Like any club in country rugby Orange Emus battles with player turnover every season but fortunately for the greens, in recent years they’ve welcomed a number of hidden gems.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
This season particularly, and especially in second grade.
The greens will take on Dubbo Kangaroos in their third straight Blowes Clothing Cup second grade grand final appearance at Endeavour Oval on Saturday, with only about 50 per cent of last year’s side running out again on Saturday.
Matt Findlay, Keith Howarth, Matt Clark, James Simmons, Matt Pierce, Luke Ginns, Adam Freeman and Seb Backhouse are the eight remaining from last year’s grand final loss to Orange City.
Six of the others are new to the club this year in Simon Thompson – who also skippers the side – Glen Maxwell, Harry Hamilton, Matt Campbell, Bill Thompson and Damien Harton.
VIDEO: See what Nick McGrath and Matt Findlay predict for Blowes Clothing Cup grand final day on Saturday:
“It’s not a bad effort for these blokes to be playing in a grand final in their first year with the club,” Emus coach Steve Levett, who did the same thing last year after joining the greens from Orange City, said.
“They’ve all been a huge part of the side this year, they fitted in fantastically from the start and we wouldn’t trade any of them for anyone else in the competition.
“Maxy’s turned into our general at five-eighth after coming over to rugby union from Orange Hawks, Cambo and Thommo have been great in the centres and Billy’s been huge outside them.
“Harry’s been incredible in the second-row and so has Damo, he’ll play off the bench this weekend but that’s just a show of how much depth we have because he’s been great. He’ll play a big role on Saturday too.”
Emus haven’t beaten Dubbo in 2016, going down by five points in round 11 and then losing 8-3 in a gritty major semi-final showdown a fortnight ago. That second loss woke Emus up though, they thumped Parkes 37-0 in last week’s preliminary final.
Naturally, Emus are tagged the underdogs as a result. That suits the greens just fine, Levett said.
“There probably isn’t anyone outside our group who thinks we can win,” Levett said.
“Dubbo deserve favouritism, but with the weight of expectation comes pressure. I think because of that it’s all on Dubbo and takes it off us.
“Grand final shots don’t come around all that often so we’ve made a point of enjoying the week leading into it and not taking it for granted.
“We’re confident in our ability, it’s just a matter of putting it together on the paddock. We can’t wait.”
Second grade kicks off at 1.30pm, the women’s game between Cowra and Mudgee kicks the day off at Endeavour Oval at 9.10am.
ORANGE EMUS: 1 Steve Fergus, 2 Keith Howarth, 3 Matt Findlay, 4 Harry Hamilton, 5 Alo Finau, 6 Jayden Norris, 7 Jack Marchinton, 8 Rob Thorburn, 9 Matt Clark, 10 Glen Maxwell, 11 Bill Thompson, 12 Matt Campbell, 13 Simon Thompson, 14 Derek Thompson, 15 James Simmons; Interchange: 16 Brent Braithwaite, 17 Al Hattersley, 18 Damien Harton, 19 Matt Pierce, 20 Luke Ginns, 21 Adam Freeman, 22 Marty Bryan, 23 Seb Backhouse