‘I’m not a big believer in playing for anyone in particular’
- Devils coach Mark Gliddon
After seven rounds of pain, the Norths Devils broke their losing streak on Saturday night; beating the Northern Pride 30-14 at Barlow Park (Cairns).
Despite starting on the back foot after an early try from the Pride front rower Sheldon Powe-Hobbs in the fourth minute, the Devils regained their moment with Jai Arrow crossing the line in the 11th minute, right under the posts.
It was the boot of Devils five-eighth Haydan Lipp that separated the two teams going into halftime, after he successfully converted the try of Matiu Love-Henry to give the team a two-point lead at the break.
Highlights: Pride v Devils
Second half
The Pride came out strongly in the second half, with Marcus Jensen scoring within the first minute. However, despite all attempts to contain them, the Devils were unstoppable during the second half scoring two easy tries, and using the ill-discipline of the Pride to get an extra four points on the board.
“We built on the week before, I thought we were very good against Townsville and we had the momentum building, so we were able to get the job done against the Pride,” Devils coach Mark Gliddon said.
“The preparation going into this game was good, everyone bought into what we were trying to do at training and during the game.”
Highlights from other weekend matches
Win not for me – Gliddon
During the prior week, Gliddon had announced he would step down at the end of the season, but he said he didn’t believe the team went about the match any differently. “I’m not a big believer in playing for anyone in particular, we just went about our football and the players knew the job that needed to be done.”
Up next
Round 19 sees the Devils face off against South Logan Magpies at Bishop Park on Sunday afternoon.
It is shaping as an important match for both teams, with the Devils looking to continue their momentum against a Magpies side who are in sixth position on the ladder.
“They (the Magpies) had nine full-time footballers last weekend against the Jets, and still got beaten, so I think they’re going to come out strong and determined after a loss,” Gliddon said.
“I expect it to be a very tough game, they have a big forward pack and are strong up the middle.”
Finals not the focus
Despite the finals getting closer, Gliddon admits that it is something that the team isn’t concentrating on. “It might sound a little clichéd, but were just trying to improve each week and we’ll see how we go from there.”
“If you’re a couple of percent off, you’ll get beaten. There are no easy games, we’ve just got to take the consistency and the wins will come off the back of that.”
Match times, venues
The Devils v Magpies game kicks off at 1:40pm at Bishop Park.
The Northern Pride head to the Jack Manski Oval on Saturday night for a 6pm kick off, to play the fifth placed Townsville Blackhawks, who will be fresh coming off the back of a bye.
See the full scoring details and final team line-ups for this game at QRL Live
NORTHS DEVILS 30 (Jai Arrow, Matiu Love-Henry, Delouise Hoeter, Jarryd Dodd tries; Haydan Lipp 7 goals) def NORTHERN PRIDE 14 (Sheldon Powe-Hobbs, Shawn Bowen, Marcus Jensen tries; Jordan Biondi-Odo goal) at Barlow Park.
