Last weekend, Tathra suffered a devastating 76-0 loss to the defending premiers, the Moruya Sharks, and club president Chris Sly said the losses are starting to take their toll on commitment to the team.

“The dedicated boys still keep coming to training, but numbers are definitely starting to dwindle,” he said.

“We’ve also had our fair spate of injuries this year.”

These injuries include Sly’s son, who cracked his ribs, and a broken arm to another player, ending the season for both of them.

“Sometimes when you don’t have the wins, you feel like tossing it all aside,” Sly said.

“But the club has got too much history for us to let it go.

“We’ll just battle on, keep going.”

He said it is the love of their club that keeps players coming back after so many losses, and they keep motivation going to keep playing by “living in hope, thinking things will get better”.

Sly said he aims to get more players involved next year, however one of the problems in getting new players into the squad is finding them a job.

“Lots of people want to live down here on the coast, but it’s not always easy for them to find employment,” he said.

There is no plan for the first grade’s bye this weekend, other than letting them rest, but Sly hoped they will get out to support the reserves side against Candelo-Bemboka on Sunday.

He said Candelo-Bemboka has a great team, so the match “will be tough”.

“But it would be nice to get a win in,” he said.

“It hasn’t been the best season, but we’ll bounce back.”

The match kicks of on Sunday at Colombo Park, Bemboka from 1pm.