After thumping the Oberon Tigers 38-6 in round one of this season’s Group 10 competition the Cowra Magpies will this Sunday make the road trip to Tiger town hopeful of continuing their current winning streak.
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The Magpies are sitting second on the Group 10 competition ladder after nine rounds of the competition and head to Oberon with a full strength side for the first time since round 5.
The Magpies have also been boosted by the inclusion of front row forward Travis Wanninara.
Coach Steve Sutton said Wanninara, who has played for Blayney and St Pats in recent years, is likely to debut in First Division and come off the bench in Premier League.
Sutton described Wanninara’s signing as “a bit of a bonus at this time of year, especially to pick up a forward”.
The best defensive outfit in the competition, the Magpies have conceded, on average, just 14.4 points a game while their attacking prowess sees them averaging 27.6 points a game.
This sees them with a points differential of 119, far in excess of any of their rivals.
Sutton puts the improvement from the Cowra Magpies this year down to player strength and fitness.
“And some of the younger blokes are starting to realise what it takes to be a first grade footballer,” Sutton said.
“Then you throw in Jeremy Gordon, Joe Bugg and the likes and it makes a massive difference.
“The players are fitter too, we’ve done a fair bit of work on their fitness and it’s paying dividends.”
With their sights firmly set on a top two spot Sutton sees a good spirit in the Magpie camp.
“The players all want to play and all want to play for each other, they can sense something building,” Sutton said.
In the minor grades the Cowra First Division side, which currently sits just one point outside the top 4, will look to enhance its finals prospects with an Oberon side also needing a win.
With the Premier Division side at full strength the First Division side will also be at its strongest for some time ready to make a run towards the finals.
The under 18s also need a win to turn their season around as do the League Tag girls who are sitting in the bottom half of the competition.
The likely Cowra side is: 1 Jeremy Gordon, 2 Caley Mok, 3 Bradyn Cassidy, 4 Lee McClintock, 5 Zac Browne, 6 Warren Williams, 7 Joseph Bugg, 8 Ronald Lawrence, 19 Benji John, 10 Blake Tidswell, 11 Mitch Browne, 12 Josh Rainbow ©, 13 Jay McClintock.
