The Walcha Rams are bracing for a test against the Gunnedah Red Devils for their final home match of the regular season this Saturday.
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The Rams’ last loss came at the hands of the Red Devils in round seven but they have since posted eight wins in-a-row to climb to third on the Central North table.
“They beat us the first time round so we know it is not going to be easy,” Walcha coach Barry Hoy said.
“We are playing football now than we were earlier in the year.
“A couple injuries and that sort of thing sort of buggered us up a little bit earlier there.”
The Red Devils staged a second-half comeback against the second-placed Moree Bulls on Saturday to land a draw and will be aiming to go one better against the in-form Rams.
Hoy believes his forwards will have to muscle up to combat the powerful Gunnedah pack and keep rampaging number eight Sanimo Navatu’s impact to a minimum.
“Gunnedah have a very big forward pack so your forwards have got to hold their own against them,” he said.
“They have a big number eight and we let him run a bit too much last time.”
Should the Walcha side come away with the points, it will all but guarantee them of hosting the minor semi-final.
“That is what we are working on, why this week is pretty important,” Hoy said.
“If we can get a win, we can more-or-less ensure the minor semi.”
The Rams are expecting to be close to full-strength for the encounter.