Lithgow Workies will be looking to make a fast, clean start to their elimination final against the Mudgee Dragons on Saturday.
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The winner will play either the Bathurst Panthers or Oberon Tigers the following weekend, but the loser will be done and dusted for 2017.
Workies claimed a two-point victory over Mudgee on Sunday, but captain-coach Chris Rhodes said there was plenty of room for improvement.
“We did pretty well, but we started too slow and let them take a 14-6 lead going into half-time. We also dropped a lot of ball, which we don’t want to be doing,” he said.
Once Workies took control of the speed of the ruck, he said everything became easier in their comeback against the home-town favourites.
“I feel good about the brand of football we’ve been playing over the last four weeks. It’s been a simple game plan but it’s worked well, we managed to beat the undefeated CYMS.
“We’ve put the concentration on getting to the end of sets and making sure we are making those one-on-one tackles, because we were missing too many."
The team will be looking to start better, with no guarantee of catching Mudgee from behind a second time.
“It will be their home crowd and they won’t want to let their supporters down,” he said.
The team has been rebuilding after last season, in which the team was forced to forfeit a number of times due to lack of numbers.
“With the team we’ve had, our goal from last year was to make the top five. And I definitely thought we could do it,” Rhodes said.
Credit had to be shared with the talented reserve grade team, which has been a powerhouse in itself, but also supplied players for the gaps in the premier league team left by injury and suspension.
The most notable loss was Jono Van-Veen, who was sidelined for eight weeks for striking during their match against St Pat’s.
“It was absolutely a loss – he's one of the best in bush football,” Rhodes said.
“He was in some terrific form with his brother Brendon.”
Special mention went to Eli Felton, who has stepped up from first division into the premier league to take up the role of halfback.
Rhodes called for as many supporters as possible to travel to Mudgee this Saturday. The league tag ladies will kick off at 12.15, first division at 1.15pm and premier league at 2.45pm.
Kirsty Horton
A journalist with 15 years of experience, Kirsty Horton has been the editor of the Lithgow Mercury newspaper and a journalist for mastheads including the Great Lakes Advocate, Nambucca Guardian News and Moree Champion. She is now a member of ACM's features and special publications team.
A journalist with 15 years of experience, Kirsty Horton has been the editor of the Lithgow Mercury newspaper and a journalist for mastheads including the Great Lakes Advocate, Nambucca Guardian News and Moree Champion. She is now a member of ACM's features and special publications team.
