The coveted Warner Tasker Cup is in play tomorrow when the Blighty Redeyes and arch rivals the Deniliquin Rovers go head-to head.
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The round 16 Picola League clash is being hosted by the Redeyes at the Blighty Recreation Reserve.
The cup clash was started in 2007 as a tribute to the late Warner Tasker, a passionate local footballer and administrator strongly associated with both clubs.
The cup is only up for grabs when the two senior sides meet for the first time each year.
Also up for grabs will be the Warner Tasker Memorial Medallion, awarded to the best on ground.
The Rovers have won the last five Warner Tasker Cups, with the run starting in 2018.
There was no cup clash in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Redeyes will be looking to end the streak in the seventeenth edition of the Cup.
Blighty senior coach Adrian Timmis has said the team, despite having two weeks off due to a league bye and a club bye, has been ravaged by injury.
There is particularly some soreness after the 208-point loss to Picola United in round 14.
“We’re struggling with several season-ending injuries following that Picola game,” Timmis said.
“Our skipper, Jack Charlton, is out as he did his back against Rennie.
“Our assistant coach Dane Leyden had his shoulder put out against Picola, so we’ve got several key outs.”
Timmis said the main challenge will be the disruption to the playing line-up, even with some of Blighty’s young players coming back in from Melbourne.
“It’s going to be tough, and it means a number of players will be playing out of position.
“We’ve got a couple back from Melbourne, 16-year-old Ari Glover and Zac Chapman included, who will hopefully provide run from the backline.”
In his first year as Redeyes head coach, Timmis said he is a newcomer to the Warner Tasker Cup.
But he said he’s been informed of the significance of the match.
“I’m new to it all this year, but we’re looking forward to it.
“It sounds like we’ll get a good crowd, which helps with everything.
“Hopefully, our guys should be energised by that.”
In this cup clash and despite the injuries, Timmis said the game plan remains the same.
He is looking for a ‘backs-to-the-wall’ performance from the side.
“We’ll see how we go as we’ll likely have guys doubling up again, which is tough.
“Our style should be the way it’s always been.
“The guys playing are ones who have been training, and our main concern is executing that in the game.”
With the cup clash crucial for Deni’s finals hopes, Rovers coach Alex Hay wants to see some match improvement from his charges.
“I like a few of the good clichés, especially when we’re talking about trusting the process.
“There are some fundamentals to our game, and if we bring those consistently and to a high standard, then we can be happy with a performance - win, lose or draw.
“Our consistency has wavered a little bit week to week but obviously, the next three games will determine the outcome of our season.”
The Rovers are coming off a 44-point loss against Katamatite from last week.
Hay said the team’s forward entry and an inability to capitalise of chances contributed to the result.
“It was disappointing not to have finished our work off as well as we would have liked,” he said.
“I thought that throughout the whole game, we worked really hard to create some opportunities that would have really had us in the game.
“Like each week, the focus was on our pressure and press, which we were able to execute.
Unfortunately, against good teams, when you don’t take your chances and it goes the other way, the game can get out of touch pretty quickly.
“If we can clean up this area of our game, it’ll go a long way to seeing some improvement towards the end of the year.”
Hay said despite the ladder differences between the Rovers (eighth) and Blighty (14th), the outcome of the cup clash can never be predicted.
He said both sides tend to play up a level, which is what his team will need to bring this weekend.
“There’s generally not much motivation needed when we come up against Blighty, especially when we’re playing for the Warner Tasker Cup.
“It is a special occasion for a number of reasons, namely the history between the two clubs and the people that have made so much of a contribution to each.
“I’ve been lucky enough to play in a number of these games, and what’s most exciting is that it doesn’t matter where each team is situated on the ladder.
“It’s always an extremely contested game of footy.
“We’re under no illusion that we need to be at our absolute best to give ourselves a chance of winning the game.”