NORTH Tamworth and West Lions will do battle again for Group 4 superiority at Scully Park tomorrow, only this time the Lions will be the hunted.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Their two-point win over the reigning premiers back in April has tipped the scales of favouritism West’s way.
It was a see-sawing tussle, with the Bears leading 16-12 at half-time and then 22-18 before going down 30-28.
“It was a good physical game and this time round will be no different,” Bears captain-coach Zac Russ said.
He thought they weren’t that bad and felt they have the right things in place.
It’s a matter of them going out and doing it, and for 80 minutes.
Last week they almost blew a 22-point lead against Gunnedah.
“We had 20 minutes or so of perfect footy and 60 minutes of very average footy but managed to get away with it,” Russ said.
There was only two in it in the end, with the Bears sneaking home 26-24 to keep within a win of the Lions.
“We’re trying to minimise the number of lapses of concentration we have in games,” Russ said.
Against the likes of Matt Nean, Chris Vidler and Phil Beaton they can’t afford to switch off like that.
“If we put in 60 minutes of poor footy like that against Wests they’ll punish us heavily,” he said.
If they get away to a 22-point lead they’ve got to make sure they go on with it.
He’ll be looking to the forwards to really give them a roll-on.
“Our forward pack have been doing really well on the back of Scott Blanch,” he said.
If they can feed off the service he provides, it should open up a bit for them when the Lions’ big guys get tired.
Lions captain-coach Beaton said they would be “a bit light on” after picking up a couple of injuries against Gunnedah two weeks ago.
The most disruptive is half-back Sam Taylor.
“We’ve shuffled things around,” Beaton said.
It will mean a more prominent role for Nean, although that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
“He’ll take a lead role in controlling things,” Beaton said.
He is bracing for some backlash from the Bears’ lucky escape last week.
“That’ll probably go against us. They’ll be pretty fired up,” he said.
Last time they faced the Bears, the first half wasn’t their best but the second half was good.
It was their first win against the Bears since the 2013 grand final and has given them a lot of confidence heading into tomorrow.
Defence has been the big focus.
“We know our attack will come. It’s mainly defence,” Beaton said.
That will be what wins it for them and they’ll have to be sharp around the ruck.
“They’ve got Brock Wadwell back,” Beaton said.
“He and Scott Blanch will be a handful.”
The local derbies are always fiery encounters, and Beaton also spoke of the need to play “smart footy”.
“Whoever settles down and plays footy first is the team that gets away and gets on top,” he said.
In the other game tomorrow, Oxley Diggers host Gunnedah at David Taylor Park in Werris Creek.