Coaches' call: Hostplus Cup Round 5 preview

Redcliffe Dolphins v Northern Pride

Redcliffe Dolphins coach Ben Te'o: "Last week it was clear to me that Ipswich have really turned a corner. We managed to get the win against them but there’s been a lot of improvement from them. If you underestimate them this year, you’ll have some issues. They had a really good fightback against us and took the lead. For us to hang in there and get back into the process and win the game was good for us. We’ve had a fair bit of adversity already this year losing a lot of players through injuries and with illness through the squad, we’ve just been hanging in there. Some of the injuries are long-term – we have Treymain Spry out, Caleb Jackson has an ACL and Brenton Baira is out for 12 weeks. We’re just plugging the holes where we can and seeing what we can do. There’s not much we can do about that and there’s not much coming back from NRL at the moment either. But every team will come into times of the year where they feel like that and it’s hit us early in the season. To me, we haven’t played well yet either. We haven’t really played well or played a really good game. I hope we’re edging closer to it. The Pride this week, they’re a much-improved with lots of quality of players that train fulltime with the Cowboys. They’re above us on the table so now is the time to put in a good performance."

Northern Pride coach Eric Smith: "We were a long way off in all aspects of the game lastweek. We probably were competitive for the first 10-15 minutes and then we just didn’t have the ball control to put any pressure on. We made over 16 errors so we weren't able to gain field position or put pressure on the Falcons. They made really good use of the extra football they had. We had to make 100 extra tackles than them. I thought at halftime, to be at 12-4 considering how poorly we were playing, I was confident we could turn things around but the fatigue we lumped on ourselves took its toll and the Falcons outplayed us in all aspects of the game. It was a really good reality check for us that you can’t afford to give up so much possession in this competition but also not be willing to put our bodies in front and defend. I would be more concerned with that game if that’s how we played in the first three games but I think we've showed enough already to know that it’s not the kind of team we are or want to be. We want to make sure it’s just an off night and this week we get back to the things we were doing for long periods of time in the first three games. That was being gritty. It wasn’t pretty but it was putting in a whole heap of effort. The Dolphins have been playing some good football and some of their games have been tight, really gritty as well. They play for 80 minutes and that's something we haven’t been able to do. They’ll be disappointed from the weekend’s game where they got out to a really good lead and then Ipswich got back into a position to win. We’re expecting them to be a lot better team than what they were on the weekend. They’ll want to address those areas but we’re looking to do the same. It’s two really good forward packs, Sean O’Sullivan v Jakey Clifford… it will be exciting. Trai Fuller is a really big part of their attack and most things that are happening seem to spark or generate around him. We’ll have to keep a close eye on him. We’re expecting to go up another gear this weekend from the Falcons game. We’re a long way off last weekend and we know it’s going up another gear."

Broadcast: Qplus.tv.

Sunshine Coast Falcons v Souths Logan Magpies

Sunshine Coast Falcons coach Brad Henderson: "In last week's win over the Pride, there was similar signs from our game against PNG. The intensity was nice and high, we were prepared to be physical and mix it through the middle. It’s a step forward for our footy. Our connections definitely improved as well. Luke Polselli and Cody Hunter were really cohesive and connected. We're still a long way off being satisfied with the way we played but that’s a work in progress. The longer we’re together, particularly with our Melbourne boys, it takes a little bit of time for us to gel. You can see it’s starting to happen now. Probably need a little bit more ownership from the players on controlling the football. We’ve been sloppy for most games and the second half got a bit that way last week. But I’m proud we started in front and stayed there. That was really pleasing for me as a coach and I know it would be for them. They needed a bit of feel good. This week we have Souths Logan and they’re a different team from last year so I can't go off how good they were last year. But I looked at their game against Norths and they’re big and physical. If Ben Te Kura plays, he takes size to another level. They’re keeping it simple and play a lot of footy up that mid third and challenge you physically. We’ll have to be good there first. We have to make sure we’re tight around the middle there and our markers are tight and effective. But also, if we worry too much about what they’re doing, we can’t focus on our roles. We need to just keep the focus to ourselves."

Souths Logan Magpies coach Karmichael Hunt: "We're coming back from two bye weeks off and over that time, we continued to put a bit of work into the boys. There hasn’t been too much footy played for us yet and the boys are quite fresh. We had a couple of injuries pop up so it was a good time to rest and recoup.  This week, I just want to continue to see the same effort and attitude we've shown so far. If we sum up the first three games, our attack hasn’t been up to standard. Too many dropped balls, too many basic errors, so we want to complete high, take care of the ball and respect it, and respect our oppositions, and stay connected in D and give our best effort. It’s always a tough trip to go to the Sunny Coast but off the back of a really good win against the Pride, they’ll be up and about."

Broadcast: Qplus.tv.

Norths Devils v Western Clydesdales

Norths Devils coach Dave Elliott: "We were really disappointed with our defensive execution and defensive effort last week. This week, we’ve just been bringing some things that we haven’t been doing well back to the forefront of our mind. It’s a tough competition and any given weekend, anyone can get the two points. If we end up chasing points in a match, it doesn’t generally end up going your way. We’re expecting what we’ve come to expect from the Capras for the last two years. They’re on top for a reason. They’re a tough, gritty, in-your-face team. They’ll be full of confidence and they’ve had a great start to the year again."

Central Queensland Capras coach Lionel Harbin: "We got a lot of confidence out of the way we performed on the weekend, especially the way we were able to defend in those conditions. It’s just about replicating that and coming with that same attitude this weekend. The Devils are a side that like to move the footy really well. They have some players that can really hurt you so it’s about coming with that same mindset defensively. We both have the affiliation with Dolphins NRL and since that, there’s been a bit more of a rivalry but we’ll focus on ourselves and trying to improve on our performance from last week."

Broadcast: Qplus.tv.

Western Clydesdales v Mackay Cutters

Western Clydesdales coach Jason Alchin: "It was a bit of a touch up on the weekend but one pleasing part was they scored five tries from fifth tackle kicks. It gives us some confidence with our defence. The Tigers are a well-coached side and we had to be ready for that. The big thing is, and this is no excuse, we’re the only club that’s not getting anyone back at all from NRL systems. But it’s no excuse. We knew this and we’re always going to be this club in this time. We have to do what we have to do and worry about ourselves. We’re still only one season and four games into our lifetime overall so we’ll just keep backing up and keep going. Last year, we probably lost about 10 players – three had NRL pre-seasons from this club, a couple went to France and a couple went to other clubs. I’m more than happy to keep doing that, to keep developing players, if that's what we can do. This weekend, Mackay are a very, very good side. They have some very, very good players around the paddock. They’re a big side and very mobile and we just have to match them. We will play at home and we want to make a good performance in front of the crowd. The Cutters also had a loss last week which the coach probably wouldn’t be too happy about so they’ll be ready to come down here to put it to us. We know we have a big task on our hands. If we do what we know we should, it will be a good contest. We have to work hard and respect who we’re playing. They’re a big side, well-coached and they just do their job."

Mackay Cutters coach Michael Comerford: "There’s two sides to the story out of last week's game. On one hand we defended really well but we just did too much of it. We made almost 100 tackles more than the Blackhawks. We had a couple injuries early on and it was going to be a tough one from that point onwards. We were able to dig deep defensively but with the footy, we put ourselves in those tough positions. Our handling was poor. Individuals have to address that themselves. Fatigue was always going to be an issue and that probably helps to explain our inability to hold onto the ball. We had a couple opportunities to ice the game and didn’t put ourselves in the position to do that. There are some positives but overall, it's not a performance we’re happy with. We’ve had a big focus this week on our defence we showed in our first three weeks. The challenge is to continue to bring that same attitude but be tidier in attack and get back to what we worked on through the pre-season. That’s the message for the week – get back to the foundation we learned and that will help with ball control. It’s going to be tough going this weekend. The Clydesdales, they’ll be looking to bounce back from a couple performances they’re not happy about it. Fua Schwalger, he’s a big threat for them in attack. Guys like him we have to be on high alert for. You look at the cattle they’ve got and, if it clicks, they could be a threat to anyone. Our focus is making sure we’re at our best because we’re preparing for them to be at their best and I know how much they’ll be looking for improvement."

Broadcast: Qplus.tv.

Ipswich Jets v Burleigh Bears

Ipswich Jets coach Ben Cross: "We showed again we can compete with the top teams but we didn’t ice the game properly last week against Redcliffe. All the guys talk with some frustration about how close they can feel it’s just about to click over. Once we get one win, we know we can build on the back of that. The team is coming together nicely with our players and the Titans players coming in. This week, I’m expecting the same from Burleigh that we see every week. They have a nucleus of a team and they’re just fairly consistent. You have to be right on your game every week."

Burleigh Bears coach Luke Burt: "It was tough conditions in Rockhampton on the weekend but both teams had it, so no excuses there. We went away from what we wanted to do and had prepared for all week. Hopefully we learnt from that. The Capras made us play a style of game we didn’t want to play. This week, I want to see a bit more effort defensively. That was the focus for our review. And then go back to playing the style of football we’ve trained for all pre-season. We’re expecting a super tough match this week. Ipswich were fantastic against Redcliffe and only lost late in the match. We’re under no illusion it's going to be a tough one."

Broadcast: Qplus.tv.

Byes: Brisbane Tigers, PNG Hunters, Tweed Seagulls

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