ORANGE CYMS captain-coach Mick Sullivan suggested it on Wednesday and his Orange Hawks counterpart Jason Gangaram confirmed it on Friday – if the two blues win Saturday’s Group 10 premier league local derby, it would be like their grand final.
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“Absolutely, I think you’ll find us celebrating pretty hard if we can manage to get a win up over CYMS. It would be just that, like a grand final for the boys,” Gangaram said.
Beating CYMS is far easier said than done though, he conceded.
“They are on top of the table for a reason, they really are a very, very good side at the moment,” Gangaram said.
“They’re just a grinding side, they’ll grind away and grind away and make you feel like you’re not even in the game anymore, let alone that you can win it.”
With all that in mind and considering CYMS and Hawks’ standings – first and second last, respectively – the most prudent question is whether the two blues can beat CYMS?
“We want to win, definitely, and there’s always hope,” Gangaram said.
“But we do need to be realistic. There’s not much point in me standing around saying we’re definitely going to beat CYMS.
“We just need to give ourselves the chance I think.
“It’s been the same story all year, we’ve been competitive for the opening 20 or 25 minutes of each half, in most games, but we’ve fallen away after that.
“CYMS will know that and they’ll try to use it to their advantage, so I think we just need to achieve that again and try to keep working for the rest of each half.
“Who knows, something special could happen.”
Saturday’s game coincides with former Hawks league tag gun Tori Writer’s fundraising campaign for Livin, a charity which raises funds and awareness for suicide prevention.
“It’s a cause close to a lot of Hawks’ hearts,” Gangaram said.
“We’re very proud of what Tori is doing with the initiative, we’re looking to help any way we can.”
Hawks will be without Jack Middleton, who broke his thumb against Oberon last weekend, while Kyle Robbins is also in doubt after splitting his gum open against the Tigers.
In a significant boost, Gangaram will make his official return to the playing field.
Saturday’s derby kicks off at 3pm, at Wade Park.
ORANGE HAWKS: 1 Jedd Kennedy, 2 Mick Cooper, 3 Jack Aumuller, 4 Viane Falaniko, 5 Mick Smith, 6 Kyle Robbins, 7 Brodie Christopherson, 8 Sam Sotogi, 9 Adam Hamling, 10 Matt Foliaki, 11 Max Wolfson, 12 Nick Wilson, 13 Nathan Potts
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
