HARD TIMES: Waratahs’ Kiel Sinclair after the defeat in penalties by Westside Panthers in the 2009 grand final. He’s hoping to make amends against Dubbo Bulls on Sunday. Photo: STEVE GOSCH
IT’S been five years since Orange Waratahs striker Kiel Sinclair has tasted Western Premier League premiership success.
This weekend, he’s hoping to break the drought.
Waratahs will host minor premiers Dubbo FC Bulls this Sunday, aiming to put an end to half a decade of underachievement in the central west’s premier football competition.
In 2007, Sinclair celebrated as Waratahs won their second straight premiership.
It’s a feeling he’s sure will be replicated this time around.
“I’m really confident about our chances this weekend,” Sinclair said.
“The whole team is. We can’t wait to go.”
The striker’s optimism, both in himself and his teammates, is well founded.
When the two sides met in the major semi-final in Dubbo, Waratahs surprised the favourites with a 3-2 win in extra time.
In their previous meeting, in the minor premiership’s last round, Sinclair bagged a hat-trick as Waratahs prevailed 4-1 on home turf.
In order to keep the winning run going, Waratahs will need to keep things simple.
“It’s going to come down to the small things,” Sinclair said.
“If we can be tough in defence, be first to the ball and play our passes to each other’s feet, then we’ll be tough to beat.
“But it’s a grand final. Anything can happen.”
Sinclair knows that better than most.
Five years ago, with a young side and a hat-trick of titles in the offing, a Waratahs WPL dynasty appeared likely.
But it wasn’t to be, as the perennial finalists stumbled in a series of Augusts and Septembers.
A preliminary final loss to Bathurst ’75 in 2008 started the rot.
Then came 2009 and 2010 - the heartbreak years.
Westside Panthers needed a penalty shoot-out to down the Orange side in the ’09 decider, before the Bulls repeated the dose a year later.
Last year Panthers ended ’Tahs’ hopes a week earlier, again through the cruelty of penalties.
All three shoot-outs - 2009, 2010 and 2100 - ended 5-4 against Waratahs.
Sinclair missed last season, with serious damage to the cruciate ligaments in his right knee suffered in a pre-season trial forcing him into 12 months on the sidelines.
So does he feel he has a point to prove on Sunday?
“Of course,” he said.
