DESIRE: Orange City celebrates against Kinross earlier this season. Skipper Dave Boundy hopes his side will have more to celebrate as the season progresses. Photo: JUDE KEOGH 1208riacrick8
THIS Saturday, with Centrals at 5-33 needing 160 to win, Orange City has the perfect chance to take the first steps, albeit tiny ones, in the right direction - a direction away from the finals hoodoo that’s dogged the side in summers past.
Orange City has been one of the sides to beat each summer for the last three, however each time it looks like the Warriors might go on and qualify for a grand final, they fall in the season’s penultimate game.
Nearly like clockwork.
In 2012-13, though, City has been quietly going about its business as heavyweights Cavaliers and CYMS make the majority of the waves.
If Orange City can come out and win against Centrals, the defending premiers, in the dominant fashion their effort on day one suggests they might, then the Warriors will announce themselves as a title chance and the 2012-13 ODCA first grade crown will be down to a three-way race.
It will also spell the end of Centrals for the season.
Warriors captain Dave Boundy believes his side has the ability to compete with the best in the ODCA, but it’s about more than competing.
It’s about the hunger to succeed,.
“You’ve got to start fresh every game,” Boundy said.
“We can’t dwell on games we’ve lost, we’ve just got to go out there expecting to win. Show a bit of arrogance to a degree.”
Orange City should be confident of winning every game.
They’ve got the talent in Mitchell batsman Matt Findlay, the enigmatic Shaun Grenfell and classy James Conn, while with the ball Jono Warren has come on in leaps and bounds to compliment old heads in Boundy and Andrew Rutledge.
But, in years gone by the same talent has been there, except then they had Western Zone star Nathan Rosser too.
Be it belief, or as Boundy likes to call it “arrogance”, Orange City must show both on Saturday to squash Centrals and build some crucial momentum with three games before the finals.
“You look at all of the great teams, and they’ve got that aspect of arrogance about them,” Boundy continued.
“That ‘we’re going to beat you no matter what’ mentality. I think at some stages we have shown that little bit of self doubt, but it’s a matter of playing better, training harder and focusing on quality rather than quantity.
“We’ve got to keep a level head in different situations, be a bit more patient and when we lose one wicket, make sure it’s not two. Little things like that.”
Boundy was confident his side can get there.
“I don’t believe in hoodoos or hexes or anything like that. I guess if we’d known what it was we could have fixed it by now,” he said.
“It might just come down to patience.”
