THEIR form hasn’t hinted at a victory being just around the corner, but CSU Bathurst will have a golden opportunity to get their first win of the Blowes Clothing Cup season on Saturday when they head to Mudgee.
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Normally two defeats and a for-and-against of -95 would have a team in fairly solitary company at the bottom of the table, but for the students they find themselves in an identical position to the Wombats.
In their first two games since returning to the competition, they too have copped a couple of heavy losses, and on paper tomorrow represents the best chance to date for CSU to break their duck.
They are set to be boosted by the return of forward Hugh Medway from injury, though a decision regarding his presence in the side will be left for the time being.
“It is pretty embarrassing to have let in 112 points from our point of view and probably just as bad from theirs to be right alongside us on the ladder,” coach James McLaren said of Mudgee, who have conceded 105 of their own and scored just 18.
“They will want to kickstart their season. We are looking for a bit of an injection of confidence ourselves, so there is a lot to play for.
“It has been a very tough start for us and some of the guys, especially those with less experienced, have really had their eyes opened. It would be nice to have a few older heads there but unfortunately we don’t at the moment.
“But the guys will be better for the experience, I’m certain of that.”
The second half of last week’s match against Orange Emus saw the first signs of life from a CSU perspective this season, as they tried to restore some pride after going to half-time trailing.
They managed to square the second half at 12-all and though there wasn’t much left to gain by that stage, for McLaren it showed that there is something to work with and he is hoping it proves to be something of a ‘lightbulb’ moment.
“The guys are all very disappointed that it took them that long to get into the game. We basically gave away the first 45 minutes of that game,” he said.
“We were going into a breeze, but it wasn’t worth anywhere near that much.
“I said to them at the break that they had an opportunity to go out and earn one another’s respect or they could embarrass themselves and they responded the right way.”
Medway’s potential return will be huge for the students if it eventuates, as he gives them one of the most uncompromising and determined forwards in the competition when he’s fit.
After what looked like a serious leg injury against Cowra in the first round, he sat out the Emus game and was given an extra week’s rest courtesy of the Easter weekend.
He resumed full-contact training on Tuesday and provided he pulls up well from that, he will be included somewhere in McLaren’s starting side tomorrow.
Fellow star Jack Garrad is still some way off a return, though, as the coach tries to ensure that he doesn’t rush the comeback of his most dangerous attacking player.
“Hugh is massive for us. Though he’s not that old himself, the other players look up to him and in years to come a lot of them will talk about what it was like to play with someone like him,” McLaren said.
“But we can’t just rely on him, the others have to step up as well.”
CSU BATHURST: 1 Michael Coates, 2 Nick Dutton, 3 Evan Binney, 4 Pat Murphy, 5 Sam Robertson, 6 Tom Irons, 7 Tom Greenaway, 8 Dom Alexander, 9 Tom Gransden, 10 Nick Rutherford, 11 Daniel Ross- Hopkins, 12 Tom Keft, 13 Jackson Margosis, 14 Tom Pegler, 15 Tennyson Vance.