MID North Coast Sharks know they face an uphill task at this year’s national titles at Coffs Harbour.
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A clash in the calendar between the tournament and the touch football State Cup mean the Sharks women’s 27 and over team won’t be at full-strength.
Co-captain Laura Cudmore conceded they had been better prepared leading up to previous tournaments, but could still ruffle a few feathers this year.
“Our success at State Cup this year showed everybody that we can be successful,” she said.
“We’re not the flashiest team or the team with the best players when we get there, but our commitment to training and the effort we put in shows we can match it with the best.”
In March this year, they suffered more heartache when defeated 3-2 in extra time by South Sydney in the State Cup grand final.
Matches have been few and far between for a large portion of the Sharks side since their defeat to South Sydney.
“After State Cup and making the grand final it’s going to be a big ask (to back it up) because ACT are back to full strength with five or six Aussie players back,” Cudmore said.
Gleeson won’t play at Coffs Harbour due to coaching commitments at the touch football.
Adding further challenges to the Sharks quest for success is the change in zones which will see Sydney powerhouses Cronulla and South Sydney field a combined team.
“It will be a lot harder this year and as long as we go away and are happy with the way we play the result won’t really matter,” Cudmore aid.
“It could just be a building tournament; it happens to teams so we can get ready for next year.”
The Sharks quest for a quarter-final berth could be made even more difficult with the team potentially being drawn in a seven-team pool.
Should that happen, there would be no quarter-finals.
“You’ll go straight into semis which means you have to be top four to make the Sunday,” Cudmore said.
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