ORANGE Emus co-coach Graydon Staniforth is preparing his side for a Bathurst Bulldogs onslaught on two fronts tomorrow at Endeavour Oval.
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Firstly, Staniforth is predicting the Bulldogs to be one of the teams to feature prominently at the end of the season proper, and as a result is urging Emus to muscle up against one of the Blowes Clothing Cup’s favoured line-ups.
And, secondly, the experienced rugby coach knows the visiting Bathurst outfit will be desperate to atone for last winter’s controversial Blowes Clothing Cup semi-finals exit at the hands of the greens.
And as such, expected a fired up visitors on Saturday.
“I don’t think any of their players or supporters were happy with the way last year’s game panned out,” Staniforth said, alluding the 23-5 penalty count the Bulldogs were stung with on their last trip to Endeavour Oval.
“There was a bit of angst after the game. I expect it to be quite a physical clash.
“It’s important for our side to win, especially as a club, we want to begin the year strongly.”
VIDEO: Michelle Cook and Nick McGrath preview the round one matches:
Staniforth labelled the club’s pre-season as “slightly disjointed” with a number of players unavailable at various stages through shift work or on holiday.
But working in the club’s favour has been a strong retention rate.
Emus have called on a 10 of the 15 players who started last year’s grand final against the Dubbo Roos for round one of the 2015 season, and Staniforth says the “familiar faces” in the greens’ First XI will ensure his side hits the ground running - particularly out wide.
“I’m very confident in our backline,” Staniforth added.
“We know what they’re capable of after the pre-season and last year’s comp. With the pre-season we’ve had we’ve gone with the guys who were around last year first up.”
Chris Mead comes into the starting halfback role, with TJ Cunynghame unavailable for round one.
Isaac White is also another key inclusion out wide, taking the place of Tim Alison who has departed the club in 2015.
Kick-off for tomorrow’s game is at 3.15pm at Endeavour Oval.
ORANGE EMUS: 1 Feleti Fosio, 2 Tom Goolagong, 3 Nas Havealeta, 4 Keith Howarth, 5 Nick Hughes-Clapp, 6 Scott Udy, 7 Andrew Cosgrove, 8 Rob Thorburn, 9 Chris Mead, 10 Adam Perri, 11 Carter Hirini, 12 Simon Badgery, 13 Nigel Staniforth, 14 Tom Green, 15 Isaac White.
