“THERE’S no way we were going to let a young bloke doing his best to help out the club get hurt in that situation”.
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Orange Hawks requested their Group 10 premier league clash with Lithgow Workies be called off at half-time on Sunday, with the latter leading 40-nil, but two blues president Dave Ryan said yesterday the decision was in no way a sign of his club giving up.
The request was made, and granted by Lithgow and the referees, because of concern for the Hawks players’ welfare.
Hawks had just three regular first graders available, and fresh, in Cody Robbins, Matt Boss and player-coach Jared Brodrick.
The rest of the side was made up of first division and under-18 players, all of whom had played at least one full game prior to the top grade - Jarrod Robbins had played both.
The move was unprecedented, and Ryan said the decision wasn’t made lightly, suggesting any sideline critics weigh up the situation before commenting.
“It’s very easy to criticise when you don’t know the full facts ... some of the comments I’ve received were borderline ridiculous,” Ryan explained.
“People need to understand we had eight players making their first grade debuts. We only had three regular first graders available because of injury, unavailability and sickness.
“It’s a unique set of circumstances and as a club we wouldn’t wish it on anyone else, but we’re not going to put players in danger of being hurt.
“Our players were out on their feet against a huge Lithgow side. That’s when injuries happen.”
Ryan added the decision was made in consultation with the Lithgow side, heaping praise on the way the Workies players and coaching staff handled a less-than-ideal situation.
“Lithgow deserves a lot of credit. The decision wasn’t made just from our side, they understood the situation,” Ryan explained.
“They could have gone out and bashed our guys, but they didn’t.”
Ryan suggested his side would still be injury plagued in the final two weeks of the regular season, but said the two blues would do everything in their power to make sure they fielded a top-grade side in both rounds.
“We still have a lot of guys injured but, touch wood, we’ll be fine in that regard,” Ryan said.
“We would never have made the decision if most of the side was available and up to it, that needs to be known.”
