Cowra prop Blake Tidswell is enjoying his role in 2018 – run hard and tackle hard.
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Tidswell last week received huge praise from Magpies coach Steve Sutton who labelled him one of the best front rowers in Group 10, alongside Bathurst St Pat’s Zac Merritt.
The Magpies enforcer says a fitness boost and playing under Sutton are two of the main factors behind his improvement this season.
The 27-year-old was coached by Sutton in the under-18s, and was on the Magpies roster when Sutton coached Cowra to the Group 10 decider in 2014.
“I’ve worked more on my fitness this year compared to previous years and I’ve always had success under Sutto. Other than that I don’t think much has changed,” Tidswell said.
Lining up with some of the best attacking players in the Group has also helped.
Carrying the ball into areas of the field where the likes of Warren Williams, Joey Bugg and Jeremy Gordon can exploit rival defences, and slowing down the opposition forwards are Tidswell’s main areas of concern.
“It’s about getting to where those guys want to be. They’ll put the icing on the cake. It’s our job to slow down the opposition then go forward,” he said.
The Magpies will be without star fullback Jeremy Gordon and winger Cal Clyburn is in doubt for Sunday’s game at Mudgee.
Lee McClintock will shift from the centres to fullback with Desi Doolan getting the call up to the starting side, while Caley Mok is on standby if Clyburn succumbs to a hamstring injury.
Victory would mark a fourth straight victory for the swoopers one week from the halfway point of the season.
Tidswell’s hoping the Magpies can string a further two victories together in the next fortnight and maintain a spot in the top two.
“Mudgee’s hard you don’t hear a lot about them but they’re always tough at home. It usually fast paced across the park. I think Jack Afamasaga is playing and he’s a handful. If we can control it in the middle we should be right,” Tidswell said.
“If we can get two more wins against Mudgee and Lithgow we’ll be second if not better going into the second round.”
The match is set for a 2pm kick-off at Glen Willow Stadium on Sunday.
Cowra: 1 Lee McClintock, 2 Callum Clyburn, 3 Bradyn Cassidy, 4 Desi Doolan, 5 Zac Browne, 6 Warren Williams, 7 Joseph Bugg, 8 Ronald Lawrence, 9 Benji John, 10 Blake Tidswell, 11 Mitch Browne, 12 Josh Rainbow ©, 13 Jay McClintock. 14 Toby Apps, 15 Will Ingram, 16 Zach Starr
