Caskey ready to announce his crew

Jason Caskey

Comeback Steelform Wanganui coach Jason Caskey is expected to officially announce his support crew for the 2014 Heartland rugby season next week.

Protocol dictates he must put his decisions to the Wanganui Rugby Union board for ratification at a meeting next Tuesday.

"Yes, I have got it sorted and I'm quite comfortable with those who will come on board, but I do need to run it by the union next week before I can officially announce who they will be," Caskey said yesterday.

While the start of the 2014 season is a way off yet, Caskey said there was plenty of behind the scenes work to do between now and then.

"There's a fair bit of planning and decisions to be made on what areas we need strengthening. In any good team there are certain key positions you need to be strong in, from scrummaging to the backline."

Caskey and his new coaching staff have a job ahead of them to restore the Wanganui Heartland team to its rightful position in the national standings after the worst season since the mid-1980s in 2013 under Karl Hoskin.

Hoskin's appointment last season was somewhat controversial, as was his decision not to use loan or player of origin players.

Caskey hinted that policy would be reviewed if hometown players were not up to speed in certain positions. "We may need to use loan players [or player of origin] for key positions, but first we will be trying to get local players up to scratch. We need to get that sorted sooner rather than later, though."

Caskey returns to the role where he won the 2011 Pink Batts Heartland Meads Cup, while finishing second in 2012 after the pulsating second half comeback by East Coast in Ruatoria.