The chance to end a hoodoo, prove a few people wrong, and seal a place in the 2018 Central West AFL finals.
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It’s fair to say the Dubbo Demons have plenty of motivation heading into this weekend’s meeting with the Bathurst Bushrangers Outlaws.
The Demons scored a thrilling one-point win over the Bushrangers Rebels last weekend and that result, combined with Parkes’ shock win over the Outlaws, saw the Dubbo side move into fourth.
The Outlaws slipped to fifth but a win for the Bathurst-based team at home this weekend would move them ahead of the Demons on percentages, and they would be favoured to stay there with just two rounds remaining.
“I’ve said it before, but this game is our season,” Dubbo coach Will Bunt said.
“This weekend is it. If we win then we’re right and we can relax a bit the following weekend, enjoy the game and focus on finals.”
The chance to seal fourth spot is not the only thing Bunt has used to get his players up for Saturday’s game.
As has often been the case over the years, people have recently questioned the Demons’ ability to win away from home.
Bunt is all too aware the record when travelling to play a Bushrangers side is far from impressive, but he still heads to George Park 2 in a confident mood this weekend.
“Bathurst has been a bit of a hoodoo for us for a long time,” he said.
“I was talking to Kim Woodman, the previous (Demons) coach, and he can’t remember winning at Bathurst.
“He’s been around the club for about 10 years so it’s been a long time.
“There’s a lot of motivation and lot of little things that we’ve used to motivate the blokes, the biggest of those being the chance to play finals.
“But we want to prove a few people wrong.”
The side for this weekend’s game is virtually the same as the one which downed the Rebels by one point last time out.
Bevan Chalrton-White and Tom Budd have been in fine form up front and will be key again, but it’s the midfielders who Bunt wants to go to another level.
The coach has been impressed by what he’s seen from the likes of captain Hamish Pearce and Joey Hedger this year, but he still feels there’s more to offer, especially against what is expected to be a powerful Outlaws lineup.
“They’ve played well but there’s still little things to improve on to make their jobs easier,” Bunt said.
“They’ve been working hard but they’ve probably got to work smarter. It’s the same midfield as last week and that’s a bonus but they just need to tweak a couple of things.”
Saturday’s game starts at the earlier time of 12pm.
Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
