Tallon Smith
Albury Thunder coach Etu Uaisele says he is focused on team performance rather than the competition ladder as the Border side hunts a second straight victory against the Wagga Brothers at Geohex Park on Sunday.
Albury ended a five-game losing run with a 20-16 victory over the Wagga Kangaroos at the same venue last Saturday, with Zak Mose scoring the decisive try in the closely-fought four tries to three encounter.
While the Thunder (3-7) still have an outside chance of playing finals this season should results fall their way in the final six rounds, Uaisele said he is more focused on consistent improvement than looking at the competition ladder.
“Everyone wants to play finals, but at the moment, I’m more just focusing on our team [doing] well for themselves,” he said.
“Half of our team haven’t played Group 9 before, and young Jacob [Tobok], he has never played Group 9.
“It is probably the first time he’s [had] to run a side in A-grade, and that is not easy, especially in Group 9.
“I want them to just play well and do their job every week, I’m not really fussed about finals at the moment.”
After consecutive losses to Junee, Temora, Tumut, Young and Southcity, last weekend’s victory over the Kangaroos was a welcome one for the Thunder, who lost star playmaker Paul Karaitiana to an injury in the Kelly Cup match pre-season, and had a number of player movements over the off-season.
The win elevated the side to six points, level with eighth-placed Tumut, and two wins behind fifth-placed Junee, one of a number of fellow finals contenders Albury will face in the remaining six rounds of the regular season.
Uaisele said the result gave his tight-knit side a reason to smile again, and reflected the hard work the squad has continued to put in throughout the season.
“It was probably a bit of a relief,” he said.
“The boys have been very close, [they have] been playing well the last couple of weeks.
“I know how hard they work, individually as well, and to get that win should give them a bit of confidence leading up to the second round of the season.
“To be honest I spoke to the boys in the last two weeks and because of what happened in the last couple of weeks [having] no half and injuries and that, I just wanted them to perform and get their game developed and work on whatever they needed to work on.
“To be honest, the result didn’t bother me, win or lose, I just wanted them to work on what they needed to work on and get better.
“I’ve seen them do a few things on the weekend that I’ve never seen them do before, and that’s offloading, late offloads and just trying a few things, and it [was] good to see the boys are actually playing freely.”
The Thunder’s clash with the Brothers kicks off at 2:35pm tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Sunday’s local derby between the Southcity Bulls and Wagga Kangaroos will carry extra meaning as the two sides contest the inaugural Pauly Simpson Memorial Shield.
As reported by The Daily Advertiser, the Bulls will wear special jerseys for the match, designed by Alison Simpson, and entitled ‘Passing Down Knowledge’.
Mr Simpson’s nephew and Southcity halfback Josh Siegwalt, along with his partner Shanae Freeman, will be among the players wearing the jerseys across all four grades, in what doubles as the club’s Indigenous Round.
Other rivalry round games will see Junee travel to Cootamundra and Gundagai square off with Tumut in a pair of Saturday games, while Young will host Temora in the remaining game Sunday.
CORRECTION: This story previously incorrectly stated that the Tumut-Gundagai game was on Sunday and Young v Temora on Saturday.
