ONE thing the Central Queensland Capras pride themselves on is starting strong.
But Capras coach Lionel Harbin was left without excuses after watching his team fail to match Wynnum Manly's enthusiasm and intensity from the opening whistle.
While pleased with the resolve shown in the second half, Harbin grew concerned when his side trailed their visitors 22-0 at halftime.
“When you make errors in attack, it's always going to be hard," Harbin said.
“We had a great preparation and it's important to have attitude and commitment. We were lacking in that department.”
During the break, Harbin reminded the team of their efforts at training, fast line speed in defence and go-forward.
The chastened Capras lifted defensively to restrict the opposition to just two tries after the break, but that was still more than they could afford from so far in arrears.
“We had to find a way to gain momentum back, which we did in the second half,” Harbin said.
“We were playing too lateral. In the second half we straightened up and played more direct and proved we were the better side.”
Flashes of brilliance early in the second half helped the Capras claw their way back into contention with Josh Mitchell, Guy Williams and Ian Webster crossing for the home side.
“We proved to ourselves in the second half that we don't need to put on big set plays, we just need to play direct and the points will come,” Harbin said.
"All of our try scorers put themselves in position and used momentum to break Wynnum's defence."
But ill-discipline and lagging defence followed for the Capras, losing their momentum to secure their eighth loss.
“There was a bit of improvement in defence. Four of their tries were scored on the sixth tackle,” Harbin said.
“But we still need to defend those sets if we want to win games.”
Consistent performers Gerard Tema and Rajan Opetaia-Halls earned Harbin's praise this week, stepping up in front of their home crowd in Gladstone.
“They played really well this week and remained committed in both attack and defence,” Harbin said.
Corbyn Kilday made his debut in the maroon and blue jersey denting the Seagulls defence as an impact player.
“Corbyn had a good game for us and proved he was ready for Intrust Super Cup level football,” Harbin said.
“Young Dean McAdam was again outstanding for us.”
Along with the heartbreak of the loss, the Capras finished with injuries to Josh Mitchell (shoulder), Josh Johnston (back) and Ian Webster (concussion).
The Capras take on the Redcliffe Dolphins in Round 11 at Dolphin Oval on Sunday.
WYNNUM MANLY SEAGULLS 34 (Greg Eden 2, Matthew Grieve, Mitchell Buckett, Patrick Templeman, Tanu Wulf tries; Matthew Seamark 5 goals) def CQ CAPRAS 16 (Ian Webster, Josh Mitchell, Guy Williams tries; Ian Webster 2 goals) at Marley Brown Oval, Gladstone.
Final Teams
CQ Capras: 1. Javarn White 2. Jake Ainsworth 3. Jacob Gagai 4. Hayden Buckman 5. Clinton Mooney 6. Matt Minto 7. Ian Webster 8. Gerard Tema 9. Josh Mitchell 10. Gavin Hiscox 11. Rajan Opetaia-Halls 12. Guy Williams (c) 13. Garrett Field 15. Josh Johnston 16. Dean McAdam 17. Tyson White 18. Corbyn Kilday
Wynnum Manly Seagulls: 1. Daniel Ogden 2. Peter Gubb 3. Matthew Grieve 4. Mitchell Buckett 5. Greg Eden 6. Patrick Templeman 7. Matthew Seamark 8. Ben Shea 9. Alehana Mara 10. Tim Natusch (c) 11. Aaron Rockley 12. Brendon Gibb 13. Mitchell Frei 14. David Stagg 15. Jon Grieve 16. Tanu Wulf 17. Olsi Krasniqi
