season victories. With two more meetings in as many weeks the Jets have been handed a difficult start to 2010.
Bristol are already 2-0 after opening with a narrow 15-14 win over new boys, the London Cobras, and an emphatic 34-2 victory over bottom placed club the Sussex Thunder last Sunday. Every team in the Premier Division has now played at least once with the exception of the Jets and they will be desperate to get off to a good start at the Butts Park Arena on Saturday.
"We know what to expect" stated Head Coach Gerry McManus "they're big, physical and run the ball very well. We've had a look at their first two games and know their strengths and weaknesses". Obviously there are pros and cons to starting the season so late. "No one has seen us play so they don't know what to expect, also, we're fresh, everyone's healthy. Of course we're bound to have a little rust, most of the team haven't played since September but we've been training hard and the tempo's been high".
McManus remains as acting Head Coach until Stuart Franklin returns from Valencia to take the reigns. The double header with the old enemy represent the last matches in a storied career for the first man to be inducted into the Jets' Hall of Fame. These two meetings could go a long way to determining playoff positioning even this early in the year. Last season the Jets won the second seed over the Aztecs on points difference by the narrowest of margins. Coventry's 16-7 win at home in the corresponding fixture last year handed the Jets a two point tie-breaker
There will be no fewer than 22 new faces run out in Coventry’s colours for the first time this coming Saturday as the Jets’ roster overhaul looks complete “we’re a much younger side this year” noted McManus, “we’ve brought through a lot of rookies and there has been a lot of transfer activity. I’m excited by the team that we’ll be fielding this season, I don’t want to take anything away from what we’ve achieved over the past three years but I think this is our best squad since 2006”.
You can see how the team gels as the Jets kick off their season against the Bristol Aztecs at the Butts Park Arena on Saturday the 22nd of May.
Photo shows Sat Dhaliwal. One of 22 new faces at the Jets. (Courtesy of Scott Moynihan)
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