The Parkes Spacemen’s unbeaten run came under serious threat last Sunday against an improved Wellington Cowboys outfit and could be threatened again this Sunday.
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The Spacemen head north up the Newell to face Dubbo Westside in Round 12 of the Group XI competition.
The unpredictable Rabbitohs will be hurting from a derby loss to Dubbo CYMS last week and Spacemen captain-coach Dennis Moran said his side will be taking no chances on Sunday.
“We will have to be very good to get the win on Westside’s home ground,” Moran said.
“They are never an easy opponent and the task is made the more difficult that it is on their turf this week.
“We will face a very unpredictable team who can get a roll on and be very hard to stop.
“They have 17 players who can create something from nothing and we have to be aware of that.
“We were lucky to escape with the win in Round 3.
“The last two weeks against Cobar and Wellington have been a bit of a wake up call and we are aware we need to improve if we want to keep winning.
“We need to start competing right from the first whistle and maintain that for the full 80 minutes,” he said.
The Spacemen will need to improve on their last two performances and Moran said they have focused on that.
“We need to increase our completion rate and improve ball security,” Moran said.
“Our defence needs to be better also.
“We must defend right across the park, from No 1 through to No 17.
“If we maintain our structure and work hard we will be in with a real chance,” he said.
The form of front-rowers Dave Masoe and Ben Nash has been outstanding and they will look to lead the way again on Sunday.
“Ben has been named Players’ Player the last two matches and both men are producing 70 minutes of quality play,” Moran said.
The match will kick off at 2.30pm on Dubbo’s No 1 Oval.