Coaches' call: Hostplus Cup Finals Week 1 preview

PNG Hunters v Wynnum Manly Seagulls

PNG Hunters coach Paul Aiton: Having three straight wins heading into finals, it does give us a bit of confidence. But we spoke in our last training session to say that it's a new competition from now. We did well and we're confident but we have to refocus onto a new comp, onto the next forward block. We get to play at home again but we're not focused on that. We're focused on us and what we've done in the season and how we have to do that again in this next comp. When we focus on other things, it doesn't help our preparation. Wynnum Manly are a top team. We're expecting a really good hit out from them and expecting them at their very best. 

Wynnum Manly Seagulls coach Mat Head: I think last week against the Tigers, we may have had one eye on the next week. When your mindset isn't fully on the moment you can get the pants pulled down and that's what the Tigers did to us. There were stages we were really happy with so we just need to make sure we do that for longer periods and stay in the contest for longer periods. It wasn't the result we wanted but we got to move onto the following week and the challenges ahead. We're excited by that. There's only eight teams left and we're one of them. It doesn't matter where you finish, but we're here and we're off to PNG. We've been there once this year so we know what we're heading towards, we know what it's like for our preparation. We lost that game so we have a bit of redemption to chase and we want to get back to how we would like to play. You can sense the excitement in the playing group. The Hunters are playing some really good footy. They have a really good balance in their game. We know what to expect. They're playing their fourth home game in a row and they'll be up for the challenge but it puts a bit of added pressure on them as well. We're excited and can't wait for the challenge.

Broadcast: Qplus.tv

Central Queensland Capras v Burleigh Bears

Central Queensland Capras coach Lionel Harbin: We were pretty disappointed with the way we performed against Norths the week prior to last. As a result, finals came a week earlier for us against Tweed and I thought with the performance from the boys, we were pretty dominant throughout the game. We were pleased to give ourselves another week in the competition. Moving forward, we don't want to beat ourselves. The game we played against Norths, we didn't give ourselves an opportunity through poor completion and ill-discipline. It's going to be hard to win finals footy games if you do that. Against Burleigh this week, they have a lot of experience for this time of year and know what it takes to win the big games. We have to give ourselves every opportunity by doing the little things right.

Burleigh Bears coach Luke Burt: We're approaching the finals as a new season. We get a new opportunity. We had a great first half against the Pride last week and a really good battle. They had a 10-15 minute period where they scored back-to-back and it wasn't good enough from us. But we have to worry about ourselves and turning it around this week. We saw a lot of signs last week of how we want to look in this finals series. We need to do more of it and go for the game - don't be nervous, don't be worried. We're in do-or-die now. Knowing it's our last game, there should be a different energy and different feel to it. We should have a lot of energy. The Capras are a rough, gritty side. They'll try to get under our skin and are very good at that. There's never been a blowout. It's always a really close match between us so I think it will go down to the wire and both teams will be in it with 10 minutes to go in the match. 

Broadcast: Qplus.tv

Norths Devils v Redcliffe Dolphins

Norths Devils coach Dave Elliott: Last week wasn't the way we wanted to finish the regular season but in any situation you use that experience. We got taught a valuable lesson in the first half last week. We've spoken about that and how we got to have that lesson in the last regular round as opposed to first week of finals. We spoke about how important the starts are in these types of games at this point of the season. We've spoken about owning our moments, competing really hard and turning up for each other. This weekend, it's Redcliffe versus Norths which is always a very tight contest. It will be a fierce game. Guys are good mates with each other and both teams will be wanting nothing more after that 80 minutes than to come away with the win. Redcliffe are a good footy side. They've been consistent all year, well-coached and it will be a typical tough finals match. 

Redcliffe Dolphins coach Ben Te'o: There's a lot of changes coming our way. A few curveballs with selections in terms of the NRL side and how they're shaping up and what's coming back to us. It's finals time and there's a lot of changes and we have to roll with it. All we can control is our attitude. On Sunday we get an opportunity that we've earned and that's to be in the top four and go to Norths to hopefully get a result. That's all we're focused on at the moment. It's always a good thing having two shots being in the top four. Norths are a highly talented team with a great list. They have some good top 30 players there. We won the first match up this year in a close game, they won the second easily It's a good match up.

Broadcast: Qplus.tv

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