Hostplus Cup BMD Indigenous Round preview

PNG Hunters v Central Queensland Capras

Head-to-head: PNG 8, Central Queensland 4

Last meeting: Central Queensland 62 def PNG 24 in Round 15, 2022

Broadcast: Qplus.tv

• The PNG Hunters' 34-10 over the Sunshine Coast last was their equal highest ever score against the Falcons
• PNG have won three of their last four games while Central Queensland have two losses and a draw from their past four games
• The Capras have won the last two meetings between these two sides
• The Hunters hold a strong home ground advantage, having won all four games between these two sides in PNG
• Capras forward JJ Collins will celebrate his 50th Cup game this weekend. The Dolphins NRL affiliate has racked up this milestone playing with Tweed and Central Queensland

A word from the coaches

PNG Hunters coach Stanley Tepend: 

"I was really impressed with the overall teams performance (against the Falcons)... to play as a team and play disciplined. The players were hungry to play well for each other and never give up. Now we will continue to stay positive and carry on from the Falcons game. Preparation is key for our players... individual preparation... we have been working hard to get that right each week. The Capras have always been a tough side to play against... they have some PNG boys in their team so they will have support in PNG." 

Central Queensland Capras coach Lionel Harbin: "It was good to get the win against the Cutters. We weren't overly pleased with how we played, but good to get the result. Our discipline and completion really hurt us... we made things tougher for ourselves and put pressure on ourselves. But if we can improve on those things this week, we'll give ourselves the best opportunity against the Hunters, who are very physical. If we don't it will be tough afternoon. Everyone needs to be a bit better."

Northern Pride v Brisbane Tigers

Head-to-head: Pride 16, Tigers 14

Last meeting: Tigers 14 def Pride 12 in Round 14, 2022

Broadcast: Qplus.tv

• The Pride have three wins and a draw from their last four games
• The Pride have won two of the last three meetings between these two sides
• The Tigers have won their last three - and four of their last five - away games
• Ty Williams is aiming to coach his 50th win for the Pride in his 122nd game in charge - he has five draws and 67 losses
• Pride second rower Ewan Moore will play his 50th Cup game on Saturday. He has played all 50 games with the Pride

A word from the coaches

Northern Pride coach Ty Williams: Comments to come.

Brisbane Tigers coach Matt Church: "Our focus is we want to get the win this weekend. We're sitting on the same level on points on the ladder. We want to be able to further our season by getting a win. Last week some of our Storm guys - Tristan Powell and Joe Chan - played their best game for us. Collectively as a team, we played more together as a unit. When we did that we were hard to handle. Going to Cairns is always tough, but our second half last week was a really good sign... I put it to the team at half-time to come together and get on the same page, to work as a team, and they did. They put in a really good team performance."

Redcliffe Dolphins v Townsville Blackhawks

Head-to-head: Townsville 6, Redcliffe 5, drawn 1

Last meeting: Townsville 22 drew Redcliffe 22 in Round 16, 2022

Broadcast: Qplus.tv

• Redcliffe have won four of the past five clashes between these two sides at Redcliffe
• Redcliffe have lost only two of their last 15 games at home and both were to Norths
• Townsville have lost three of their last four away games

A word from the coaches

Redcliffe Dolphins coach Ben Te'o: "It was always going to be hard task to go over to Wynnum. The team still hasn't won there since 2018 and that continues for another year. Wynnum Manly has a strong side and they played good footy. I think we started well but we faded away. We will try and improve on that this weekend, fix the areas of our game that need to be fixed. We've got a few guys coming in and a few going out, it's always moving and changing, but it's important we come together and play as a team. Those guys who come back from NRL - Harrison Graham, Brayden McGrady... now that they've had an NRL game, it's important they show why they should go back up when they play, show they're ready for their next opportunity. The season so far has been a great learning experience for me. It's my second year as a coach and I'm learning how to bring a team together that doesn't train together, which is challenging but good. At the moment, we're sitting in a good position with six games to go. We're pretty confident."

Townsville Blackhawks coach Aaron Payne: Comments to come.

Souths Logan Magpies v Western Clydesdales

Head-to-head: Clydesdales 18, Souths Logan 2, drawn 1

Last meeting: Souths Logan 36 def Clydesdales 28 in Round 11, 2023

Broadcast: Qplus.tv

• Clydesdales have lost their last seven games
• Souths Logan's loss last week to Norths was their first in nine games
• Souths Logan's win in Round 11 was their first over the Clydesdales in 20 games, with their last win being at Davies Park in Round 11, 1996
• Souths Logan require 19 points to bring up 13,000 in Cup

A word from the coaches

Souths Logan Magpies coach Karmichael Hunt: "Our game against Norths was a timely reminder to the group for our standards needing to stay and not slip. The boys have ridden a nice high with eight wins on the trot but we're getting to the pointy end of the year now. The game was a reminder not to let our standards slip at training or in games. It was a good performance from Norths, which was good to see. A really good contest from them. We have the Clydesdales at home on Sunday now. We need to use last week as a catalyst for the end of the season... make sure our intensity, attitude and training effort is there. I'm looking forward to see the response from the group against the Clydesdales, who can compete against and beat anyone on their day."

Western Clydesdales coach Jason Alchin: Comments to come.

Ipswich Jets v Mackay Cutters

Head-to-head: Ipswich 16, Mackay 10

Last meeting: Ipswich 24 def Mackay 18 in Round 15, 2022

Broadcast: Qplus.tv, Kayo Freebies and 9Now

• Ipswich have lost their last 16 games while Mackay have lost their last three games
• Mackay have won two of the last three meetings between these two sides and three of the last four clashes at North Ipswich Reserve
• Ipswich have lost their last seven home games while Mackay have lost six of their last seven away games

A word from the coaches

Ipswich Jets coach Ben Cross: "We played like we trained against Brisbane Tigers. We had a really disruptive week at training and unfortunately that's how we played. I knew they would come out in second half strong and we didn't adapt. But the game showed how good we can be. If we put that half together with our second best half from the year, our football beats most teams. It's frustrating that we just haven't been able to put two halves together. You could take that half and one of our halves against Souths, against Redcliffe, against Pride... but we haven't been able to put two together. Gerome Burns was strong for us again and both front rowers Clayton Mack and Gordon Whippy were strong, which is what you want. We really need to stick to our football against Mackay... two halves of our football will give us the best chance."

Mackay Cutters coach Michael Comerford: "The Capras game was definitely one we let slip. We got a 10-poiint lead early on and an eight-point lead midway through second half, but basic errors cost us. Two kick-offs we took dead, scrum against the feed. Basic errors hurt us and put us under too much pressure... gave Capras too many opportunities. But all things considered, I think we did quite well, we looked threatening. Adam Cook playing fullback looked dangerous every time he touched the ball, Kobe Bone had a very high work rate and was good running the ball and defensively, but learned a few lessons, which he will be better for. With the Jets, a lot of guys are in good individual form at the moment. They're able to put points on in pretty quick time and they showed that against the Tigers. They've got Gerome Burns... he's a dangerous player when he touches the ball. We have to be ready for anything and have bodies around guys like him. They've got good outside backs and a big forward pack so we'll have to aim up physically and match what they do there. They're dangerous anywhere on the field so we have to be ready for that, keep moving. They're no doubt eyeing off this game as their opportunity to get their first win, but we need to be at our best and do everything we can to get the win."

Norths Devils v Tweed Seagulls

Head-to-head: Norths 17, Tweed 15, drawn 2

Last meeting: Tweed 32 def Norths 26 in Round 3, 2023

Broadcast: Qplus.tv

• Norths have won three of the last four meetings between these two sides
• Norths have won three of their last four home games while Tweed have lost two of their last three away games
• Devils winger and try-scoring sensation Jon Reuben earned a hat-trick last week against Souths Logan, with his haul moving him to a total of 121 tries in 120 games. He has now surpassed Donald Malone (119) to be the third all-time competition try scorer, sitting behind Daniel Ogden (155) and Nat Barnes (135)
• Devils utility Liam Horne will play his 50th Cup game on Sunday. He has earned this milestone from his time at Norths and Central Queensland

A word from the coaches

Norths Devils coach Dave Elliott: "We ended up with a big win against Souths. It was a really good start from us, which is what we've been chasing. We had a nice lead at half-time but we knew we'd have to come out in the second half and back it up. I think Jon Reuben was certainly good for us with three tries... I think he's not sitting third on the all-time try-scorers list. And Manase Kaho did some really good things, scoring a double himself, but it was more his effort we were really happy with. We're still working on our game... defensively, that was our most clinical recently, but we've been really happy with how we've been going against good teams like Capras and Burleigh. We have a lot of confidence in our D at the moment, our scramble and our want. Tweed are going to come here with a pretty outstanding team, so we need to be right on our game. It ended up being close last time we played them but no one's forgotten he first half score of 32-0 to them. They're a really good side so we need to be right on our game to grab another two points."

Tweed Seagulls coach Dave Penna: “Early in the game we just didn’t turn up defensively. We didn’t turn up. We were a bit nervous, a bit grabby. We paid for it in the end. There were still a few boys a bit disappointed on Tuesday but we’ve got to move on. The best way we can do that is to play our best footy. There were about 22 minutes there during the game where we didn’t play... we didn’t do what we trained to do. Against a quality football team, that’s where they hurt us. The rest of the game we stuck to what we wanted, did what we needed to do and achieved what I thought was our best footy. It’s one thing we prided ourselves on at the start of the year and did really well but we’ve dropped off that. It’s been a big focus for us this week.”

Bye: Wynnum Manly Seagulls

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