RUGBY UNION
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Bathurst Bulldogs will put their fifth place position in Central West Rugby Union on the line this Saturday when they host the Cowra Eagles at Ashwood Park.
Bulldogs were denied a win in the dying minutes by a high-flying Forbes Platypi outfit last round, losing 14-11, and the Bathurst men can expect another tough encounter with a side only three points behind them.
The Eagles journey to Bathurst also off the back of a tough loss to another top-five side, losing 28-17 to the Dubbo Kangaroos.
Just because the Eagles sit behind them doesn’t mean the Bulldogs will be expecting Saturday to be any easier – especially with the recent wet weather refusing to budge.
Bulldogs will be expecting a similar Ashwood Park to the one they met the Platypi on.
Last round’s match was a hard slog for both sides in slow conditions. Both Bathurst and Forbes were forced into safe rugby as opposed to a more expansive game.
Rain kept the Bulldogs off the main ground for their training this week but they will be hoping the wet weather holds off for this contest.
Regardless of what the weather may throw his team’s way Bulldogs co-coach Brian Roberson will hope to see a little more width brought into the game.
“We’re expecting similar sort of conditions for this game. We’ll still definitely try to play a more expansive game, but we have to be able to earn the right to go wide first,” he said.
“With Izaak Breen in the pack, hopefully we’ll be able to gain some leverage off him.
“Cowra are right up into that contest now for the top five spot, so they’ve obviously been performing quite well. We believe they’ve got a very physical forward pack, so we’ll be beefing up in preparation for that. We’ve got Alex Weal coming into the side to help us there.”
Breen suffered a back injury before the Forbes clash and will be a welcome inclusion back into the home side.
Against a hungry team ready to pounce on their ladder spot, Roberson said a performance equal to last week won’t be enough.
“Our commitment at the breakdown is something I think we can still improve upon,” Roberson said.
“I think we definitely have to improve on last week. I don’t think it’s ever good saying ‘that was good enough’ after a game like that. We’ve got to focus on improving the areas that we’re deficient in and we know where they are.
“We’re back to Orange Emus after this game, so it’s crucial we go into that looking positive.”
Adam Dwyer comes into the second row for Bulldogs, while their backs remain unchanged.
Saturday’s match at Ashwood Park starts from 3.15pm.
BATHURST BULLDOGS: 1 Chris Plunkett, 2 Mark Donnelly, 3 Sean Fogarty, 4 Izaak Breen, 5 Adam Dwyer, 6 Alex Weal, 7 Jono Healey, 8 Peter Fitzsimmons, 9 Kurt Weekes, 10 Scott Johnston, 11 Josh Lee, 12 Sam Roberson, 13 Bart Bogart, 14 Tyson Smith, 15 Jack Roberson