MICK Sullivan has never been one to shy away from the pursuit of winning, but the Orange CYMS captain-coach has had a change of heart ahead of Friday night’s opening round of the West Wyalong knockout.
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Without guns Ben McApline, Kyran Bubb and Dom Maley for the green and golds’ clash with Group 9 outfit Wagga Kangaroos, CYMS head into the rich, $13,000 last-man-standing pre-season tournament with the sole aim of getting a decent run in the pre-season.
Whether it be a clever deflection from the veteran mentor or an honest assessment of where his side sits, for the first time since 2010, winning has become secondary.
“(Winning West Wyalong) was the goal again,” Sullivan said, initially.
“That was until a couple of days ago when we had a few go down ... we had a pretty full-on session and we were looking good but it backfired a bit.
“We have been training a bit longer than usual and training well, so that might help us along a bit.”
That earlier-than-usual pre-season start date was initiated by the club’s first real failure in the last five Group 10 seasons.
Last year CYMS never got past third gear, and as a result missed the finals for the first time since Sullivan signed on to captain-coach the side in 2010.
Determination will carry the green and golds into the regular season.
But Sullivan knows there’s will be plenty of other forces behind successfully obtaining the $8500 first prize at this weekend’s knockout.
“You need a bit of luck,” he said.
“And we haven’t had much. Wok had a kick just sail left there to win it a few years ago, we’ve lost in the semi-final, lost on countback with the first try rule ... it’s tough.
“It’s fast-paced footy and we need to make sure we start games well.”
CYMS play Wagga Kangaroos from 7.50pm tonight.
In the other matches to be played in the highly anticipated knockout, a new-look Forbes will tackle Group 9 heavyweights Gundagai from 7.10pm.
While at 8.30pm, the Queanbeyan Blues meet the Temora Dragons - the winner clashing with either CYMS or Wagga Kangaroos tomorrow afternoon.
The final will be played tomorrow night at Ron Crowe Oval.