Blackhawks wary of Pride reprisal

However, Blackhawks coach Stephen Sheppard has urged his side not to be complacent given their recent track record against Pride and the stop-start nature of their season so far.

“We’ve had some good performances... our defence has been our highlight and hopefully we can continue that this weekend,” Sheppard said.

“There’s always rivalry between Cairns and Townsville and they can be a danger game, especially if you’ve played them before and had a good win, so we will just focus on us and our defence and apply some pressure in attack.”

Pride coach Joel Riethmuller said his side knew what to expect from Townsville and would be looking to make amends for the performance in Round 2.

“I think there’s always a little bit more feeling when we are playing Townsville,” Riethmuller said.

“They’ve got systems in place, players recruited in key positions and threats everywhere, so we will need to show more effort for the full 80 minutes.”

Sheppard said every single one of  platheyers on his roster had contributed to the side’s success to date.

“All of them have been really strong us and have bright futures in the game, but William Latu is one to look out for this weekend, he’s a big second rower who has got great footwork and a good offload,” Sheppard said.

Riethmuller said despite his side not getting the results they wanted for this season, they were a young side, with many of them eligible for next year’s season.

“We’ve got a lot of kids who are 17 and they will be better for it next year,” Riethmuller said.

“It’s experience, it’s understanding what they are up against, the level that they are playing at and they’ve definitely improved, but from the weekend, it shows that the things you get away with in local league, you don’t get away with at this level.

“So hopefully we, as a club, are in a different position this time next year and are really competitive.”

Riethmuller also said his young stars, hooker Hamish Davies, and prop Brock Salecich, were primed to have a good performance again for his side this weekend after their constant improvement throughout the season. 

The northern derby will kick-off on Saturday at 4pm at Neil Stewart Park in Townsville.

Elsewhere in the competition, there will be plenty of exciting matchups.

Both Tweed Seagulls and Burleigh Bears recorded high scoring wins in Round 5 and will be looking to do the same this weekend when they face off to launch the round.

Norths Devils will look to go one step further this weekend after notching up a rare draw in their Round 5 clash against Brisbane Tigers, while Redcliffe Dolphins will look to secure a second win for their season.

The high-flying Central Queensland Capras are finals bound and will this week take on Wide Bay Bulls who have not found the results they would have been aiming for this season. 

Sunshine Coast Falcons recorded a confidence-boosting win last weekend, beating Wide Bay Bulls 76-0. However, they will face a different challenge against Western Mustangs who have won three of their five matches this season.

Souths Logan Magpies went down to Tweed Seagulls last weekend, while Ipswich Jets also lost last round in a high scoring game against Burleigh Bears. Both the Magpies and Jets will be looking to finish the regular season with a strong win.

Wynnum Manly Seagulls will be hard to stop this weekend with the side tallying up five wins on the trot. However, Brisbane Tigers will be backing themselves to disrupt their momentum after claiming a competition point in Round 5, thanks to their draw against Norths Devils.