Coaches' call: Hostplus Cup Round 14B preview

The Sunshine Coast Falcons and PNG Hunters will go head-to-head on Sunday as they look to break away from each other on the Hostplus Cup ladder.

Both sitting on 22 points, the Falcons and Hunters will this week play for the inaugural Darryl Van de Velde Cup, playing out their delayed Round 14 meeting while the rest of the competition enjoys a weekend off.

The sixth-placed Falcons will play host at Sunshine Coast Stadium while the seventh-placed Hunters aim to leapfrog their opponents.

Ahead of the all-important make up clash, here are what the two coaches have to say.

Hostplus Cup Round 14B

Sunshine Coast Falcons v PNG Hunters

Sunshine Coast Falcons coach Brad Henderson: Last week against the Cutters we saw a good shift in energy from the week before. Sometimes a disappointing loss will do that. I would like to think moving forward we can get more consistent with our actions and preparations. Leading into the Ipswich game in Round 17, our mental preparation wasn't where it needed to be and we got what we deserved. That's not to take anything away from Ipswich but we certainly weren't at our best. But we turned it around in Round 18, were able to spend some time on the road together and got to gel and bond, which was a real bonus and it certainly helped us. Now we switch our focus to the PNG Hunters this Sunday. It's by far our most important game of the year so far. They're all important but with the outcomes at the end of this game, those two points are vital. We sit on the same points on the ladder as PNG so it's vital to PNG and vital to us. It's going to make for a good contest. They have had three wins in a row now and they're getting some real consistency in their game. The physicality from them is a given. From 1-17 they're real powerful but there's real footy IQ there too and you can see the effect Paul (Aiton) is having on them. Defensively, we have to be prepared for anything. Playing a team like this, anything is possible. It's a really good test for us, not just physically, but being mentally aware on where they're trying to hurt us. But we don't want to focus too much on the opposition. We just want our preparation to be really good and come Sunday make sure our heads are in a good place. 

PNG Hunters coach Paul Aiton: Comments to come.

Broadcast: Qplus.tv