TAREE captain-coach Jordan Howard has called on his players to show more commitment as the club prepares for four games that will decide their chances of qualifying for the Football Mid North Coast Premier League final five.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Howard said there's no fault with the effort on game day. However, attendances at training in the past few weeks have been inconsistent.
"That's disappointing,'' he said.
"We need players there so we can work on structure. There's been a big drop in numbers in the last couple of weeks and we need that to improve.''
Howard conceded there are players away for work. But there's also a worrying number of no-shows.
"We've had a pretty disrupted month with a bye and a free weekend. But we have some big games coming and we need more commitment if we're going to make the five,'' he said.
The Wildcats are on 14 points with Kempsey Saints and Camden Haven in the battle for fifth place on the ladder. The top four clubs have pulled clear.
Taree faces fourth placed Macleay Valley on Saturday at Kempsey while they head back to the Macleay next weekend for the deferred game first round game against Kempsey Saints. Then the Wildcats play Camden Haven and Tuncurry-Forster.
"If we can win three of those matches it should pretty well wrap up fifth spot,'' Howard said.
The Wildcats will be without Lucas Mepham and Callum Griffis this week. Howard said the experienced duo of Matt Collier and Josh Bithrey will be capable replacements.
The game won't start until 6pm as Optus Park will be required for representative fixtures earlier in the day.
"This will be our only night game for the year so I'm hoping my players will treat it as an occasion,'' Howard said.
Related:
He added if the Wildcats can come home with at least a share of the points it will make their quest to finish in the top five that much easier.
"Macleay's a physical team, especially up there,'' he added.