Morningside coach John Blair can be forgiven for watching the representative weekend with a touch of apprehension.
Tuesday 8 June 2010
Morningside coach John Blair can be forgiven for watching the representative weekend with a touch of apprehension.
The reigning premiership coach has seen his largely home-grown squad get torn apart by injuries over the opening nine weeks of the season, yet remarkably the Panthers still sit in second place on the premiership table with a 7-2 record.
“It would have been lovely to have the total week off for everybody but we could have five players in the senior State team and three or four others in the Under 21s, so only half a side will get the rest,” Blair admitted.
Providing his prime movers including Paul Shelton, Damien Bonney, Austin Lucy, Aarron Rogers and Mark Kimball get through the State clash with Tasmania if selected, Blair and his charges will re-load for a strong assault on the second half of the season.
Grogan Medallist Nathan Kinch, underrated defender Jarrod Price, and matchwinning small forward Sam Brown are all poised to return after the break.
“We could have played a couple of them at a pinch last weekend but we thought we would given them one more week plus the bye and get them really right – it’s a no-risk policy,” Blair said
The Panthers weren’t hurt by taking the conservative approach with their players’ health, putting the Western Magpies to the sword by 98 points in Toowoomba and overtaking Labrador in second place on percentage.
“You have to be happy with where we are sitting after all that has occurred,” Blair said. “It has let us get some game time into kids and allowed us to ‘bring on’ some so-called second tier players in onball roles.”
The week off will also give gifted midfielder Ryan Holman the chance to work on the hamstring tightness that saw him miss a State berth.
