Pirates co-coach Mick Squires plans to shake up the side with player changes ahead of a big away clash against undefeated Gunnedah next round, after the reigning premiers slumped to back-to-back losses.
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Moree beat Pirates 48-31 at Ken Chillingworth Oval on Saturday, with Squires admitting that the performance - particularly in the first half - was not good enough
However, he said it was not "panic stations" - meaning he would not be tempted to select his injured skipper, Conrad Starr, before he was ready.
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Pirates, who lost to Narrabri in the previous round, were missing a host of players against the Bulls - including Jake Douglas and Tim and Andrew Collins - but Squires refused to use that as an excuse.
"We were very very poor in some areas," he said, adding that Pirates had a side that could have won, "as shown in the second half".
"But we let ourselves down with some poor errors and a really poor kick-chase," he said.
Squires said that "it wasn't until we got some possession and started to play that Pirates way that we started to get back into it".
A number of Pirates reserve-graders impressed him in a 17-12 win over Moree on Saturday.
"They'll definitely be some changes for next week," he said, adding that Starr, who has a hamstring injury, may resume running on Tuesday.
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Mark Bode
I’m passionate about writing stories that resonate with people. And I’m genuinely interested in the people I interview; I want to know about them and present their stories in a meaningful way.
I’m passionate about writing stories that resonate with people. And I’m genuinely interested in the people I interview; I want to know about them and present their stories in a meaningful way.
