Coaches' call: Hostplus Cup Round 20 preview

Northern Pride v Western Clydesdales 

Northern Pride coach Eric Smith: I was really happy with our defence last week. Wynnum Manly had 50 play-the-balls inside our 20, attacking our line. The fact we were able to continually turn a top team like Wynnum away so many times was very, very pleasing. It wasn't always structurally perfect but we have a group that work hard for one another. The flipside of having to do so much defence was a lack of respect for the ball. Some of it was through trying to force an offload or throwing a pass that wasn't on. There's going to be errors and loose ball but ones where we're in control, those are the ones we want to eliminate if we can. Overall, I'm really pleased with the playing group and how they immersed themselves in the community for Country Week. Some gave up their morning routines to do things with the kids in Cooktown. To get the win against a team that's basically been a top four team all year, that's pleasing. Now we turn our attention to the Clydesdales, who are sitting in last. The last time we played them, I think we fell into that trap where some players were looking at ladder position. Last time we played them, they jumped us with their enthusiasm and intent and were the better team for the first part until we got into our groove. They know they're not playing finals but they're dangerous - they could be trying new things, there's less pressure on them, they're chancing their arm. It could free them up a little bit so we need to be aware of it. They have good players that can be hard to handle - Emry (Pere) through the middle, big guys on the edges. They've been in the fight in a lot of games this year so the two points isn't the concern for us this weekend. There's things in our game we need to get better at and we only have three games left to improve before semi-finals. We need to improve in those areas that we've identified internally.

Western Clydesdales coach Jason Alchin: We were in the game on the weekend against Tweed but there were a few little things that we're doing wrong. We keep saying it but we are just learning from it all, learning from the experience. We're moving forward as a club. It's not always about how old you are but how many games you've played in this competition. We don't have that experience yet but hopefully in time it will benefit us. Everyone in the squad is realising that you have to put in extras and work harder to be at this level. We're not giving up though - we don't say that. We're ready to play a very, very good team on the weekend. It's first versus last and when you look at their side you can understand why they're leading the comp. In their forwards alone, they have 300-plus Cup games of experience. Their six and seven are outstanding. They're very, very good players. We're ready to go and we'll put in everything we have up there. We have a lot of respect for them. We know it's first versus last but we're putting everything we have into it up there.

Broadcast: Qplus.tv

Central Queensland Capras v Wynnum Manly Seagulls

Central Queensland Capras coach Lionel Harbin: Last week's win against Redcliffe, I just thought it's probably been the best performance of the year. That came off the back of our defence. We weren't happy with the way we defended our last two games against the Pride and the Hunters so last week was a good reward for all the efforts that the boys have put in over the last few training weeks. It's important if you're winning at this time of the year. We all know the table is tight and congested and every win is important. For us it's about trying to replicate what we did on the weekend. That's our challenge, to do it all again. Obviously Wynnum Manly started the season really well and have been a bit inconsistent like a lot of us. But it's going to be a tough game this Saturday. They're in and around the logjam for finals. Everyone is going to be competing really hard so we know we'l be coming up against a tough and desperate side.

Wynnum Manly Seagulls coach Mat Head: Last week was the first time we've seen the Pride all season and they showed us why they're sitting first. They're a very good defensive team and gave us a lesson on how to defend the try line. It showed us what type of work we need to do and where we need to go with our footy. It's getting clustered in the competition at the moment and it seems finals have started early. For us, we have to find another win. We've lost our last four so we need to find a bit of desperation in our performances and more enjoyment in our performances too. We're in a disappointment period but only we can help ourselves and get ourselves out of it. The Capras are similar to us. We're one point ahead on the ladder and had a 28-all draw last time we met. They're a pretty good footy team that like to come hard at you. They sprinkled a bit of (Anthony) Milford class last time and we know it's going to be a tough game. We need to be desperate and get the two points.

Broadcast: Qplus.tv

Redcliffe Dolphins v PNG Hunters

Redcliffe Dolphins coach Ben Te'o: We really struggled with our discipline last week against the Capras. We conceded a lot of penalties in that first 20 minutes. It really put us under a lot of pressure. We were lucky to go into the break at 16-4 but the second half, we couldn't really hang with them. They were good the Capras in everything they did. We have to look at ourselves and focus on our own preparation and our own game and knuckle down for the next four weeks. We can't look at the table or anyone else. It's all in our own hands. We don't have to travel for the rest of the season so it's time to settle into a routine. This week we host PNG and everyone knows exactly what you get when you play them. It's the right game for us right now with the physicality and challenge of it. It's going to be confrontational and that's exactly what we need right now.

PNG Hunters coach Paul Aiton: This week is just about getting back on track. Probably leading into the bye, we were on our bye before the game... we just need to re-focus and get our minds back into it and finish our last four-game block off really well... get back on track after Falcons game (Round 14 game played on July 21, where the Falcons won 66-8). We had no real standouts in the Falcons game so I'll be looking for  everyone to step up and compete like we know we can. Redcliffe are a quality side like all sides in this competition. It's a competition filled with quality teams... you've just got to show up on the day. We're doing everything in our power to make sure we show up against the Dolphins. Hopefully there's a good crowd for both teams there, like there usually is. A big shout out to our fans for following us this season, coming to games and supporting us... this is our last away game for the season, so hopefully there's a good crowd there to support us against Redcliffe. But, big shout out to everyone for this year.

Broadcast: Qplus.tv

Townsville Blackhawks v Souths Logan Magpies

Townsville Blackhawks coach Terry Campese: There were a number of factors that could have impacted our performance last week. There was the actual situation with the travel out to Mount Isa and the arrangements going into the game were a bit unique and not what you always account for. But the boys got that past and moved on and did what we trained to execute against the Tigers. Out of that win, there's a lot of confidence from the staff and as a coach I'm pleased with the direction we're heading and I'm sure the playing group feel exactly the same. We just need to go out, get in the arm wrestle and that's what we need to do again this week. With (Tristan) Sailor at the back, there's a very ad-lib dynamic there for the Magpies... very threatening. They use their forwards as a power base and play off the back of it. We have to limit their go-forward and that's how we can contain their dangerous backline.

Souths Logan Magpies coach Karmichael Hunt: Country Week was good. Wasn't a typical Country Week that we're used to, on a plane, travelling far and wide. It was a nice drive to Tambourine Mountain and we got a good result in the game. Got up there earlier and watched the local game, one of the Burleigh against the Tamborine Mountain Bushrats. Really vocal crowd. Country Week is so good, getting into communities we don’t play in front of and them showing support, it was fantastic. The biggest takeaway for us, if we look at our better performances compared to worst, it’s all around effort and attitude. The boys have a clear understanding now after the low of Tweed and the high of Burleigh, that they've got to be switched on mentally and come with the right attitude, no matter who we play, and it's important they take that into our game against the Blackhawks. We want to make sure we train well... we've trained well before some of our poorer performances and trained well before our good ones... at the end of the day for us, effort and attitude on game day is what matters. The boys have a clear understanding of what it takes to perform consistently. It doesn’t matter who is in the team, if players are giving the effort required and filling a role for the team, I'm a happy coach.

Broadcast: Qplus.tv

Brisbane Tigers v Burleigh Bears 

Brisbane Tigers coach Matt Church: In our 15 minutes after half-time against the Blackhawks (in Country Week) we didn't build enough pressure with our kicking game... poor kicks or didn't get to our kicks. They ran two tries in, in that time, that ended up being the difference in the end. Tom McGrath has had a start-stop season with injury, but I think he's started to find his own. He scored a try in that game that not many people would score, with four defenders... he did a really good job and is a quiet achiever in our group. Going up against the Bears, we just need to build pressure. Our last game against the Bears was probably our best in terms of kicking and applying pressure to an opposition. We were fairly dominant in that game but the Bears ran in late tries so it ended up being a tight contest in the end. They will be reeling from that game and their loss in Country Week. They don't lose too many games and not by many... they won't be happy with their performance last week. I think their core group are always ones you've got to be mindful of and given our recent history with the Bears, them losing the last two, they will want to rectify that. Their older gen guys, who have been keystone to the team for a long time, are the ones we’ll be focusing on.

Burleigh Bears coach Luke Burt: It was errors that cost us last week - 17 errors is just not good enough and we need to be better in that area. It's something that we're focused on and being aware of. It's about not compounding an error with another error straight after it and to be positive around that and stay focused on individual roles. It's really important for ourselves. That's been our focus all week is to improve and be better in the areas that we need to be. We know the Tigers are a very good, tough side. It's going to be a tough game. Every game we play against them is a tight, tough battle and we're not expecting anything different. They took Pride to the wire a few weeks ago but it's about focusing on us and improving on where we need to be better in these last few games.

Broadcast: Qplus.tv

Ipswich Jets v Mackay Cutters

Ipswich Jets coach Tye Ingebrigtsen: I was impressed by our efforts (last week) and the way we stayed in the fight and we continued to push as best we could, but we failed a bit on our execution and missed our assignment a couple of times throughout the 80 minutes, but we were definitely competitive against a top-quality side. This weekend, playing at home, we'll have a better preparation for the game and I hope that helps our start. We played the Cutters five or six weeks ago and we showed at times we could go with them for periods of that game and it was a similar thing too, we started slow in that game and they jumped out of the blocks and it put us behind. It's something we really need to fix is our start, especially against the Cutters, they're a top-quality side and get a number of Cowboys allocated players back, so we need to do our best to limit the opportunities of those players and can compete and show up for 80 minutes, anything can happen. We've won a couple of games now since I've been coaching and my feet are well and truly under the desk, so I'm confident in everything we're doing at training and hopefully we can finish the season strongly these last few weeks.

Mackay Cutters coach Adam Cuthbertson: It was obviously not the result we would've liked (last week) with the game prep and the way we started, but reviewing the game we let ourselves with the fundamentals and didn't value possession of the ball quite as much as the opposition did and it's something we've reflected on and looking to improve moving forward. We'll preview the Jets and make sure we implement a game plan that not only suits us but cancels out what they're doing. We're going to make this week very much about ourselves and being the best version of ourselves while respecting the opposition, because they've been doing some great things the last couple of weeks under a new coach and it's definitely going to take 1-17 this week turning up and really tipping in. I really like what we're doing through the middle third, our middles have been great over the weekend and it was really good to see some players who haven't had a run in Hostplus Cup this year step up. Bayley Gill was brilliant, and Jeremiah Matautia was outstanding on the weekend, the two 'fronties' and John Radel as always, so we're looking to now get a win and find some consistency and really go for it for the remainder of the year.

Broadcast: Qplus.tv

Bye: Sunshine Coast Falcons

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