The Gunnedah Devils will be taking the battle for a grand final spot to Tamworth this Saturday, as they look for a win over the Pirates.
The Devils have had a rotating roster this season, plagued with injury and availability but the game plan remains the same.
“Nothing changes from our end, we just go through the process and follow the systems that we have had set in place.” said Daniel Martin, Head Coach Gunnedah Devils.
“It’s a full collective effort from the 15 on the field, making sure we stick to our defensive pattern and making sure we maintain possession of the ball.”
“It hasn’t been the greatest season, we’ve used a lot of players through our first-grade squad, which is great depth for the club and building on that depth, but we have lost a number of key positions this year due to season ending injuries.”
Those who have stepped into the side have dug deep delivering a preliminary finals sport, and just one game away from the Grand Final.
“Big credit to the entire club, we’ve had to raid our second-grade team all year to make sure we have the best 15 on field for first grade.” said Daniel.
“We believe we understand what they are going to throw at us and we hope we can just meet them with their game plan.”
Meanwhile, the Pirates are keen to keep their form on the field and deliver the desired result on home ground.
“We’ve had a couple of good solid weeks of training and really looking forward to the challenge.” said Conrad Starr, Pirates Captain.
“Mitch Mack in the second row has really lifted recently and sets a great standard in defence so we will be looking to him to lead that area.”
“ Our season has been building well with plenty of keen young guys around pushing for spots which has been nice and there is a renewed energy come this time of year.”
Throughout the season, both Pirates and Gunnedah have taken out their home ground wins, one each, leaving the decider to this weekend.
“Gunnedah are a big team and if you let them get a roll on, they’re hard to pull back with some great finishes out wide.”
Central North Rugby Union Qualifying Finals Saturday 2nd September
Pirates Rugby Club, Tamworth, Kent Street
Gates open at 10:30am
$10 entry
First Grade: Pirates Vs Gunnedah Devils @ 3pm
Second Grade: Pirates Vs Moree Weebolla Bulls @ 1pm
Women’s: Narrabri Boars Vs Gunnedah Devils @ 11:45am
Good luck to all.
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