VALLEYS OUT TO REGAIN FOCUS
RUGBY LEAGUE: While the TRL minor premiership appears out of reach, Valleys are focused on getting back on the horse ahead of the finals.
The Roosters went down in a thriller to rivals Wattles last weekend, putting them two wins behind the Warriors on the ladder with just three rounds to play.
Despite the setback, coach Brett Seymour is hoping the side can make amends when they host Gatton at Herb Steinohrt Oval.
“Our preparation (for tomorrow) has been pretty good,” Seymour said.
“We’re licking our wounds a touch from last week, but not too downhearted with the result.
“It was a good game of footy and both had the chance of sealing it. There always has to be a loser. What we’re focused on is putting a few things back in order.
“We’ve never really targeted it (minor premiership), we’ve been taking it week by week.
“We have had so many changes throughout the year so it has been hard to set a long term goal and our roster been changing a lot.”
Tomorrow’s opponents were out of the finals, but Seymour knows better than to take the Hawks lightly.
“If there was a top six Gatton would well and truly inside that,” he said.
“They’re a finals quality side and they’ve had a couple of tight results they missed out on throughout the year.
“They are a good side and we have to watch them early. They have a fair few points in them.
“They definitely have a big set of boys that get their sets rolling through the middle.”
Valleys have felt the pinch of injuries over the last month or so, and had just one player on the bench at one stage during their loss to Wattles, including the big loss of Jason Sharpe.
“Jason Sharpe has a broken foot and is in a boot for six weeks,” he said.
“It looks like his season could potentially be over. He’s been one of our best all year.”
Gatton remain largely unchanged as they look to finish the season on a high, with regular hooker Daniel Marsh not named to take the field.