Merriwa Magpies prepare for Aberdeen
BY ALEX TIGANI
Can they go back-to-back?
Merriwa Magpies president Ben Robins has warned supporters not to read too much into his side’s previous defeats to the Aberdeen Tigers ahead of this week’s preliminary final.
He believes his line-up was ‘ordinary’ in their 10-8 defeat in Round 6 before they were again outdone in this month’s 20-8 loss despite being only having one player on the bench.
“We were playing boys busted as well so it was a bit of a turnaround because we had to dig deep, they only just got away from us towards the game so we weren’t too displeased,” Robins told The Hunter River Times.
The 2019 premiers then celebrated a 30-18 win against Greta Branxton and then celebrated a whopping 38-0 minor semi-final win against the Colts on Saturday.
The Magpies will now welcome back John Whitby, 2021 reserve grade player of the year, who celebrated the birth of his first child last week.
He will reunite with front rower Ben Waugh who was named players’ player despite a recent back injury.
“We believe we can beat anyone, as long as we worry about what we have to do and not worry about Aberdeen,” he concluded.