0
By RugbyWA Media
Contributors: Josh Zimmerman
A resurgent Cottesloe travels to Tompkins Park this Saturday with its season in the balance as they face a Palmyra side desperate to hang on to its place in the top four.
The next three weeks will either make or break Cottesloe's season with Associates and Wanneroo following their clash with Paly. All three teams sit between the Seagulls and a spot in the top four, but with only four points separating them, Cott know that they are very much in control of where they finish in 2011.
The closeness of this year's tournament is highlighted by the fact that despite losing five games in a row (none of last year's finalists lost more than four times in the regular season) a bonus point victory could see Cottesloe move in to fourth if both Associates and Wanneroo lose.
“We're not thinking that far ahead because there are three teams ahead of us and they would all need to lose for that to happen,” said Cottesloe Coach Ian Fowler.
“The way we're looking at it is we play those three teams in the next three weeks and so our destiny is in our own hands.
“We've approached this game fairly similarly to the way we have the last three, the guys realise the position that we're in on the table and what impact a loss would have.
“This week is the first of a few really important games with Palmyra sitting in fourth place which is a position that we're chasing.”
Cottesloe beat Palmyra 22 -11 in the first clash between these sides in round five although it was a tough game and a lot closer than the eventual score line suggested, and Fowler is expecting more of the same.
“They've got a very strong forward pack who are well drilled,” he said.
“They carry the ball strongly and work hard at the breakdown and they've got pace and ability out wide so they're a pretty well balanced and well coached team and we'll have to be at our best to get the points off them.”
Palmyra has been hot and cold all season and have neither lost nor won more than two consecutive games. Holding onto fourth by a solitary point, John Taylor's side is looking to build some consistency and breathing space in the top half of the ladder.
That starts with not falling in to the trap of underestimating Cottesloe this weekend despite the fact that two of the Seagulls' three recent wins have come over the competition's ninth and tenth placed sides (Rockingham and Kalamunda).
“This year there are no weak teams,” said Taylor.
“Any team can beat anyone else on the day as evidenced by the closeness of the ladder so picking up three wins in a row is impressive and definitely due more to Cottesloe playing well than to who they've been playing.”
Palmyra faces the possibility of falling all the way back to seventh should they lose although Taylor says it is not a scenario he has given any thought too.
“I don't worry about things like that, our destiny is in our own hands and we've just got to prepare well, and as I said last week, get our processes right and hopefully the results will take care of themselves,” he said.
“All we worry about is what we can do on the weekend so we're just going to go out there and play our game and hopefully have a win.”
Following last weekend's dramatic loss to University there is one thing his side has been paying extra attention to:
“Stopping drop goals in the last minute!” he said with a laugh.
http://www.rugbywa.com.au/NewsEvents...0/Default.aspx