Jul 08, 2009 - 01:47 PM

By Brian McNair

WHITBY -- With the 2009 season shaping up as one of unfulfilled potential for the Whitby Warriors, coach Corny Derks let off a little steam Wednesday.

A day after the Warriors dropped a tough 10-8 decision to the Brampton Excelsiors in Jr. A lacrosse, Derks remained optimistic about the team's playoff hopes, but frustrated about a season in which the roster has never really taken shape.

He levelled some of his criticism at the Clarington Green Gaels, who are in the midst of dismantling the opposition in the Jr. B playoffs while the Warriors are fighting for their lives minus a number of key players.

Although the Warriors have called upon the services of such snipers as Zach Palmer and Shayne Jackson several times this season, the Gaels have not let players go since the playoffs have begun, according to Derks, which, considering the relative ease with which they are winning, rankles him.

"It's supposed to be an affiliation, it's supposed to be a partnership and to me, it's all about them," said Derks. "What the rationale is for not letting players come, I'll never understand."

With six injured players in the stands and two more who left in the first period, the Warriors played a solid game against the Excelsiors Wednesday, but couldn't overcome a three-goal outburst by the visitors midway through the second period. After Brampton took a 7-5 lead there, every Whitby goal was answered by Brampton.

It leaves the Warriors in a precarious position, tied for the eighth and final playoff spot with a 7-13 record and two games remaining. The key game, it would seem, is Saturday's home date with the Toronto Beaches (4-17), which is followed by a Sunday road game in Orangeville against the first-place Northmen.

"That's the game," Derks said of Saturday's 8:30 p.m. contest at the Iroquois Park Sport Centre. "Nothing's going to change drastically other than that. We have to win the Beaches game and that should put us in."

If they do get in, the Warriors will draw one of the top two teams for the first round of playoffs, which will make a trip to Brampton for this year's Minto Cup extremely difficult, but not impossible, said Derks. He's confident his Warriors, if healthy, can compete with the best.

"We have never even come close to having a full lineup," he said. "That's the sad part. On paper, we know we can match up with anybody, if we get everybody ... You kind of go to the rink and see who you've got that night and then do what you can do."

He said several players are close to returning, but that Mark Matthews, whose 4.3 points per game leads the team, is likely not available for two weeks due to school commitments.

"I think the first round could be a problem, because guys are still going to be away, so we obviously are going to have to get through that one," Derks said. "It'll depend a lot on the schedule as to who and when we have them back."

Adrian Sorichetti, Mark Cockerton and Kyle Goodchild led the Warriors with three points each Tuesday, including a pair of goals by Sorichetti. Reed Board also scored twice.