The Battle of Brisbane may have been a week ago but this week is the Jacks family backyard battle in the Hostplus Cup.
When Brisbane Tigers and Ipswich Jets take each other on tonight in the XXXX Rivalry Round there will be an extra level of spice with Ryley Jacks and Rhys Jacks clashing as captains.
The clothesline won’t be in the way and there will be no using the lemon tree as a defender but there might be plenty of backyard spirit that can only happen between brothers.
Ipswich Jets captain Rhys Jacks is keen to get one over his brother.
Match: Tigers v Jets
Round 4 -
home Team
Tigers
7th Position
away Team
Jets
14th Position
Venue: Leo Williams Oval, Brisbane
“We have played each other twice in the Hostplus Cup and it’s 2-0 to Ryley so I think it’s my time now,” Rhys said.
“I know what Ryley can and will do and I have no issue giving the Jets boys intel but we still need to stop it and he’s smart enough to adjust on the run too.
“Our family loves the Hostplus Cup. Dad and mum live just near Langlands Park so it’s always Cup battles in the backyard.
“We always picked front rowers to be ... Ryley was always Troy Lindsay.
“I never wanted to be any Redcliffe player.”
On who is the favourite, well that debate rages in the Jacks house just like every house.
“Dad wears his Jets’ hat more than he wears his Tigers’ hat so I think he’s a Jets man,” Rhys said.
“He used to be a staunch Tigers man but he’s a bit more open minded now.
“Mum is just about the 'don’t hurt each other' vibe.
“My nephews have just started playing so they’re full of advice for me but they will be on board the Jets too.”
Dad Terry Jacks has raised two boys that love their Hostplus Cup but is wary of what the night will bring for the Jacks family.
“The boys' mum Donna won’t be there I know that. She refuses. She will message me at halftime and check if anyone is hurt, but that will be it,” Terry said.
“I am doing the coin toss for the game. Tigers CEO Brian Torpy asked yesterday if I’d like to toss the coin with the boys and I said I would love to very much.
“Our family loves local football and has a long and proud association with the Tigers but tonight I will be careful not to wear any orange or green.
“I do have a Jets hat that Rhys gave me and Ryley hasn’t given me anything so I wear that to games.”
Brisbane Tigers captain Ryley Jacks is back in the Hostplus Cup after debuting for the Tigers in 2014 and this is the game he circled as soon as the draw came out.
“It’s pretty cool for two brothers to be captains at this level,” Ryley said.
“It’s a big day for our family and dad coming to do the toss and get a photo is a really nice family moment.
“There won’t be too much banter between us. Maybe if this game happened in 2014 when we were young there might have been but we are too old now.
“It’ll be a good contest.”
