PORT Pirates coach Stewart Robertson will have the advantage of a full-strength squad at his disposal for Saturday’s clash with Hastings Valley Vikings.
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The match at Stuart Park will be Pirates’ first since they played Kempsey on May 21.
Fullback Rohan Lisle said the home side would go into the match as underdogs.
The key to defeating the ever-consistent Vikings was with their discipline.
“We need good continuity from the side because we’ve been good for 50 or 60 minutes every week, but that needs to be for longer this weekend,” Lisle said.
Lisle missed the first derby this season on April 16 when Vikings ran away with the match in the second half after both sides were locked at 10-all at the break.
“I didn’t play in the first one, but I know it was close for a long time,” he said.
“We haven’t beaten them for about two years so we need to step up this weekend.”
Coach Robertson expects Lisle to provide direction from the back.
“He’s an older statesman so I’m expecting him to come up with the consistent level of football he’s been playing this year,” he said.
He was quietly confident of a positive result on Saturday.
“Last time we played them it was our concentration that let us down in the second half.”
Vikings will welcome back second-rower Ben Pursell who has been away in the United States for the last six weeks.
He knows Pirates will ensure he knows he’s no longer on holidays at 3pm.
“Local derbies are always good contests and no one wants to lose,” he said.
“I’ve kept a little bit of an eye on how the boys have been going while I’ve been on holidays so I know they’ve been in good form, but that means nothing this weekend.”
Coach Mark Howard acknowledged Pirates would play his side at a good time with Adam McCormack, David Tunstead and Tom Hetherington all missing.
He said it was pleasing to see the return of Pursell into the side.
“It’s a shame to lose those experienced fellas, but the workload Benny gets through is enormous so it’s going to be good to get him back.”
Vikings depth is likely to be tested.
“It’s these sorts of games where we want to call on the young blokes to do a job for us because it’s rewarding as a club to see them step up,” Howard said.
“It’s going to be another grind for us.”
Howard wanted his side to build on their last match.
“It’s more about keeping the ship steady because we started playing the way we like to play against Kempsey,” he said.
