After their opening round fixture against Gladesville was washed out, the Mariners must now face a side coming fresh off the back of a 3-1 win over last season’s premiers the Balmain Tigers.

Last time the two sides met it was Granville who walked away with a narrow win. The 3-4 scoreline on that occasion could be encouraging for the Mariners squad and give them the belief they need to make it one from one to start season 2014. 

Coach Andrew Fearnley says it’s naturally going to be a challenge playing a team with a match under its belt, especially one full of confidence after knocking over a big side.

“They made a big statement by beating Balmain last week,” he said.

“There’s a number of teams going around that can get good results against the stronger teams.

“We lost by a goal to them on two occasions [last season] and the second match was a very open game. We have to make sure we remain strong in the final third.

“We’ve got the attacking potential in our team to score goals, but need to back that up and be defensively strong.”

Granville created plenty of chances in the opening game thanks to some controlled work in their midfield and kept the ball moving freely between players. 

They held out the Tigers for over three quarters of the game before Balmain found their consolation goal.

Fearnley believes it would have been beneficial for his team to have got on the pitch a week earlier, but the Mariners tried to use that time wisely.

“In the end, there’s not much that we can do about it. You want to get started and playing,” he said. 

“We had another session instead, so ... in the end I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing.” 

WESTERN NSW MARINERS FC: Bryce Deaton, Jesse Lane, Matt Corbin, Nathan Davis, Brent Osborne, John Henry, Stuart Bromley, Andrew Christie, Owen Short, Adam Scimone, James Christie, Nick Rutherford.