GALA must turn Netherdale into a fortress if they are to do battle in the BT Premiership this season, according to Head Coach George Graham.

The Maroons, who currently sit third bottom of the table, are aiming to end their four game losing streak in the league when they tackle second bottom Stirling County at Netherdale on Saturday, kick-off 3pm.

They put their disappointing start to the season behind them by recording a win over local rivals Hawick in the Booker Border League on Friday night to move top of the table alongside Melrose and Selkirk, who have played a game more.

Looking ahead to this weekend’s fixture, Graham told the Border Telegraph: “We’re all fighting for points, even at this early stage of the league.

“We’ve lost two games at Netherdale this season already which is not like us because we’re normally fairly strong, so we need to get back to that ‘fortress Netherdale’ attitude.

“Stirling are a good side, they’ve been up and down pretty much like us. They beat us in the quarter finals of the Scottish Cup last season so we need to make sure we turn up and play as good as we can.”

After opening the season with wins over Selkirk and Hawick, Gala have gone on to suffer defeats to Glasgow Hawks, Ayr, Melrose and Boroughmuir.

However, they only lost to Ayr by a single point and Melrose scored a late try to deny them a share of the spoils at the Greenyards.

Speaking following his side’s latest victory over Hawick, Graham, who was born in Stirling, said: “We’ve won today and hopefully we’ll take that habit into the game against Stirling County. We’re not happy with the performance but we’ve got the win and that’s the most important thing.

“We had a very honest video session on Tuesday night (following defeat to Boroughmuir) which lasted quite a considerable amount of time. There were a few things pointed out and a few harsh words said but I think that’s what needs to be done to highlight where we’re going wrong and how we need to rectify these things.”

Euan Dods continued his comeback from injury in the bonus point victory over Hawick, with George Graham jnr, Craig Dods, Luke Pettie, Graham Speirs, Richard Todd and Dean Keddie all getting their name on the scoresheet. And the Maroons are hoping for more of the same this weekend.

Graham said: “I thought we played some really exciting rugby for the first 30 minutes and we scored some really good tries. But then I think they thought that, because Hawick had put out a fairly young side, they could just play rugby anywhere and throw miracle passes.

“And, in the second half, Hawick made a few changes and brought on a few more experienced players and put us under pressure.

Border Telegraph:

“So I was very frustrated for the last 15 minutes of the game but to come to Hawick and win is always nice. It’s hopefully getting us back on the right track. We’ve seen signs of what we can do, we just need to make sure they happen a lot more often.”

Elsewhere in the Premiership this weekend, Melrose are at home to champions, and current leaders, Heriot’s; Selkirk travel to Glasgow Hawks in search of their first win of season; and Hawick are away to Boroughmuir.

In BT National League One, Kelso and Peebles are at home to Musselburgh and Marr, respectively, while Jed-Forest face Stew-Mel away.