For as long as time, it seems, the Central West AFL top flight has been dominated by shades of black, white and teal.
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The Bathurst Bushrangers club has been, and still, is a powerhouse and, of late, that supremacy has risen to a level where two sides wearing the Bushies badge are now competing for the flag.
But Orange Tigers coach Dale Hunter can sense a change – a big one.
With his Tigers on top of the ladder and coming off a thumping 151-point trouncing of the Parkes Panthers, the black and golds mentor says competition newcomers Bathurst Giants and perennial underachievers Dubbo Demons loom as the Orange club’s biggest threat to a fourth flag in six seasons in 2018.
That’s right, not a Bushrangers team in sight, it seems.
Both of the Bushies teams suffered defeats last round, giving some credence to Hunter’s conviction, with the Demons belting the Outlaws and Giants upsetting the Rebels, by 30 points and five points respectively.
Hunter’s golden sashes haven’t met the Demons since the Tigers dished up a round one clinic back in April but since then the Dubbo club has put together three wins in five weeks including last week’s potentially season defining victory over last year’s champions.
The red, blue and golds now sit in fifth on the ladder, behind the Outlaws on percentages only.
“I’m more intrigued in the Demons at the moment,” Hunter said when asked about the rest of the competition.
“We had a look at them in round one and they've got a few in since then by the looks of it.
“The Giants, I’ve said from the outset, will likely be the benchmark for us. We’re looking forward to the game.”
The Tigers travel to George Park on Saturday to take on the Giants in what is a top-of-the-table clash at Bathurst.
It’s the Tigers’ seventh road trip in the opening eight rounds of the season following issues with the surface at the club’s new home ground at Waratah Sportsground, a venue that will be the biggest field in the Central West AFL in 2018.
Hunter said the larger field suits the Tigers down to the ground, with the extra space making it hard for opposing sides to mark gun forward Tim Barry.
In the club’s, and Barry’s, first game at Waratahs last week, the sharp-shooting power forward booted 13 goals – a season high.
“We’ve had a tease on the big field,” Hunter laughed ahead of Saturday’s trip back to George Park, a smaller oval.
“And now we’re back on the dinner plate,” he joked.
Nick McGrath
Editor, Central Western Daily
Editor, Central Western Daily
