"I can't sit and watch... it's pretty much daylight torture."
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New Magpie Claude Gordon admits he has difficulty watching footy on the sidelines, but said that while he didn't attend Cowra's round one loss to Mudgee, he nevertheless experienced a different type of frustration.
"I'm spewing that I missed last week... [I'm] a bit filthy at myself," the half-back said, who was suspended for one match following what he described as a "barney" during the Bathurst Knockout.
Nevertheless, the former Dubbo Westside co-captain-coach admit if there's to be a positive, it will hopefully show when he makes his debut playing in Magpies stripes for premiership points.
"It's actually made me a bit keener... first game in the black and white... I'm pretty pumped," he said, adding that despite the 24-12 scoreline, he's confident that all that's needed is better first half intensity.
"Our start on the weekend wasn't good," he said.
Gordon also acknowledged the group's half-time "honesty session", believing it played a major part in the team's second-half fightback from a 20-0 deficit.
[We] showed a lot of the character in the second half," Gordon said, adding that the group believed that if missed opportunities were taken, the result may well have been different.
"That's a big effort considering the strike power we had out."
The Dubbo-based player also said that for Cowra to defeat this week's opponents, round one winners the Orange Hawks, the Magpies will need to set some clear goals to avoid what happened at Glen Willow.
"If we're good defensively I think we'll get the job done... If we can compete in the first 20 minutes and try to take a bit of energy out of them that'll set us up for the back end of the game."
While Gordon is looking forward taking on the Hawks, he added the long-distance commitment of travelling from Dubbo to Cowra for training is something that he's come to enjoy.
"The travel doesn't really bother me... it's good... it's given me time to sit back and reflect," he said.
As a former coach himself, he's also appreciated the mentorship of Kurt Hancock, who recently guided the under 18s Western Rams to a Daley Cup grand final appearance.
"It's hard to find his experience out this way," Gordon explained, believing his knowledge will prove crucial at season's end.
"'Hank's' a different level of coach... he's very smart... he's more concentrated on our game than the opposition.
"I think come the end of the year he'll go to another level."