Focused Falcons aim to maintain strong position
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After falling just short against the Burleigh Bears last round, the Falcons will be hoping for a much-needed win this weekend to stay in fourth position on the ladder.
A victory would help keep them clear of the teams who sit just outside the top five with Souths Logan in fifth (also on 22 points), Norths Devils on 20 and Easts Tigers on 19.
“Each game is a must win game for us from now and until the semi-finals, if we want to play semis this year,” Falcons coach Danny Gray said.
“We have to play each week as though it’s a semi-final to make sure we have spot this year, otherwise we won’t be playing semi-finals footy.”
The Falcons incurred a tough four-point loss against the competition leaders last week at the Noosa Districts Sporting Complex and will be hoping to turn it around when they take on the Tweed Heads Seagulls this Sunday.
“We gave the Bears too much ball,” Gray said. “They are the competition leaders and you just can’t be giving them opportunities.
“I was happy with the boys’ effort and the fact they were able to keep the Bears down to 26 points.
“You would be crazy to think you get easy games in the FOGs Colts competition.
“Last time we played Tweed we were up 24-0 at halftime and ended up drawing with them 28-28.”
Although it was a tough loss, Gray was pleased with the team’s effort and will be hoping to work on areas that the Bears exposed.
“I was pleased with the overall effort and the fact that they worked hard as a group. We turned over a lot of ball and will be looking to fix that over the next few weeks,” Gray said.
“We will be working on our ability to defend the errors and just working hard on the little things.
“It’s our last home game this weekend, so we have to work really hard as we will be on the road for the next three weeks.”
While the rest of the competition will have a bye next weekend (Round 23), the Falcons will travel to Bishop Park to take on the Norths Devils for their postponed match.
This weekend’s Round 22 matches will kick off on Saturday with the Ipswich Jets taking on the Wynnum Manly Seagulls.
Sunday will see the Burleigh Bears hosting the Toowoomba Clydesdales and the Redcliffe Dolphins take on the Souths Logan Magpies to bring the round to a close.
The Easts Tigers and Norths Devils both have byes this round.