Macquarie coach Steve McLellan was delighted to have his side’s clash with Parkes rescheduled after last week’s washout but is adamant his side now must win at Pioneer Oval on Sunday.
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The Raiders head to Parkes sitting fifth on the ladder and trailing both the Spacemen and the Nyngan Tigers by two points.
“You look at the table and we’ve got the second best defence in the league but that means nothing if we two points back from Parkes,” he said.
“It’s important to be on the equal amount of points and then we’re backing ourselves for the rest of the year.”
With this weekend originally scheduled to be a general bye for all teams, McLellan admitted there is some uncertainty about the final makeup of his side due to player availability.
Jade Hooper is one player who will definitely miss out while key hooker Jeremy Smith and Mathew Walker are just two of the players in doubt.
In terms of the Spacemen, McLellan described them as a side with “threats all over the park”, headlined by inspirational captain-coach Dennis Moran.
“Especially with Dennis back now and orchestrating things,” he said.
“And Sam Dwyer at fullback has a lot of pace so our kick chase will have to be good and we can’t have a broken line that would allow him to utilise his speed.
“We know we’re going to have to play well but we believe we can win.”
All four grades will be played on Sunday, with the League Tag at 11am, while first grade will kick off at 2.30pm.