Forbes Platypi will have to step up this weekend - they expect Orange City to do the same.
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Forbes coach Heamani Lavaka wants to bag the first grade side’s eighth win in a row with this home game, the visitors want to stay alive in the top five of the Blowes Clothing Cup competition.
The Platypi game plan hasn’t changed, they just keep working week to week to improve on the weaknesses from the previous game.
“I know the boys will be up to it, they will lift the tempo,” Lavaka said.
“But on the day, it depends who turns up and wants it more.
“It will be a good day and test us for the rest of the season.”
The side at this stage is: 1 Marty Herbert, 2 Jarrod Hall, 3 Bryce Hazell, 4 Tim Prior, 5 Brendan Howell, 6 Andrew Hubbard, 7 Tim Anderson, 8 Matt Coles, 9 Mahe Fangupo, 10 Matthew Kilgore, 11 Henry Willis, 12 Brett Stace, 13 Jack Hammond.
News from the Lions, by Matt Findlay …
THE LIONS may not have Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor or Black Widow in their squad but in Saturday’s Blowes Clothing Cup road trip to Forbes’ Grinsted Oval Orange City will become the Avengers, sort of.
They won't be out to thwart super villains Loki or Ultron though, no, the Lions will be gunning to take down their own nemesis – the resurgent Platypi.
Propped up by a number of marquee signings, the Platypi have roared into second through 15 rounds of the 2016 season and taken a number of big scalps along the way.
The Lions were one of those scalps, succumbing to Forbes in a gritty 13-12 loss at Pride Park in round five, all the way back in April.
It’s a loss that still stings for Orange City.
“It’s a huge game for us, especially considering they beat us at Pride Park last time around. We would like to get over them this weekend, to get that loss back,” Orange City skipper John Colgan, his side’s version of Captain America, said.
“We went into that game on the back of three easier games and they suprised us, so we’ll certainly be more prepared for Forbes this time around.
“They have the likes of Mahe Fangupo and several other good players over there. Forbes are a classy side, they’re coming second for a reason so we know we’ll be in for a pretty tough battle.”
The Lions head into Saturday’s in similar circumstances to that round five game, on the back of three massive wins over Parkes, CSU Bathurst and then Dubbo Rhinos, before having a bye last weekend.
“There’s no real worries about not being ready for them this time around because we know how good they can be,” Colgan said.
“They’ve only lost two games this season so I certainly wouldn’t say we’re confident of going over there and winning, but we definitely know how well we can play when we get it right.
“Unfortunately we haven’t been able to train as well as we’d like to with the way the fields are so we’ve been in the gym quite a bit, but that’s something most teams are dealing with.”
Colgan said a win would confirm Orange City as a genuine title contender – it would be their first victory over a top two side – but regardless of result, at the very least his side will know where it stands compared to Forbes and to an extent, competition leaders Orange Emus.
“It’s second versus third, so it makes for a good game and yeah, I think a win would give us a lot of confidence in our run to the finals,” Colgan said.
“We don’t want to lose any of our last four games but in saying that a loss wouldn’t be season-ending by any means. Win, lose or draw, we’ll know where we stand and it’ll give us good insight into what we need to continue to improve on.”
For the first time this season the Lions have far too many players to fit into 15 spots, enjoying the luxury of having all hands on deck.
Saturday’s game kicks off at 3.15pm.
