When the Bathurst Bulldogs’ coaching staff sit down to select their starting XV for this Saturday’s Blowes Clothing Cup grand final, they will face some of their toughest decisions of the season.
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The depth that made it possible for the Bulldogs to earn a place in the the decider alongside Orange Emus also means that not all of those who have played in the first XV this season will get a run on Saturday.
“I really need to speak about our squad really. We’ve played all year with a squad, we’ve had about 33-34 players who have pulled on the boots and a first grade jumper and run on,” coach Dean Oxley said.
“We couldn’t have got this opportunity without the depth of the club.
“It’s a wonderful thing to be able to do, to say we’ve got there and got the chance to lift the cup.”
After finishing second to Orange Emus in the minor premiership and falling to them in the major semi-final, Bulldogs responded with an impressive preliminary final performance.
The Bathurst outfit defeated Cowra 27-nil at Ashwood Park with strong efforts coming right across the paddock.
Centres Adam Miles and Harry Webber not only provided attacking spark, but they tackled hard and the way they cleaned out at the breakdown would have impressed their forwards.
Wingers Will Oldham and Ben Sheppeard both scored tries – the latter via an intercept – while the Bulldogs forward pack were super impressive in defence on their line.
We couldn’t have got this opportunity without the depth of the club.
- Dean Oxley
In the latter stages of match when Oxley utilised his bench they too impressed and held strong in the final minutes as Cowra launched one final attacking raid.
“It’s outstanding, the feeling is wonderful,” Oxley said after qualifying.
“They’ve all worked really hard, they’ve been working hard since October really, and I would have been devastated if they didn’t get the reward.”
While Bulldogs have not beaten Emus at Endeavour Oval so far this season – or for some time overall – Oxley knows his men can overcome that hurdle.
He draws inspiration from what Forbes did on grand final day last year at Endeavour Oval.
“I always look back at that grand final last year and how Forbes lifted after they were beaten by 52 during the year to come back to win the grand final,” Oxley said.
“It just rings a lot of messages to me in regards to desire and commitment as a team and I don’t believe that individually Forbes had a better list than Emus, but as a group Forbes got that job done last year.”
