ONE word has summed up Orange City’s Blowes Clothing Cup season thus far – disjointed.
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As a result, more than anything the Lions are just keen to get on the paddock for more than a week or two at a time.
“It has been disjointed, we had three byes in the [first 13 weeks] of the season and then last weekend’s game was deferred,” Lions assistant coach Josh Maley said.
“The boys are just keen to get on the paddock for a few games before our next bye.
“Having last week off did help in a way, it gave a few guys an extra week to heal so there is a positive I guess.”
Those guys are halfback Tom Nell and utility back Joe Lasagavibau. Jake Davis and skipper Tatafu Na’aniumotu are expected to be ruled out again.
“Joey was probably right to come back last week. It’ll be good to have them back in the side although Jake Davis is still out with a knee issue,” Maley said.
At home, the Lions enter the game undeniable favourites, especially considering they thumped Parkes 52-8 last time around.
“That was in round one though, which was a long time ago. We know we can’t take them lightly. They beat (Bathurst) Bulldogs and who knows what’s happening with the quality players they’ve had playing seconds,” Maley said, referring to the likes of former Blue Bulls Johnny Rathbone and Izzy Symington.
“I don’t know a lot of the other guys they have but our Central West players spoke very highly of their (fullback) Riley Byrne, who made the NSW Country train-on squad. He’s a danger.
“We’re just looking to get some momentum back and a bit of consistency after that disjointed period.
“Looking at the weather we’re expecting another wet one, so we’ll need to muscle up.”
Saturday’s fixture kicks off a three-week period where the Lions will take on teams well outside the top five, all games the side has identified as must-win encounters.
“We’ve got Parkes, CSU Bathurst and then Dubbo Rhinos before our next bye so yeah, we definitely want to win all three of those games and then hopefully make up for the Mudgee game as well somewhere because we’ve got a tough run home,” Maley said.
“We’ve got Cowra and Forbes away, then Dubbo ‘Roos and Orange Emus in the last four rounds. So a few wins on the trot now would really benefit us.”
Kick off at Pride Park is at 3.15pm.
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
