The Macleay Valley Rangers play their first Mid North Coast Football match on home soil against the Taree Wildcats this Saturday.
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First grade coach Dean Riordan is hopeful he won’t be forced to make any changes to the side that earned a 6-0 victory over Wauchope in the opening round of the competition, but first they will have to come out of their Thursday night FFA Cup fixture against Forster/Tuncurry Tigers without any injuries.
“I will be making four or five changes for the FFA Cup game to give a few of the other boys a taste of first grade,” Riordan said.
“We have a lot of depth at the club this year and it will hopefully be a positive – keep players fighting for positions in the first grade side.”
Sam Potter, Michael McCarthy, Jesse Polzon, Justin Crockford and Brett Morn were the players selected to step up into first grade.
“They are all good players and have been knocking on the door of first grade. They played a few games for us during the pre-season,” Riordan said.
Riordan said the FFA Cup is great to be a part of during the pre-season, but the postponement of the match due to the weather has lead to it becoming a distraction.
He said the he will be happy for the side to earn the victory but he would prefer to focus on winning matches in the Premier League.
The FFA Cup fixture will mean the Rangers will play two games in three days, but their opponents for Saturday are in the same boat, also playing an FFA Cup match on Thursday night.
The Rangers missed out on competing in the finals series last season and despite the early success his side is having, Riordan still believes they have a lot to prove.
“It is always a tough match against the Wildcats, they are a strong side and have a similar style to us,” he said.
“They have the golden boot winner from last year and they are a dangerous attacking side.
“The Forster side they beat last week will be up there in the top two or three on the ladder so they have proved they will be hard to beat.”
The Rangers play their next three matches on home soil and have a bye in round 4.
The three senior grades will compete on Saturday with third grade kicking off proceedings, followed by reserves and then first grade.
