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IT’S not panic stations in Tigertown just yet, despite the fact the Orange side remain winless through three rounds of the 2016 Central West AFL competition - they’ve been beaten comfortably in those three games too.
The Tigers have succumbed to the Bathurst Bushrangers Outlaws, Parkes Panthers and Cowra Blues in the first three rounds - all top four sides at the moment - but in a potentially telling factor all three of those games have been on the road.
While it doesn’t get any easier for the black and golds this weekend when they take on the competition leaders, Bathurst Bushrangers Rebels, at least they’ll get to do it on home turf at Country Club Oval.
“You have to think about those losses, we haven’t really played our best footy so if we don’t play well again on Saturday then players might need to start being held accountable,” Tigers vice-captain Zac Forostenko, pictured left, said.
“If we play a good game and lose, that happens, sometimes you get beaten by better sides but that’s our issue, we’re not playing good footy.
“We just need to trust ourselves I think, we’re overthinking it a bit and using the ball too much.
“It’s our first home game so I think if we put it all together and everyone does their job, then we can come out and play a good game and hopefully (cause an upset),”
Forostenko returns to his customary midfield role this weekend after a forced three-week lay-off following a shoulder dislocation in round one, with co-captain Michael Rothnie also expected to make his comeback from a groin niggle.
“I’m pretty pleased to have only missed three weeks,” Forostenko, a second year medical science student at CSU Orange, said.
“It was a clean dislocation, out and straight back in, so I had to come off and miss a few weeks but it feels good now.”
The Rebels are unbeaten through their first three games, like their Outlaws counterparts, but take top spot thanks to a higher percentage.
“There was talk about the [Outlaws] being the better Bushrangers side, but they’ve both won all of their games,” Forostenko said.
“We need to be playing the full game, obviously they have the legs to run through four quarters so we need to match them.
“I guess we’ll just hope on the day we can control the footy and make the right decisions.”
The Tigers host the Rebels from 2.30pm.