Dubbo Westside doesn’t feel like a team that has gone almost two years without a win, according to co-coach Claude Gordon.
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It’s been 24 games since the Rabbitohs beat the Wellington Cowboys and Gordon said part of the job he and Matt Naden have to do is give the players confidence and belief they can win.
“It doesn’t feel like a club that has gone that long without a win. We’re just trying to take each game as it comes,” Gordon said.
“One win will turn it around. That’s why I was so gutted to lose to Forbes [in the first round]. We were right in that game but crucial injuries at crucial times really cost us.
“If we started the season with a win that would have given us a lot of confidence. Now it’s up to Matt and I to give the guys the belief they need.”
Westside will host a Nyngan side that is coping with significant change in 2018, after losing key players including captain-coach Stewart Mills and star hooker Reece Goldsmith.
Gordon said it would still present a tough challenge for his side but he hoped the players would be ready to fire for their first home game of the season.
“If the guys can’t get up for the home game there is something wrong,” he said.
“We’d love to see a big crowd there. We’re really looking to turn No.1 into a fortress this year.”
In a bonus for the Rabbitohs, Gordon was expecting to name an unchanged line-up to the one that lost to the Cowboys 50-24 last week, bringing some stability.
“I don’t think that scoreline reflected the game. They scored four tries in 12 minutes and that was it. But we didn’t put our heads down.”
Westside play Nyngan from 2.30pm at No.1 Oval on Sunday.