GIVEN the circumstances surrounding Orange’s 2013 Central West AFL grand final victory, you’d think Tigers coach Nathan Pearce would be one who’s acutely aware of the expectation surrounding finals-bound teams currently on long winning streaks.
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Think again.
Ending the Bushies' 16-game unbeaten run, the Tigers knocked over the Bathurst Bushrangers by three points in last year’s grand final.
And, now, with Pearce’s side currently on a 10-game winning streak ahead of Saturday’s clash with the Cowra Blues at Country Club Oval and the post season in sight, the Tigers mentor isn’t about to subscribe to the same theory that helped net his side its first flag in over a decade.
“Not at all,” he fired, not prepared to give the rest of the CWAFL an inch.
“I have mentioned it, we’ve certainly talked about what happened to Bathurst last year and as a coach it’s my job to ensure that doesn’t happen to us and the hunger to achieve our goals is still there.
“I don’t think we need a loss, and me as coach and Tim Barry as captain, we’ve got to keep the whole 22 motivated.”
The Tigers tackle the Blues on Saturday in Orange.
It’s a game the black and golds should win handsomely - the Tigers have won each of the last three meetings easily, accounting for Cowra by 154 points, 156 points and 127 points in 2014.
But Pearce says form won’t count for much if the Tigers’ application isn’t there.
“People say it’s a pretty lopsided comp, but if we don’t play well against Cowra we’ll get beaten,” he said.
“We’ve just got to forget about the scoreboard and focus on a polished four-quarter performance.”
First bounce at Country Club Oval is at 2.30pm.
ORANGE TIGERS: Tim Barry, Joshua Bubnich, Logan Crimp, Matt Dippolito, Simon Ewin, Nick Goudie, Dale Hunter, Paul Jenkins, Simon Kay, Jarrad Lenegan, Ben McKenna, Mitch McKenna, Ben Monaghan, Jaydan Phillips, Sam Reichstein, Matthew Reynolds, Chris Rothnie, Michael Rothnie, Andrew Ryan, Dave Ternes, Leigh Turner, Jeremy Tuson.