The Gunnedah Poochettes are ready to return to winning form as they hit the road this Saturday, following last weekend’s competition bye when several Poochettes were involved in representative football.

The fourth-placed Tamworth Swans host the second-placed Gunnedah in the five-team AFL North West senior women’s competition, after the Poochettes went down 10.8.68 to 0.1.1 at home against the top-placed Inverell in the most recent round.

The Swans had the bye in the most recent round, after Gunnedah trounced the Tamworth team 14.10.94 to 1.2.8 back in round five on May 31.

With Inverell the only team to defeat Gunnedah so far this season, Poochettes skipper Alexa Walker said the recent 67-point defeat was “a bit of a reality check” after the second-placed team had won four games in succession.

Walker said the loss “definitely” hurt, although it was “not bad to lose” sometimes.

“I think it’s nice to have that refresh every now and then, to remember why you play and keep us growing as a team,” she said.

“When we’re winning consistently and by a lot, we can get a bit complacent.”

Walker said it was a case of learning from the loss, while it was “onwards and upwards”.

“It’s all leading up to finals and making sure that we’re in the best position as a team,” she said.

While the hefty loss to the ladder leaders came one week after the Poochettes hammered the third-placed team, Walker said she didn’t think these results reflected the strength in the competition.

“Although there are big gaps in the scorelines, I don’t think it’s reflective of the games that are being played,” she said.

With the Poochettes losing a sizeable contingent of players in the off-season, Walker said the team had a lot to learn, especially with several new players coming through.

The team also missed Charlotte Renshaw, Braie Devine, Chelsea Palmer and Meg Foster in the previous round, with at least one of them likely to return this Saturday while Walker will be absent.

“Definitely watch out for the Poochettes,” Walker said.

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