KANGAROOS captain-coach Adam Hall believes the Wagga team is well within reach of achieving an ambitious goal set before the start of the season.
At a time when he is undecided about his coaching plans for next year, Hall is absolutely convinced Kangaroos can secure a coveted top three position on the Group Nine table.
“It’s definitely realistic,” Hall said.
“Our biggest losses this year have been against Southcity and Gundagai, but that’s when we were still coming together as a team.
“We can certainly get there.”
Heading into the last five weeks of the home and away series, Kangaroos are fourth on the ladder, but equal with third-place Southcity on 18 points.
There is, however, a logjam of teams behind Roos, with Cootamundra (17), Young (16) and Albury (16) also in the finals queue.
With the tension mounting, Hall says Kangaroos can not only hold their place, but push further up the table.
“The minor premiership is probably out of the equation I’d say,” Hall said.
“Gundagai is going well and looks the team to beat, but I think we can definitely get into the top three.
“The retention committee set that goal before we started and we’re on target.”
Hall knows Roos will need to win a minimum four of their remaining five games to get a top three finish which carries a significant bonus.
The team finishing second will get a “home” qualifying final against the third-ranked team, with the loser to stay around for the following week.
In contrast, the fourth versus fifth elimination final has no safety net, and the loser is dumped out.
Starting with Sunday’s clash with winless Tumbarumba at Equex Centre, Hall is adamant Roos must stay masters of their own destiny.
“We’ve gone along all year worrying just about ourselves,” he said.
“We can’t change now, and we can’t have an effect on what the other teams do either.”
For Hall, the remaining two months of the season will be a time for weighing up his future.
“At this stage I don’t know whether I want to coach next year,” he said.
“This is crunch time (for Roos) and I just want to play good footy and handle the coaching side of things as well.
“I’m undecided (about 2016).”
A gifted playmaker, Hall has built Roos from the floor up, turning a young team into a genuine premiership contender.
Fresh from the bye, Roos will have gun Eddie Lagaali back from injury on Sunday, with Gordon Lagaali dropping out of the team because of a groin problem.
