ORANGE Emus head to Parkes on Saturday a more refined and consistent team compared to the reverse Blowes Clothing Cup fixture in April.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The greens will look to continue their red hot form as they take on a struggling Parkes Boars side.
Despite beating the Boars 27-5 earlier this year, Emus coach Andrew Logan is wary of a Parkes side smarting from a 41-7 defeat at the hands of Bathurst Bulldogs last Saturday.
“They (Parkes) have had problems with personnel all year and have failed to build a consistent team, with players playing out of position,” Logan said.
“They will however be much stronger at home, like many sides in this competition. Parkes are a champion side and you just don’t lose that ability overnight, they still pose a big threat.”
Emus have hit a purple patch of late, unbeaten in their last seven games and Logan believes his young side is building nicely.
“We are now more consistent (compared to the reverse fixture), our defence is more consistent and we are working harder,” Logan said.
Emus have made one change in their starting line up with lock Alo Finau coming in to replace Sam McLean, who is out with an ankle injury.
Finau has recovered from a sternum injury after missing last week’s shellacking of CSU Bathurst and is a powerful addition to Emus’ mobile forward pack.
Logan believes his side will need to be flexible in dealing with the conditions at Parkes with inclement weather expected to continue this weekend.
“We’ll take the game as it comes, the good teams are able to adapt to conditions with different options. We have to know when to play an expansive enterprising brand, or when to keep ball in hand and play for territory,” Logan said.
The greens’ mentor believes his side will have their work cut out for them and can’t afford to be thinking about the following week’s potential minor premiership decider against Dubbo Kangaroos.
ORANGE EMUS: 1 Nas Havealeta, 2 Tom Goolagong, 3 Brent Braithwaite, 4 Nick Hughes-Clapp, 5 Alo Finau, 6 Andrew Cosgrove, 7 Scott Bouffler, 8 Rob Thorburn, 9 Chris Bailey, 10 TJ Cuynghame, 11 Tom Green, 12 Simon Badgery, 13 Nigel Staniforth, 14 Tim Alison, 15 Sam Ryan.
