Ask any coach anywhere in the world about front-rowers and you’ll get the same answer – they’re worth their considerable weight in gold.
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They have arguably the toughest job on the field, as a result coaches tend to sweat on props’ fitness and if a couple fall to injury it can often spark panic.
Not at Orange Emus, not this year anyway, in 2017 the greens have been buoyed by astonishing front row depth.
It’s something Emus coach Paul Ringland has been forced to call on leading into Saturday’s Blowes Clothing Cup road trip to Forbes’ Grinsted Oval, where the greens will face the Platypi in a mouth-watering top-of-the-table clash.
Regular bookends Al Hattersley and Michael Graham won’t front, thanks to injury and unavailability respectively, but Ringland has the luxury of calling on two stellar props to replace them.
Former Central West Blue Bulls big bopper Nas Havealeta slots back into the top grade, while Brent Braithwaite – a steadfast fixture of Emus’ run to the 2014 grand final – holds his place.
He came in for Hattersley last weekend.
“It is a real luxury we have at the moment, normally if a club lost a couple of props it’d be a big worry,” Ringland, a former front-rower himself, enthused.
“It’s nice to not have to worry too much about that part of our game. It’s great to have big Nasty back and Blocker (Braithwaite) has been playing great rugby, so I don’t think we lose too much.
“We’ve got a couple more props banging the door down in second grade too, which is part of the reason our whole club has been going so well.”
Emus will need more than big performances from those two to down Forbes though, Ringland knows that.
He’s expecting a very different side to the one Emus thrashed 62-20 in round two.
“They’re coming off losses to Dubbo in firsts, seconds and colts, so they’ll be stinging from that and we know they’ll come hard,” Ringland said.
“No matter where Forbes sit, it’s always a really tough, physical trip to Grinsted Oval. This one won’t be any different.
“They’re sitting well now and as a club have been doing an incredible job. They clearly have plenty of depth and are starting to hit their straps.
“There’s no one danger in Forbes’ side, they’re a well-rounded team and we’ll have to be at our best if we’re going to beat them.”
The Platypi will be without NSW Country prop Charlie French, he and his Cockatoos side face traditional rivals Queensland Country at Gateshead – near Newcastle – on Saturday.
Kick-off in Forbes will be at 3.15pm.
- ORANGE EMUS: 1 Nas Havealeta, 2 Tom Goolagong, 3 Brent Braithwaite, 4 Nick Hughes-Clapp, 5 Harry Hamilton, 6 Andrew Selwood, 7 Jack Marchinton, 8 Rob Thorburn, 9 Sam Green, 10 AJ Sykes, 11 Levi Russell, 12 Lachie Harris, 13 Carter Hirini, 14 Jake Roberts, 15 Nigel Staniforth ©
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
