Orange City is looking to cement itself in the Blowes Clothing Cup top five when it travels to Cowra on Saturday, to face the Eagles in a round one rematch.
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In their first meeting, the Lions dominated the Eagles 38-10 and will consider Saturday’s contest a vital one with an arduous month of rugby ahead.
The Lions will play Dubbo Kangaroos, Bathurst Bulldogs and Orange Emus – all top four sides – in the next four weeks in a run that will give a fair indication of City’s post-season potential.
Lions coach Steve Hamson knows this weekend’s road trip is a crucial one given that tough schedule.
“We need to get a win to work our way into [outright fifth]. We’ve got a tough month coming up,” Hamson said.
“They’re always a lot harder to play down there. It’s a hostile environment and there’s no love lost between the two sides.”
A last-start draw against Parkes helped the Lions’ position on the ladder, pushing the side into a share of fifth with the Boars.
But it also landed two more players in the Lions’ already bulging casualty ward.
Hooker Chris Senior and second-rower Chris Barrett both picked up injuries last weekend.
While Barrett, who injured his shoulder, hasn’t played much first grade in 2017, Senior has been one of the side’s few mainstays this season.
He had scans on his knee earlier in the week, but is thought to be gone for the season – a brutal blow for Orange City.
This will test the Lions’ depth and commitment ahead of Saturday but won’t be a new challenge for City as the side has battled injury problems all season.
Even so, Orange City has been hard at work trying to iron out the creases that prevented them from securing the competition points against Parkes.
“Our attack didn’t really set us on fire and we didn’t stick to a pattern” he said.
It wasn’t all bad for the Lions though as Hamson was pleased with some aspects of their performance.
“Our scrum was really good and our defence was good too,” he said.
After a loss to Forbes in round six, Orange City identified the next month as a period it could go through without suffering a loss.
Saturday’s clash with Cowra is the fourth of those games and after a win-win-draw run over the last three rounds, another victory would be monumental in the context of Orange City’s season so far.
The Lions will travel to Cowra Rugby Ground on Saturday for a 3.15pm kick-off.
