The Orange Tigers remain in third position on the Central West AFL standings after falling 16.17.113 – 8.3.51 to the Bathurst Bushrangers Outlaws on Saturday.
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A promising opening 40 minutes was overshadowed by a poor second half in which the travelling Tigers were outscored 72-25.
Tim Hunter and Isaac Hall starred for Bushrangers Outlaws as the duo kicked four goals each.
This shapes as a crucial loss for Orange as it needed a win to stay in touch with the top two sides.
With a good first half performance in mind, Orange Tigers coach Dale Hunter spoke about his team’s efforts in a losing match.
“We were unable to put four quarters of footy together,” Hunter said.
“It’s a positive that we were only down a couple of goals at the half but we had two or three guys out due to injury and our disposal efficiency was a problem too.”
A factor leading into this game was the time the Tigers had spent off the field due to consecutive byes.
Hunter suggested the break may have hindered his men rather than helped them.
“We did lose a bit of momentum,” he said.
“You forget about the confidence you had but hopefully the boys are still confident going forward.”
Despite conceding 113 points, Hunter was pleased with Ricky Nelson’s job at the back.
“His job on Tim Hunter has to be applauded,” he said.
“Dan Sadler was good down the back too and I was very impressed with Jaxon Mumme as well.”
Orange Tigers will be content with their ladder positioning but have some things to work on ahead of their game against Bushrangers Rebels on Saturday at Country Club Oval.