Timbercutters head coach Tim McCormick said tomorrow’s game day will be a big home game for the club.
“We have a big day planned at the club against Deni.
“It is the club’s Ladies’ Day and we will also stand against violence with the Deni Rovers Football Netball Club before the game, with a minute’s silence before the seniors game.
“We’ll also celebrate the life of a former Mathoura Timbercutters player who passed earlier in the week, so hopefully we can perform well.“
Mathoura has been without a full seniors team for the last couple of weeks, with one key change for this week’s match.
“We’ll get Andrew Evans back, but we lose Jake Cardilini, which is tall for a tall.
“It would’ve been nice to have both in, but otherwise this will be as good as we have been.”
McCormick said the ‘Cutters played well in their 192-point win over Yarroweyah last week, but will be wary of a hungry Rovers team.
“They’ll be looking to bounce back.
“Deni is a pretty good side looking to play finals this year, so it should be a good game.
“But we will go in confident after some good wins; we need to make sure we start the right way.”
The Rovers’ seniors are coming off a disappointing 44-point loss against Tungamah, their second in as many weeks.
Like the week previous, Rovers’ head coach Alex Hay said the match offered some lessons about how he wants to the team to respond.
“Last week against Tungamah gave us some mixed feelings.
“We were really keen to respond after a loss to Jerilderie the week before, in a game where we felt like we were in control for the majority, but our efficiency going forward was off.
“It was a similar story on the weekend, in that our general play and ball movement were really positive but we didn’t give ourselves the best opportunity to impact the scoreboard significantly.”
Hay said one area of concern put to him after last week’s match was the team’s defensive game plan.
He said that has been the focus this week.
“Unfortunately, there were a few instances where we had been too easy to score against, particularly with our defensive structure.
“We probably took too long to adjust to the conditions, and they took their opportunity with some walk-in goals.
“Looking from the outside in, spectators and supporters might have been critical of our effort in defence, particularly with our press, but I’m confident that if we get the application right, then the tide will turn against the top half dozen teams, which is what we’re aiming for.”
This week’s opportunity is not lost on Hay, who said this is a big game for the senior Rovers.
“This week against Mathoura will be another challenge, after playing themself into some hot form on the weekend.
“Not much will change for us in how we prepare for the game; the focus is to lessen the gap between our best and worst.
“If we’re consistent in bringing the pressure that we know we are capable of, and creating turnovers in our forward half, then we will get some opportunities.
“But that being said, it’s a big game in the context of our season, so I’m looking forward to it.”
5°C