Spirit prepares for Miners clash

THE Spirit boys are taking an earlier bus to Mackay tomorrow night in a change to normal routine that coach Brett Hambrecht hopes will provide for the best possible rest in preparation for Sunday's match against the Whitsunday Miners.

“We're leaving at 10 o'clock rather than 2am in the morning like we've done before,” Hambrecht said.

“Hopefully by doing that they can get a longer period of continuous rest, instead of being in bed, getting out and jumping on the bus and trying to get back to sleep.”

Bundaberg's reliance on bus travel to away games is one of the low cards the club has been dealt in their Hyundai State League crusade.

Despite their Spartan arrangements, the young lions make the most of their conditions, while their mentor continues to fine-tune the machinery wherever he can to maximize team performance.

Spirit's continued improvement in recent weeks sees confident of their first win against the Miners, whose campaign has drawn the same results as Bundaberg.

Team captain Brett Kitching and Arian Dubroy will be absent from the squad because of injury and illness, while Mitch Hodgkinson is doubtful as the coach anxiously waits physiotherapist reports on the defender's ankle ligament injury.

However, the side will be bolstered by the inclusion of veteran hardpan Peter Bock, who has made himself available because there are no Archem matches this weekend.

“We'll definitely miss Kitch and Arian, but to be honest, the confidence in the side is sky-high this week, and having Bocky on board is a big bonus,” Hambrecht said.

Patience and composure should be the key-words and team goals for the clash against the Miners.

Learning to execute assaults on the goal square with the same deadly efficiency as the competition's high-flyers will win games for this team.