By Chris Curulli
Belrose-Terry Hills Raiders may be the only team who still possess a perfect record in the MWFA Premier League men’s, but their coach Greg Fuchs is far from getting carried away.
The newly promoted outfit will be well rested this weekend when they travel to Middle Head Oval and face a Mosman side who beat Narrabeen 2-1 in their round one catch-up fixture on Tuesday night.
BTH head into the encounter with plenty of confidence after their 2-0 victory over a ten-man CC Strikers last time out.
Fuchs is pleased with how the club have marked their return to the top-flight competition but is well aware there is still a long way to go.
“We are always a game by game type of team, so we don’t think ahead and looking at the table is one thing we tell our boys not to do,” Fuchs said.
“We look after ourselves and not worry about other teams so much. We’ve actually lost some key players which is probably similar to everyone else, but so far I can’t complain, put it that way.”
Fuchs has prepared his side to brace for a tough battle on Saturday afternoon.
“I’m going to expect a team that will probably run hard, be physical, play quite direct, and fight to the end,” he anticipated.
“It will be a tough game, but everyone’s up for it and everyone’s excited to be back playing footy.
“We’re just as excited as the team that we’re going to be playing against and in this league those who take advantage of those key moments better than their opposition tends to come away with the result.”
Despite the Raiders’ early run of results, Fuchs is more than willing to embrace the club’s underdog spirit this season.
“We’ve got nothing to lose this year as an AL/1 team coming up to Premier League where no one really expects much from us,” he said.
“I know what my expectations are as a coach and what our squad is capable of, but at the end of the day, you’re only as good as the performance that you put in on the weekend and I think any team is capable of beating anyone – that’s us included.”
Around the grounds this Saturday afternoon, Saints host Curl Curl, Harbord visit Narrabeen, CC Strikers clash with Wakehurst, Seaforth take on Brookvale and Pittwater travel to Manly Vale.
