‘Browed’ but not beaten

?I think it took nine or ten stiches in the end but it?s not that bad really,? said the gangly Sharks striker.
It looked innocuous enough at the time but the stiches tell the tale although Boardo was more concerned about the team performance: ?We need to start stronger and not turn up for the match 25-minutes into it or when we go a goal behind like we did on Saturday night.
?The result was probably justified as they had the better possession but we created the better chances I thought but we have to go at teams from the first minute.?
It has been a feature of their play this campaign whereby they have not shown the attacking potency at the start of games like they were able to last season and this can be attributed to several factors not least the change in playing staff and system adopted by new coach Robbie Stanton although Boardman has started to find his form again after a lean start to the campaign and says: ?I feel more confident at the moment and Panni Nikas is feeding well off me and vice versa and the ball is being played in better to me also so we?ve turned the corner in that department as we all adjust to the new system.
?That said, we haven?t really played to our potential so far and there is so much more to come and the truth is we had our worst performance of the season against Marconi but we fought back well to get a point against a very good team.?
Although likely to miss the mid-week match against Sydney FC on Wednesday night at Seymour Shaw Park, the doctor is unlikely to risk him, he should be fit for the weekend match against West Sydney Berries at Lidcombe Oval which is great news for the Sharks but not the boys for the berries and as usual the heavily bandaged Boardman had to get the last word when saying: ?Make sure you let everyone know that due to this injury I have had to cancel my modelling career this week just as I got my big break.?
As the laughter courses throughout the change rooms, Boardo looks almost as if he really means it.
-By Micky Brock