THE Berry Magpies know they need to start winning some games, but they are not about to push the panic button just yet.
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Their coach Nathan Benney is hoping a win is not too far off and would love for it to come this weekend when they take on Jamberoo at Kevin Walsh Oval.
After a week off due to the representative round, Benney is hoping all the niggling injuries have healed and they will be back and feeling rejuvenated when they take on the Superoos.
Having not seen Jamberoo play this season, Benney said he can only go on last season and expects it to be tough, just like any other game in the competition.
“They’re not a big side like Warilla or Shellharbour, they like to move the ball around and spread it out a bit, so we will need to be ready for that,” he said.
“It’s definitely one of those games we need to win and I know it will be tough, but it’s not unachievable,” he added.
With the competition being so close, Benney said it is very important for them to start winning games sooner, rather than later.
“Now we’ve got four or five teams that have slipped out in front and we need to start catching up soon, or it will just get bigger and bigger and if we leave it too long, it might get too big,” he said.
“We really need to get the numbers up soon and not put ourselves under too much pressure at the end of the season.
“There are still plenty of games to go, but we certainly need some wins under our belt.
“To be honest, we’re still pretty enthusiastic, but also a bit conscious, because we realise how quickly things can slip if we don’t start winning.”
There will be a few changes to the Magpies team that took the field against Shellharbour two weeks ago, with a couple of injuries forcing a re-shuffle.
Winger Brent Marando has been named to return after some time on the sidelines, pushing Rory McCall into the centres, in place of the injured Blake Harris-Davis.
Josh Holland will move from the bench into the starting side at front row, to replace Blaine Rosz, who has been ruled out with concussion.
The concussion rule has been under the microscope at NRL level recently and Benney agreed it is better to be safe than sorry.
“The concussion rule has been a very contentious point of late and with good reason,” he said.
“You’ve got to be careful and if the doctor says that’s what’s best for him, we need to put his safety first.”
The re-shuffle will allow Joel Webeck to keep his spot on the wing, with the only new face likely to be on the interchange bench.