INVERELL Saints coach Nick Baird said the team just did not turn up to play when they went down (8.6 54) to the Tamworth Kangaroos (15.14 104) last weekend, and said that was very unfortunate just a couple of weeks out from the finals.
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“The plus side for us was that the result didn’t matter,” he said
“The boys just didn’t fire on the day and it was pretty miserable conditions for football and the Roos played very good football that we just couldn’t counter.”
Baird said it was not a great result but there were still plenty of positives to take into this weekend and into the finals.
“Our motto at the Saints, when we pull on the jumper is that we want to do the best we can,” he said.
Saints have beaten the Kangaroos on a couple of occasions this season so their defeat may have come as a bit of an upset by some of their supporters. Baird said possibly the Saints lacked a bit of attitude on the day.
“I hope that that was the bit of a kick up the backside that we needed, coming into the finals. Obviously we were coming in off a bit of a high from the weeks before, beating the Nomads,” Baird said.
The last of the round games will be played this weekend and then this season is into the finals. Saints play Narrabri in Tamworth and it may not be an easy match because Narrabri have had a very good year and will be looking towards their final due the following week.
“Narrabri are fourth, and again the result has no influence on our final bearings, so it’ll be a good opportunity to get a few things right and improve on a few things from last week,” Baird said.
Saints are guaranteed second position on the ladder, which means they will play the major semi-finals in Armidale against the Nomads on Saturday, August 30.
They will be keen to replicate their most recent performance against the side that is seen by many as the favourite in this season’s competition.