The Maitland Blacks welcome skipper Carl Manu back from overseas travel and fly-half Pat Batey into the starting line-up for Saturday's crucial clash against in-form Wanderers at Passmore Oval on Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It's some relief for Blacks coach Matt Thomas who has been trying to manage a growing injury list over recent weeks.
Batey scored the winning try last week against Lake Macquarie after coming on in the second-half. He had returned from injury through second grade earlier in the day.
Thomas would love all his troops fit and firing for the clash, but will be without Michael Howell, Alastair Fraser, Chris Logan and Chris Martin.
"Wanderers are probably the most in-form team in the competition at the moment," Thomas said.
"They are slowly chipping away. They play a high, up-tempo game and it's up to us to concentrate on our own style and game this week.
"Carl (Manu) is back, Pat Batey will come into 10 and Lachie (Bradford) will go back to 15.
"I would just like the rest of the players to come back from injury so we can start to concentrate on our timing within the game.
"Our forwards have been so dominant, we just need our backs to get some consistency in the back of the season because the line-up has been chopped and changed every week through injury.
"I am going to put a bit of an emphasis on the backs this week to really start lifting their game and performing.
"They're just a little bit off where we need them to be.
"We are dropping too much ball out there.
"When you commit those sort of fundamental errors we are releasing the pressure of the opposition and we can't afford to do that."
Hooker Phil Bradford and No.8 Travis Brooke were again among Maitland's best last week and celebrated with call-up into the NSW Country representative team.
Thomas said the emphasis would be again on sticking to the game plans and putting into operation the specific strategies for Wanderers.
"We rate ourselves as a chance, it is up to how we perform.
"We need to stick to our game plan, we are getting better at that overall and then it's implementing the specific plans each week."
Meanwhile, Maitland Blacks fullback Emma Bradford has been named in the NSW Country women's team. She joins her brother Phil, who was named in the men's team on the weekend, in the rep ranks.
