AFTER they returned to the Group 3 rugby league semi-final series for the first time in three years in 2018, Wauchope Blues know the challenge is to do it again.
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They will have the added expectation of a community that has become accustomed to seeing the Blues at the pointy end of the season.
Beau White will captain the side in 2019 and he knows with high expectations come pressure and they want to see their fanbase again flock to home games in numbers.
"One of the biggest things when we played in the grand final in 2013 is that Wauchope has one of the biggest communities and crowds and it died off for a bit," he said.
"They started to come back (last year) which is good and it helps us as players; we love running out in front of that Wauchope crowd."
Nothing other than successful on-field results will ensure those who turned up last year will do so again 12 months later.
"We've got to win games for people to come and watch us play," White said.
"They don't want to come and watch us lose and get flogged every week so we've got to step up for the community."
The centre was looking forward to having the captaincy duties full-time after coach Anthony Boyd made him captain mid-season.
"Being captain and leader I've got to lead from the front," he said.
"It added a bit more weight on my shoulders, but I've got to sit back and worry about my own game and then the captaincy."
White expects promising playmaker Tristan Scott to again make an impression on the Blues season after he showed glimpses of what he was capable of in 2018.
"He's twelve months older and playing a couple of years in rep might mature him out a bit so he can lead us around the park," he said.
The semi-final loss to Port Macquarie will provide added motivation for the Blues to progress one step further.
"We were shattered last year; we had a few injuries and if we didn't have them we could have been there," White said.
"We have a fair appreciation now for finals footy.
"Making the finals after the two years of not making them got the town back into the swing of things and livened them up."
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