W/dhopeful ofseeingout theseason

Waysiders/drumpellier are hopeful of getting to the end of the season unscathed, and intend to use the winter break to get players back.

General manager Gerry Brankin says they’re still missing four or five key players in Tennent’s West League 2, but getting them back, coupled with a bit of form, means they’re confident.

That wasn’t the case a few weeks ago, and Brankin is well aware that another postponement due to lack of players could see them kicked out of the league.

But he says returning players could make all the difference to the Langloan club.

After losing 24-3 at home to Dalziel, Brankin said:“we managed to get a full squad together, which was good, but we had to call on some of the older players.

“I think the break has come at the right time for us.

“We’ve still got four or five long-term injuries and I’m hopeful that they’ll be back for the beginning of January when the season restarts – they will make the difference.

“We just don’t have a big enough squad that we can afford to lose these guys longer-term.

“We can’t afford to run with, say, nine long-term injuries, but we will see out the season, we’re hopeful of that, now.

“A couple of weeks ago I wasn’t quite as confident, because the next time we’re short of bodies the league can kick us out, if they so desire.”

Brankin enjoyed Saturday’s game and isn’t too disappointed with the result, because he says it could have been heavier.

“We actually played a lot better than the result suggests,”he said.

“They missed a couple of early penalties, and it was a right, good, hard game after that.

“They were just a little bit better than us, but we put in some good tackles, the guys all stood up to the mark.

“It’s disappointing that we lost, but to be honest it could have been a heavier defeat – a couple of‘interesting’ refereeing decisions went our way.

“They should have had a penalty try and we should have had one of our props sent off.

“We’re pleased with the performance, disappointed with the result, but not overly so.

“It was filthy conditions – towards the end of the game we were struggling to tell who was who.”