Assistant coach Ryan Morrice insists Gordonians will not take Orkney lightly when the islanders make the trip to Countesswells tomorrow.
Gordonians lead National 3 with a perfect record of nine wins from nine matches so far but Morrice is anticipating a huge test from the visitors, who have won four of their opening games, when they visit the Granite City.
He said: “We’ve got some big games coming up in December but nobody is looking past Orkney.
“We’ve struggled against them in the past and we are one of the easier away games of them to get to as we’re in Aberdeen so we’re expecting them to take a full squad down.
“They’ve got good players and a full strength Orkney is capable of causing any team problems.
“There is nobody here expecting an easy time of it this weekend.”
‘Club is in a good place’
With nine wins out of nine and eight bonus points from a possible nine secured the GoGos lead West of Scotland by a point at the top of National 3.
The response to relegation last season has been excellent so far from Jim Greenwood’s men but Morrice is not surprised at the strong start made by the club.
The coach said: “We had a tough year last year but even with being relegated there was a feelgood factor about the club.
“We felt we had good players and we were making progress and we’ve seen that continue with the start we’ve made in National 3.
“We’re pleased with how the season has gone so far.
“We’ve only dropped one bonus point from our opening nine games so we’ve come out that first block of games in a pretty good place.
“Everyone at the club is feeling pretty happy with where we are at the moment. The second team too has picked up a few good results recently.
“They were coming out on the wrong end of a few close games earlier on but they’ve had some good results.”
Orkney not fazed by Gordonians test
Orkney are ending a long lay-off, having not played since their home defeat to Hillhead Jordanhill on October 29.
Prop Niall Campbell insists the islanders, returned to the national leagues in the summer, are relishing the prospect of testing themselves against the league leaders.
Campbell said: “The lads have been training hard, just to get back at it. It’s going to be a tough one this weekend as Gordonians are league leaders.
“We will approach this game just like any other, and not really look into the fact they are undefeated this season.
“We will not let it faze us, and we are raring to go.
“I have only been playing for a few years, so I have only experienced Caledonia 1 with Orkney.
“In terms of standard, the competition is a lot tougher. Without taking anything away from teams we played previously, it was the games against the likes of Dunfermline and Ellon which were the real contention matches.
“This year, every week is like that in terms of opposition. It’s a lot quicker and tougher every week, but that’s good. We want to play as high a level or rugby as possible.”
Reduced Caley league card this weekend
There are only three games scheduled for teams in Northern Caledonian, including a relegation battle in Caley 2 North at Kings College where North Police Scotland play host to Banff.
The visitors will be keen to put last week’s 73-5 hammering at home to 2nd Gordonians behind them.
In Caley 3 North, second-placed Dyce can reduce the 19-point lead built up by leaders Garioch when they entertain 2nd Aberdeenshire at a game which has been rearranged at the Meadows, Ellon.
In the only other game in the northern section of this league Inverness Craig Dunain will meet 2nd Caithness at Canal Park.
Next week, there will be a return to a full fixture list in all three leagues, to the relief of clubs who have not seen action in some cases since October.
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