Coaches' call: Hostplus Cup Round 18 preview

Townsville Blackhawks v Burleigh Bears

Townsville Blackhawks coach Terry Campese: It was a tough couple of weeks leading into last week's win with a couple of big losses. It felt like it threw away a really good month before that so it was good to get back into the winner's circle last week. The way the boys played in the first half set the game up for us and it was good to see us get the win. You want more consistency in your performances and that's what we strive for each and every week. Moving forward, we want to be better as a team and individually for the club. And there's no bigger clash than the Burleigh Bears this week. They've been the best team in Cup for around a decade now. There's no bigger challenge if we want to be in the finals. We have to beat these teams to make sure we deserve to be there. They're a very clinical team and have class from their fullback through to the front row. A lot of plays come from their lock in Sam Coster and Guy Hamilton can do anything in attack. He plays eyes up football, which I love, so we'll have to be watching out for that this weekend.

Burleigh Bears coach Luke Burt: We had a couple of training sessions throughout our bye week last week and then on the weekend we had our 100-year anniversary dinner so it was a good freshen up but also a good time to bond as a club. Now we turn our focus back to this weekend. We know there's been times where we haven't come off the bye in the way we wanted so we addressed that at the start of the week, put it in the back of our minds and focused on preparations for the Blackhawks. It will be a super tough match. They're experienced, have played together this year without too many disruptions and they move the ball around a lot. Defensively it will be a really tough match with how they move the ball.

Broadcast: Qplus.tv

Mackay Cutters v Sunshine Coast Falcons

Mackay Cutters coach Michael Comerford: We're pretty proud of the effort we put into the whole weekend last week. It was a long day travelling down to Piggabeen, tough conditions and we came up against a Tweed team that were desperate for the two points. They scored in the first set so there was every reason to lose focus but the boys stuck with what we spoke about in the preparation and we managed to get the two points. All in all, we're very happy with the effort the boys showed. It puts us in a spot where we're in control of our own destiny with finals. If we had let that one slip, it would have made things very difficult from a top eight perspective. We knew the importance of that game and it's the same again this weekend with the Falcons just one win ahead of us. With a win, we can go level with the middle of the ladder. We're expecting them to bounce back after that loss last weekend against Ipswich. Ipswich have been building to that for a while but Sunshine Coast will be a much stronger outfit this week with the likes of Luke Polselli and Scott Galeano back. We're expecting close to full strength from them. The Falcons at their best can beat anyone on their day. They'll understand the importance of where everyone sits on the ladder and the bounce back factor will play a part.

Sunshine Coast Falcons coach Brad Henderson: I definitely think last week's loss was a case of not playing to our standard. We were missing key personnel and had a couple of debuts so I was disappointed our attitude wasn't better given we had a couple of young guys playing their first game. Ipswich had all the energy and emotion and we didn't show enough of that. They beat us to everything. This week Luke (Polselli), Flynn (Camilleri) and Scott Galeano will be back and we're still a chance of have Patrice (Siolo) back this week but we won't be pushing that. We're still putting a really strong competitive team on the field so I know we'll be up for Cutters. We need to win. It's that stage where it's congested below and above us on the ladder so a win is vital. Mackay move the ball around really well. Young Jaxon Purdue and Riley Dean have a good combination. They're a big team too. Thomas Mikaele, if he turns out, adds a good punch to what's already a big pack. They're a tough opposition but they're putting quality players on the field and getting quality back from the Cowboys. We're expecting a real hot game from them. 

Broadcast: Qplus.tv

PNG Hunters v Central Queensland Capras

PNG Hunters coach Paul Aiton: We definitely got an emotional high from that win last week, which was good. We didn't want to move away from that too quickly so we let the players and staff enjoy it and we started the week quite slow. We're starting to ramp it up now leading into the Capras and reminding the boys that the team is coming with Papua New Guineans of their own and they'll want to put on a good show. They'll come for a tough game. We have a really good relationship with the Capras. With their place on the ladder and our connections, it is quite a big game for both of us. They'll definitely be coming to play and we expect nothing less. 

Central Queensland Capras coach Lionel Harbin: In the first half against the Pride last week we were way off the pace and didn't come with the right attitude in D and it hurt us. The Pride are a really good side. We had some really good opportunities with the footy but they did a really good job in defending their line and got energy out of that and were able to get some points out of that but we were poor. We need an attitude shift and to be ready to go from the opening whistle this weekend because PNG will do the same thing. They're a really good attacking side and carry the footy really well. We need to come with the mindset and attitude in D. All we can do is learn from what happened on the weekend and improve on that. We just need an improvement on where we were at from the weekend.

Broadcast: Qplus.tv

Brisbane Tigers v Northern Pride

Brisbane Tigers coach Matt Church: Taking on a top four side like Redcliffe was always going to be a challenge last week. We went toe-to-toe for large chunks of the game. We lost Sam Wallis five minutes in and the guy who replaced him broke his arm not long after. We bravely battled on and had our chances to win it but we didn't take them. At times this year we've had 10 or 15 guys unavailable. But it gives us an opportunity to give other guys a go in Cup and see where they're at. We now move into a clash with another top four team and Eric's got the Pride rock-hard fit. They're playing really well, aggressive. We know exactly what's coming. Knowing Eric he'll have them up for the contest and won't want to take a backwards step. He'll be looking to set up their back end of the year.

Northern Pride coach Eric Smith: That was our best defensive display for the season last week against the Capras. Not just for the fact we leaked very few points but our attitude in defence. We didn't think that was up to the standard we expect the week before but the way we hunted, the way we were in their face last week, it was our best game and very consistent. It was the most tackles we've had to make this year but we never wavered. Our defensive line looked strong, enthusiastic and desperate the whole game. Our football is doing a fair bit of talking at the moment but we realise a lot of work still needs to go into that. We're still always looking to build and improve. We don't want to just sit on our hands and think what we're doing is going to be enough. We still think our best football is ahead of us. There's a logjam of teams in the middle third of the ladder at the moment, all playing for their seasons and fighting for their football lives to play finals. For us as a group, we keep saying it adds a factor to their performance. You're coming up against teams with added energy and effort in parts of their game. We know you have to expect things you haven't seen previously from these teams. There can be things they try that are different or out of the box. The Tigers have a really strong team on paper. Some results haven't gone the way they would have liked. There's been injuries at times but they still have a lot of experience in regards to Cup and NRL games so if it all clicks for them on the day, they can be a tough team to beat. We have to think the day it all clicks, could be this Sunday.

Broadcast: Qplus.tv, 9Now and Kayo Freebies

Norths Devils v Redcliffe Dolphins

Norths Devils coach Dave Elliott: We just weren't good enough against the Hunters last week. They brought a real desire to the contest. While we matched it at times, the Hunters were able to produce some pretty flamboyant footy when they needed to. It's forced us to look within ourselves and understand that we can't take anything for granted. Even at this back end of the competition, teams are really starting to fight for finals positions or top four positions. Everyone's becoming more and more desperate as we get to the back end of the competition and desperation is a pretty powerful thing. This week, we're expecting a very good footy team in Redcliffe, one of the form teams of the comp lately. They certainly seem to have found a rhythm in attack and trust in defence. Being what we would consider a derby game, it will be a very physical contest. With the likes of Jarrod Wallace, Nathan Watts and Max Bailey, they're very experienced players so we're looking forward to that contest. It always brings out the best in both teams.

Redcliffe Dolphins coach Ben Te'o: We got the result last week against the Tigers but not the performance we wanted, to be honest. There were disappointing parts of our game which we want to fix for this Sunday. I just think we're not performing for 80 minutes at the moment. There's a few parts of the game where we dip below our standards that we're striving for. All the players want to improve in that area. The Devils are one of the top teams and have been top two for a while now. They're a very, very talented squad and I think this is a real test for us.

Broadcast: Qplus.tv

Ipswich Jets v Western Clydesdales

Ipswich Jets coach Tye Ingebrigtsen: It was a real good sense of relief to get that win last week. Not just for myself but a lot of people. There were a few players who have been here for a few seasons that won their first game as a Jet too. It was a good win for a lot of people. With our defence, we picked up where we left off in that second half against PNG. We did the same in the first half against Sunshine Coast. That was impressive to see it flow on from the week before. We were resilient. We meet the Clydesdales this week and they're in a similar position to us and they're going to be really hungry to get another win as well. They're a tough football side and from some of the games I've seen this year, they've been closer than the scoreline suggests. They've played some pretty good football as the year has gone along so I'm expecting a tough match on Sunday.

Western Clydesdales coach Jason Alchin: We're disappointed with last week. The Blackhawks turned up to play. We weren't there really and it's another learning curve for us. We have a big game this week against our local rivals and Tye's got them going really well. We have a few debuts this week and six or seven local young men playing in the team, which is a win for us. I'm expecting the exact same as last week from the Jets - they'll be keen and looking for back-to-back wins. Their pack goes forward and they have a good little halfback there in (Kyle) Foxwell so will need to keep an eye on him. We know what's in front of us.

Broadcast: Qplus.tv

Bye: Wynnum Manly Seagulls

Catch all the action live and free by subscribing to Qplus.tv.