TWO points meant the difference of hosting the Group 10 rugby league grand final at Lithgow after Lithgow Workmens Club went down narrowly to Orange CYMS 18-16 at Orange.
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The win by CYMS sees the grand final being played at Orange next week while it will be a huge day of rugby league here at Lithgow Showground with a full program of games starting off with the Oz League, followed by the Under 18s, first division and then the big one – the first grade between the Wolves and Dragons.
After a string of good wins, the Wolves were below par against Orange with a poor completion rate and a record amount of missed tackles.
With all that, the Wolves still only finished two behind.
The loss is now history with the Wolves working hard over the week in preparation to another tough final against Mudgee Dragons.
“Hopefully we have had our bad game for the play-offs and sometimes it is good to play each week leading up to the grand final,” Wolves’ coach Graeme Osborne said.
“Although we would have loved to have won against CYMS, sometimes the week off can work against you and providing you do not get any injuries, it might be a blessing for us to keep playing week in week out.”
In their last encounter against Mudgee when the Wolves won 12-6, the Lithgow side was dominant throughout with the low score flattering the Dragons.
Mudgee would have been embarrassed by the way the Wolves’ forwards got on top of them and will be coming to Lithgow on a mission to save face.
The Dragons’ forwards stood up against Blayney in the elimination final laying a platform for their speedy backs to keep them in the premiership race.
Osborne will be looking for a similar effort from his forwards against the Dragons who have been in great form over the past month or so.
“Our form against CYMS was disappointing.
“Our handling was unusually bad and when you are playing in these big matches you cannot afford to give the opposition long periods of possession.
“Mudgee is a good side and they will be coming to Lithgow knowing what to expect from us.
“We have played each other on a number of occasions and each time it has been a tough match.
“We have worked on our discipline and handling.
“Given a good share of the ball will go a long way for us to win the final and have another crack at CYMS.
“It was disappointing that we could not host the grand final here at Lithgow, but that can’t be changed and we will be going all out tomorrow to make it into the grand final.”
The side for tomorrow is Antino Ale, Joel O’Brien, Kieran Croft, Johnathan Van Veen, Cyp Ale, Ben Stewart, Wayde Egan, Brendan West, Ernest Alo, Chris Rhodes, Corey Willmott, Brendon Van Veen, Alex Bryne, Steven Lang, Harry Knight and Coops Ale.