RUGBY LEAGUE
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GROUP 10 coach Graeme Osborne said that a simple approach against a Group 11 team he knows little about will be the way forward for his side when they meet in tomorrow’s Western Division trials in Dubbo.
Both sides will also meet a combined Castlereagh Cup outfit at the selection carnival in a 40-minute affair prior to their 30 minutes each-way match against their arch rivals.
Osborne has only had a couple of sessions in which to work with his players as they aim for three straight wins in the Group 11 fixture, and injury has not been kind to his squad.
Of the 24 men originally named to train with the squad, he hasn’t had to do a single bit of culling to get numbers down to 18.
Even now there is still a possibility of further disruption, with Luke Newsome having to contest a two-match ban overnight arising from last Friday’s match between St Pat’s and Panthers.
Blayney’s Dane Howarth was also preparing to answer a case after being cited during the Bears’ loss to Mudgee.
Bathurst Panthers centre Blake Lawson is on standby if either player is unsuccessful in getting their case overturned.
“It has been tough, Joe Batchelor has had to pull out, Chris Rhodes is getting MRI scans on an injury, Josh Rainbow will have a knee operation this week, Blake Tidswell was stretchered off during Cowra’s game on the weekend,” Osborne said.
“Brent Seager has been unable to get the necessary time off work, Garry Reilly was another who couldn’t play, so we were left with just the 18 that we’ve got.
“We have a very big side but that wasn’t a plan as such. That’s just how it panned out and it is no good having a lot of size if you can’t stay on the field and get through 20 minutes or more, so
it wasn’t a case of just picking the biggest team
we could.”
Without much to go on regarding his opponents tomorrow Osborne said that a simple approach to the game against Group 11 is all he will be asking from his players, particularly during the early exchanges.
He said that he is still expecting a strong showing from the opposition.
“I’ve only had a quick look at their team and to be honest, there’s a lot of unfamiliar faces there, only three that I recognised straight away,” he said.
“One was Justin Toomey-White who’s a very good player, but knowing [coach] Darren Jackson, he’d have picked a team based on form and it will still be very strong.
“Mainly what we’ve looked at with our training has been our exit sets and working the ball out of our own half, trying to just set ourselves up for good general field position.
“If you can keep doing that, control the ball and kick well, it will take its toll eventually. But with only two weeks’ preparation it is hard to work on anything particularly complex.
“Castlereagh Cup should be reasonably good too, Mark Wakefield is coaching them and he knows what he’s talking about.”
Three Bathurst players will line up under Osborne, with Pat’s big man Newsome to form part of their monstrous forward rotation in the second row, while Saints hooker Benjamin John starts at dummy-half.
He will switch at some point with Bathurst Panthers number nine Luke Carpenter.
“Luke [Carpenter] has had a pretty unfortunate run with this fixture, getting his jaw broken when he was king-hit a few years ago and hurting his hand early in the match last year,” Osborne said.
“He is very good in broken play and he will get his chance at some point, the good thing with Benjamin John too is that he is so strong and willing in defence that he can have a bit of a spell at lock at some point and give Luke a longer run at hooker.”