TWO games for two losses, with a leaky defensive line which has conceded 95 points in just 160 minutes of football.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
After spruiking their defensive capabilities pre-season, it doesn’t make for good reading for Orange Hawks.
The two blues were thumped 43-10 by Orange CYMS and 52-22 by Blayney Bears in rounds one and two respectively, and are languishing at the bottom of the Group 10 premier league table as a result.
But if you ask star recruit Todd Morrissey, a resurgence is just around the corner.
In fact, he’s tipping it to kick off against Cowra Magpies tomorrow at Wade Park.
“We’ve been busting our arses and getting smashed at training,” Morrissey said, with an impressive shiner to prove it.
“We’ve got the tools in the shed. They just haven’t quite worked yet.”
Morrissey, an Orange City Lions stalwart, moved back to Orange this year after a lengthy stint in Queensland, most recently plying his trade in QLD Cup club Burleigh Bears’ lower grades.
Most assumed he would return to the 15-man code this year but instead he signed on with Hawks and the 28-year-old’s debut premier league performance was one of few positives in last weekend’s loss to Blayney.
“My cousin (Murray Forrester) played in Hawks’ 1999 premiership side, so I’ve always wanted to have a run,” Morrissey said.
“I’m lacking a bit of match fitness, but I’m certainly enjoying it. We learned a lot from the loss to Blayney, we know where we need to improve.
“There’s a lot of new faces, including me, so we’ve been a bit disjointed and out of sync. But we’re getting better at training and once we click we’ll be fine. We just need to do it soon.”
The two blues will boast a substantially different starting 13 against Cowra tomorrow, with gun recruit Mitch Davis named to make his debut in the front row at the expense of Deryne McKenzie.
Keegan Harding returns to premier league, playing halfback, with Matt Boss shifting to five-eighth as a result.
Lawrence Fogg moves from the centres into the second row to replace the injured Kyle Byrnes, with captain-coach Brock McGarity filling the vacant three-quarter spot.
Hawks kick-off against the sixth-placed Magpies at 2pm.
ORANGE HAWKS: 1 Cody Robbins, 2 Lachlan Harris, 3 Jared Brodrick, 4 Brock McGarity (c), 5 Jarrod Robbins, 6 Matt Boss, 7 Keegan Harding, 8 Sam Coyte, 9 Mitch Hurford, 10 Mitch Davis, 11 Lawrence Fogg, 12 Todd Morrissey, 13 Wise Kativerata.