The Stallions head into their second meeting with the Barracudas brimming with confidence as they try to even the season series at Dubai Sports City tomorrow (Friday) afternoon.
In the opener, the Barracudas edged the battle for Dubai with a 14-7 win in which the Stallions’ offence struggled.
Since then, however, the Stallions have rebounded with a come-from-behind tie with the Abu Dhabi Wildcats before blowing out the Al Ain Desert Foxes 43-0 last week in the most lopsided result of the season.
“We do have a lot of confidence,” Stallions coach Anthony Daniels said. “I was really proud of the offence and how they moved the ball throughout the game and the defence played well also. We have a lot of confidence that we’re starting to play Stallions football that we’re capable of.”
Coinciding with the Stallions’ rise have been their changes at quarterback. After Markas Morton started the first contest against the Barracudas, the Stallions have used David Burke and most recently Chris Wentzel under centre.
The shifting makes it difficult for Barracudas coach Kyle Jordan to put much stock into the Stallions’ offensive performance in the teams’ first match-up.
“You can’t take everything from the first game,” said Jordan. “For example, the Stallions have had a different quarterback in their three games, so who are we preparing for? We don’t know, but we just have to be ready to face whoever they put out there.
“They’re a good team and they’ve been improving each week as well and they’ve got some really good football players over there.”
"It’s not uncommon for teams to hold back on showing their full array of plays or personnel early in the season, especially against opponents they know they’ll come across again.
"But that’s not the approach the Barracudas will take as they’ll try to replicate what they did well in the opener.
