Gundagai are looking to put a horror last round performance behind them ahead of their must win semi-final.
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The Tigers were thrashed by Albury on the border on Sunday and have been left to lick their wounds after the 48-16 loss.
Watching on from the sidelines, injured coach James Smart admitted it was far from the ideal preparation heading into the clash with Junee.
“It wasn’t pretty,” Smart said.
Forward power could be a concern heading into the elimination final at Anzac Park on Sunday.
Matt Henery didn’t take his place at Greenfield due to a knee complaint while Joel Field and Dylan Murdoch both didn’t finish the clash with leg problems as well.
With three front row options in doubt it doesn’t bode well.
Smart is unclear of just how bad their problems are.
“I’m not really sure and we will just have to wait until we get to training on (Tuesday) night to see how the boys are,” he said.
“Fingers crossed they won’t all be out injured and we can get some guys back.”
They aren’t the only ones with niggling problems heading into the start of the finals series.
However Smart is one who is expected to return to take on the Diesels.
He’s missed the last three games after injuring his knee when the team’s last met.
Smart is handing over the coaching reins and with his future up in the air it could be his last game for the Tigers.
He’ll be named at fullback.
Despite a big loss to a Thunder outfit who finished in seventh place, Smart just wants to focus on what lies ahead.
“It is not the way we wanted to go into the semis, but we’ve put it behind it us,” he said.
“We just want to play well this Sunday.”
Both sides scored wins against each other on their respective home grounds this season.
The Diesels scored a comfortable win in round six at Laurie Daley Oval before the Tigers hit back in impressive fashion.
However the two sides come into the clash with different form lines.
Junee qualified for the top four with a big second half performance over Young, and were only beaten by Southcity in the last 10 minutes before that, but Smart has faith the team can respond.
“I know we are a better team than what we showed on Sunday,” he said.
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