The next two weeks marks a golden chance for the Dubbo Rhinos to get its spluttering season back on track.
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It’s been a tough few weeks for the men in black and and gold, with a number of players having to back and play both second and first grade in heavy back-to-back away losses to the Blowes Clothing Cup’s top two sides, Forbes Platypi and Orange Emus.
On Saturday, the Rhinos return home to Caltex Park to take on a CSU Bathurst side which is yet to win this season while that is followed by a clash with the Mudgee Wombats, a team with just one win to its name.
“We’ve got the two tough games out of the way and we’ve spoken about rebounding,” Rhinos coach Dave Stuart said.
“The boys are keen to make amends but last time we played CSU it was a tough game but we managed to win but I expect them to be strong again and they would have improved.”
Boosting the Rhinos’ chances is the expected return of both Ricky Weatherall and Jovilisi ‘Tiger’ Tawake to a backline which has been targeted by opposition sides in recent teams.
Both the Platypi and Emus ran around the Rhinos on a number of occasions and racked up the points but Stuart is hopeful of a better defensive performance out wide against the Emus.
The coach is keen to see a better all-round effort to help end a five-game losing streak.
“It’s important to get back to our ways and beat them teams we have previously beaten and a win would be a boost for the confidence and, like I’ve said before, we just want to take some positives from it,” he said.
“We’re looking to stay around that middle of the table and then with a few blokes back and a couple of wins we can push at the end of the year but we’re not looking too far yet.”
While targeting the games against CSU and Mudgee as matches his side can win, having beaten both earlier this season, Stuart is careful not to be overconfident.
The Wombats scored their first win of the season last week while the students, despite being beaten every week this season, continues to turn up and put in from the first whistle until the last and they also see this weekend’s match as a winnable one.
“We started off with a bang but then we dropped off but hopefully we can get back on track,” Stuart said.
“I’ve been saying to the boys all year we can’t take any side for granted and if you don’t turn up with the right attitude then you won’t win.”
There has been a better showing at training recently, in another positive for the club, while last season’s captain Brett Austin is getting close to his first appearance of the year after suffering a knee injury in pre-season while winger James Vaughan is also closing in on a return.
Kick off is 3.15pm.