A LOOK at the Central West AFL ladder might point to an easy win for the Bushrangers Outlaws this Saturday against the Young Saints, but that is not how the Bathurst side sees it.
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Despite the 16 competition points that separate the pair, Outlaws co-coach Paul Long is preparing his side to work hard for every possession against the Saints.
He points to the slender three-point lead the first placed Rebels held at three-quarter-time in its game against Young as reason for caution.
Even when his side crushed the Saints 21-24-150 to 2-3-15, Long saw the potential in his rivals.
“Young really tested the Rebels a few weeks ago over there and we were a little bit on edge after that,” he said.
“We thought ‘Wow we got away pretty cleanly there’. But in that game we played against them in the first round, it was tight until half-time, so you can’t write anyone off.”
Having been docked four competition points during the week for fielding an unregistered player, Outlaws are under pressure to remain in the top two.
Long knows if his side keeps winning it will earn a major semi-final spot, but in order to do that his Outlaws need to maintain intensity.
“Our biggest enemy now will be complacency,” he said. “We are going forward with the attitude that everyone is beatable and that includes us. We need to keep working hard.”
The Outlaws will take on Young from 2.30pm at George Park 2.