When Round 16 of the Group 9 competition kicks off tomorrow, Albury Thunder and Gundagai Tigers will be playing for their seasons.
The Temora Dragons have claimed the Minor Premiership, while the Wagga Kangaroos (2), Tumut Blues (3), and Young Cherrypickers (4), and are guaranteed a shot at the finals.
Interest now lies in the battle for fifth position, and with only one round remaining, the ball is in Albury’s half of the field. The Thunder are currently in fifth position and ahead of the sixth-placed Tigers on for-and-against.
Both teams face challenging away trips in Round 16, with Albury visiting the red-hot Wagga Kangaroos at McDonald’s Park on Sunday.
At the same time, Gundagai will visit Harris Park when taking on a tricky South City Bulls outfit that has found some form at the back end of the season.
It’s a simple equation for Albury – win and play finals or lose and risk Gundagai leapfrogging them on the ladder.
Thunder coach and former NRL star, Justin Carney, will take a depleted outfit into Sunday’s match against the high-flying ‘Roos, but they’ll be leaving everything out on the field.
“We are still struggling with troops, injuries and so forth, but we’ve just got to get out there and give it our best shot,” Carney said.
“It’s a must-win game for us, and it’s on us to win.”
Albury knows what it takes to beat the Kangaroos after registering a 24-18 win over the Wagga side in Round Seven.
“We’ll go out there to play our game instead of their game like we did when we knocked them off here earlier in the season,” Carney said.
“They couldn’t play to their strengths. We play a lot more physical style, and we’ve got bigger men, and we were able to stop their momentum, which stopped their fast players from getting into the match.”
Carney wasn’t playing down the Wagga forward pack, but he explained that his side had a clear game plan heading into the much-hyped fixture.
“They have got some physical guys, too, and they’ll be up for it, but we’ll go out there to bash them and stop them from getting any momentum and giving Rosey (Nathan Rose) and Latrell (Siegwalt) any room.
“It all comes down to winning the first 20 (minutes); if we can do that, it will set us up with a good chance of winning.”
Injuries have cruelled Albury’s campaign, and while Carney admitted it had been challenging, he said qualifying for finals would be a pass mark for his playing group.
“If we had our full squad for all the season, I’ve got no doubt we’d be up there, so to still be up there and a chance of making finals is massive for us,” Carney said.
“We did say at the start of the year that it was a building year, and if we get to the finals, that would be great.”
Carney, who’s committed to a three-year coaching term on the border, hopes this year’s success is a good platform that Albury can build on in 2024 and beyond.
“Success comes after people and players are happy, and the club has turned things around,” Carney said.
“We might have four teams playing next year, and we all train together, and the comradery of the group is unreal.
“We haven’t got the results we necessarily wanted, but everyone is still smiling and happy, and we’re building a good core group of players.
“If you look at successful clubs like Tumut, Gundagai, and Temora, their core group of players have been together for a long time, and combinations come with time, and we haven’t quite got that yet, but we’re a brand-new side, and that’s what we’ll be working towards.”
All eyes will be on Round 16 of the Group 9 competition, and for tables and draws, click here.
