Wilson's double secures Companions dramatic first-round win

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All except one player: Lachie Wilson.

"The last goal looked like a nothing opportunity, just a mix-up between their defender and goalkeeper," Companions assistant coach, Gavin Thompson, said.

"Lachie just popped in and tapped it into the net with the last kick of the game."

Friday night's 3-2 win was a thrilling end to a game in which "a draw probably would have been a fair result", Thompson said.

As each club is only allowed to enter one team into the competition, Thompson used the opportunity to change up the team and try out some new tactics.

However, their willingness to try out new plans, Thompson said, should not be misinterpreted as apathy towards the tournament.

"We'd love to win it now that we've won the first round," he said.

"We'll certainly be putting quality teams out there, maybe not our best teams, but we're certainly looking to win."

As the Northern Inland Cup results won't count towards the regular season ladder, it has also provided an opportunity for the Companions to rest some of their players who were carrying niggly injuries.

Next week, the Companions are scheduled to take on the Kootingal Kougars. Once again, Thompson confirmed, Norths will make adjustments to their side to ensure as many players as possible get a run.

"We've got our full squad there, so we've got quite a few players missing out," he said.

"This week, we'll change the squad and look at giving other players an opportunity to get some miles in the legs with the stop-start nature of the competition at the moment."

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