The Macquarie Raiders are again in the midst of a challenging month of Group 11 rugby league but co-coach Steve McLellan and his side will tackle it with renewed confidence.
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The Raiders endured mixed results during the first half of the regular season, ending the round in fifth spot, but the side showed real fight last week when coming back to score a 14-all draw at Nyngan.
With it notoriously difficult to beat the Tigers at home, McLellan was delighted with the effort at Larkin Oval and after seeing renewed vigour at training this week is looking forward to Sunday’s trip to Parkes.
“Parkes are going well. They’ve won the matches you’d expect them to and that’s why they’re sitting second,” McLellan said.
We’ve got a really tough month of footy but we’re looking forward to it and looking forward to going into it with the renewed confidence.
- Macquarie co-coach Steve McLellan
“It’s not a game you go to play thinking it will be easy and we’ve got a really tough month of footy but we’re looking forward to it and looking forward to going into it with the renewed confidence.”
After the trips to Nyngan and Parkes, Macquarie meets the currently undefeated CYMS in a derby before playing host to the defending premiers, Forbes Magpies.
McLellan is urging his side to “maintain the standard” shown at Nyngan, with the co-coach delighted his side put together one of it’s most consistent performances across 80 minutes.
The Raiders will be without Kiyan Shaw, who cruelly suffered a potentially serious Achilles injury last week having just returned from a lengthy spell on the sidelines, but under-18s Western Rams player Blake Frost will debut in the forwards and big bopper Eroni Turaga will revert to the centres.
“His (Frost’s) form has been really good and he’s tough enough and good enough so we’ve got no qualms putting him in,” McLellan said, before speaking about Turaga’s switch.
“He bends the line every time he runs it so we think he could do a bit of damage with some more room to move.”
The last time the Raiders met Parkes the Spacemen won 30-26 at Caltex Park.
McLellan’s men drifted in and out of that game, Parkes scored three long-range tries in the win, and the co-coach is determined to avoid that happening again.
“We played quite well but we just didn’t get the win,” he said.
“We just had lapses and they hurt us with speed out wide. We’ve worked on that and our kick chase will have to be really good and obviously Dennis Moran is really dangerous wherever he plays, in the halves or centres, but we’re just concentrating on ourselves.”
Moran, the Parkes captain-coach, will again feature in the centres at Jock Colley Field on Sunday and his side too is also high on confidence.
While pleased with his side’s efforts, Moran has called for renewed focus in the forward pack and improved second half completion rate.
The action at Jock Colley Field starts with the League Tag at 11am.