ORANGE Wanderers player-coach Matt Johnson is wary of the winless Dubbo Lions.
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Very wary.
The Wanderers host the Lions in round 13 of men’s Premier League Hockey on Saturday, on the back of a 4-1 loss at the hands of Parkes United.
“In that respect, it’s a huge game. That kind of loss would just be compounded by another one,” Johnson said.
“Bottom line is that Dubbo have a talented side and they’re capable of producing a performance to knock the sides higher up the ladder off.
“We’re vary wary of them, this is a crunch game for us. Another loss and we’d be right behind the eight ball.
“So we’re going out expecting a tough, physical clash. We know they’ll be looking for scalps.”
That motivation is what Johnson’s most worried about.
The fact the Lions, mathematically, are all but relegated from finals contention lends itself to the side’s motivation being geared towards impacting other teams’ chances.
“They (virtually) can’t make the finals now, but they can have an impact on deciding who does,” Johnson said.
“I’m not sure how they’ll go traveling though, especially when it’ll be terrible, freezing conditions this weekend.
“With that in mind our focus at training has been all about knowing how tough it will be and making sure we do the basics well.”
Wanderers take on the Lions from 1.10pm at Orange Hockey Complex.
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
