Skipper Ryan Sinclair didn't muddle his words on Friday when he was asked what Waratahs FC's goals are for the looming Orange District Football Association A-Grade competition... 'we're in it to win it'.
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The men in blue are rueing a missed opportunity in 2019 as they lost the grand final to Barnies after cruising through the regular season with an unblemished record and will take the first step to putting that result behind them when they clash with Waratahs United on Saturday at 3.15pm.
Last year's crushing loss, combined with the club's absence from the Western Premier League, that's led to Sinclair's confidence in his side's stocks ahead of the winter.
They had a trial against Western on Thursday night and according to Sinclair, were far from disgraced against a superior outfit.
"We only had 14 players and we didn't get flogged," Sinclair said.
"Some of the blokes haven't done any running for two months."
While he's not positive his side will come out the blocks firing, he's confident FC will be there abouts when the whips are cracking and outlined the key to success for his men.
"We might be a bit underdone for the first few weeks of the season because we've got some suspensions lagging over," he said.
"But, if we hold possession of the ball, we'll win 99 percent of the time. If we hang onto the ball and play it on the deck we'll be hard to beat.
"As soon as we go away from that we're useless."
And it's a good thing Sinclair doesn't foresee his side losing too many matches because he's not a fan of finishing second best... at all.
"I hate losing... we don't lose many games and haven't over the last few seasons," he said.
"Generally we've only lost major semi finals or grand finals. Last year is one of the main reason we want to get back out on the park."
They aren't overlooking 2020 but Sinclair says his side is using it largely as a pathway to get back into the swing of things next season as they plan to re-push for a spot in the WPL.
"We're in it to win it but we're also using it as a stepping stone and trying to build towards next season," he said. "We're basically a bunch of mates that want to play together as a team.
"We've got a good core of guys that are pretty much the same as what we've had for the last few seasons." Not only does the midfielder back his side, he's holds Waratahs' second side in high regard too.
"United will be good... there'll be two strong sides," he said.
"Judging by what's there, I reckon both sides will be in the mix in the semi finals." Waratahs FC will open its account on Saturday against Waratahs United. Kick-off is at 3.15pm.
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