Moree Suns have been bumped down to seventh place on the AFL North West 2018 ladder after a disappointing loss to Narrabri Eagles on Saturday.
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Down a couple of players due to injury and absence, the Suns struggled against the home side, which got up 16.9-105 to 8.9-57.
Senior men’s player Ash Jones said not only do the Suns always struggle to get numbers for away games, but their players could not keep up with the fitter Narrabri side.
“They had a full bench and their fitness was better than ours,” he said.
With seven new players starting for Moree on Saturday, Jones said match experience was another downfall.
“There was some bad handling and bad decisions, and we had a fair few calls go against us in the first quarter,” he said.
Young players Nick Fisher and Tyson Green had good games on Saturday, with Nick winning the Assef’s coaches award and player’s player, while Tyson was Narrabri’s pick of the game.
The win was Narrabri’s first for the season and Jones believes it’ll be a much closer match-up when Moree hosts them in the next round “when we have a full-strength side”.
The Suns will host last year’s premiers Gunnedah Bulldogs this Saturday at Taylor Oval, which will also see the women take on the Inverell Saints.
Jones said Gunnedah is always a tough side, however the Suns are expecting to have good numbers this week after their getting their biggest turnout to training all year on Tuesday.
“Gunnedah always seem to travel really well,” he said.
“But hopefully we can get a few good players come back and give it to them. Hopefully we can bounce back after the loss and get a few more wins under our belt.”
The women’s game will kick off at 12pm on Saturday, followed by the senior men’s at 2pm.