![Mick Watton hopes the Boars can rediscover their early-season form against the Roosters this weekend. Picture by Zac Lowe. Mick Watton hopes the Boars can rediscover their early-season form against the Roosters this weekend. Picture by Zac Lowe.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/ijfQKXbsEKgSKGW5xB5NiF/d2199ab9-f702-4d9f-99dd-7e66638612b4.jpg/r841_300_4424_2512_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
After losing last weekend's major semi-final against the North Tamworth Bears, the Moree Boars were "pretty shattered".
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But, according to captain-coach Mick Watton, that might not be a bad thing.
"It was a major semi-final, and it was a chance to host the [grand final] in Moree," Watton said.
"So they were gutted. And to have the boys gutted is a good thing, because it obviously meant a lot to them."
The match almost immediately got off to a bad start for Moree, when Aaron Robinson was sent off after a high shot on Marika Kuriyalavou in the first five minutes.
"He's been a great player for many, many years ... he was a big loss for us," Watton said.
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From there, the Boars struggled to recover and lost 40-10. But, by virtue of finishing first on the ladder, they have another chance to stay alive through this weekend's preliminary final against the Kootingal-Moonbi Roosters.
And what's particularly pleased Watton is the intensity they have shown in the days since the loss.
"They were great [on Tuesday] night, we had a really productive session," he said.
"It was a quality session last night, so I'm really happy with the fellas. They've bounced back quite well, and we'll move on to Saturday with a pretty motivated group."
Though it did not produce the result Moree had hoped for, Saturday's game might also have benefited some of the younger players in a roundabout way.
The pressure of a home final, and wanting to perform in front of local supporters, takes some getting used to. Watton believes that was on some of the Boars' minds last weekend, and hopes the experience will benefit them going forward.
"We've got a lot of older fellas that handle those pressure moments, but we've also got younger fellas that may have felt the pinch," he said.
"We focused our attention on how we get our playing group on the same page."
And while the squad has thought only about their own performance ahead of this Saturday, Watton is fully aware of the threat that the Roosters pose.
"We're under no illusion, we're up for a tough assignment," he said.
"They're performing, and we're obviously not. So it'll be a tough one, for sure."
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