Gundagai’s injury curse has Tigers captain-coach James Smart on high alert before a deceptive duel with Brothers at Anzac Park on Sunday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
At face value, Gundagai would seem to have the measure of beleaguered Brothers, but Smart is still treading warily.
“They’ve (Brothers) got a pretty big forward pack which is always a challenge for us,” Smart said.
“They’ve also got some dangerous players.”
With Gundagai bowled over by Temora (26-24) at Nixon Park last Sunday, and Brothers coming off their best 40 minutes of football this year, Smart’s concerns could be warranted.
However, raising the ante even more for Gundagai, is a long list of walking wounded.
Assessing the situation, Smart said the Tigers faced an anxious time before the team was finalised.
“The way things are I’ll just have to name a squad this week,” Smart said.
“We train again on Friday and I’ll see how we are then.”
Putting Smart on edge, Gundagai’s injury plight involves winger Noa Fotu, second rowers Cameron Woo and Blake Dunn, centre Tyron Gorman and five-eighth James Luff.
Woo, Dunn, Gorman and Luff all missed the dramatic loss to Temora while Fotu was a casualty of the game.
Smart has already ruled a line through Fotu for Sunday’s clash with Brothers and is pessimistic about the chances of the other quartet also playing.
“Noa Fotu has a bad tear in his hamstring and definitely won’t be there,” Smart said.
“Cameron Woo, Tyron Gorman, Blake Dunn and James Luff ran lightly (on Tuesday) and are all unlikely.
“We just won’t know until at least Friday.”
For Gundagai, the prospect of being short staffed against Brothers should have alarms ringing.
Although Brothers have won only one game (42-14 v Cootamundra), they drew 28-all with resurgent Kangaroos a fortnight ago and produced a rousing second half effort against Southcity last Saturday.
Blitzed 38-0 by Southcity in the first half, Brothers bounced back to outscore the Bulls 16-4 in the second 40 minutes.
While Brothers stirring recovery on the weekend got his notice, Smart is keeping his thoughts totalled centred on his team.
“We have to focus on ourselves, not the opposition,” Smart said. “It’s a cliché but we need to get back to doing the little things right.
“We have to complete our sets and get our defence right.”
Troubled the Tigers have “leaked too many points” in recent games, Smart is also “disappointed” with the discipline of the team after being heavily penalised 23-7 in their past two games.
