Kambalda rocked by departure of Lovegrove
A week after he was among his side's best players, Kambalda's Ryan Lovegrove has been lost to the Goldfields Football League in what shapes as a sign of things to come.
Lovegrove lost his job this week and has returned to Victoria in a major blow to the club on the eve of tomorrow's clash with defending premiers Railways.
And with at least three others - Todd Coran, Dylan Titchener and Scott Towns - unavailable, the Eagles will struggle to reproduce the squad's round 4 heroics when they upset Railways on the final siren.
The prospect of losing more players, based on this week's job cuts in the nickel town, was not lost on coach Justin Tarasinski.
But he was also looking at the bigger picture.
"Footy's one thing, but that goes on and the real impact is on the players' livelihoods, especially those with families," he said.
"Yes, footy opens some doors for blokes coming here, but the key is employment, which is the primary tool for our recruiting.
"It will be all about character for us, but I don't even know exactly how many (players) we'll have available this weekend."
There was, however, some good news in Kambalda's camp with captain Ryan McNally due to return in tomorrow's clash at Sir Richard Moore Sports Centre.
Railways are on a three-game winning streak.
But coach Craig Alderdice has raised the bar on the squad's efficiency after last weekend's wasteful 6.14 against Mines Rovers.
It included 2.9 in the first term, which should have slammed the door on the result but it instead became a hard slog before they got over the line by seven points.
"We have to get our skills up - whether that's because the boys are under more pressure, I don't know," Alderdice said.
"Early in the season, our skills were better and also, we just can't get settled personnel in the side.
"Every week, you're throwing blokes around in different positions, but I have no doubt the other sides have exactly the same issues."
