BMD Premiership Round 5 preview

Cooke said he expects the clash to give Burleigh a good indication of where they truly stand in the competition, which only has three rounds left until finals.

“It will give us a bit of an idea of how we actually are sitting,” Cooke said.

“Even though we’re four and zero, now that we’re coming to the pointy end, all teams are a bit fitter and smarter and everyone is looking down the track. Hopefully this gives us a gauge of how we’re sitting.

“We’re probably our own worst enemy at this stage. We’re happy with how we’re looking and where we’re progressing but there’s always so much to work on.

“Consistency is just what we’re looking for. (In Round 3) against the Cutters, we had a great week of footy and then against Tweed (Round 4) we made it a bit of a grind and shot ourselves in the foot a bit too much. We just need to find that consistent effort.”

Burleigh have long been a dominant force within the women’s competition in Queensland and have continued to do so this year despite a big turnover in their playing roster.

With several younger talents coming through the ranks, the likes of Zahara Temara, Chelsea Lenarduzzi, Sophie Holyman and Ash Quinlan have stepped up strongly to lead the way.

And Lenarduzzi and Holyman in particular will be leaned on this week for what Cooke is predicting to be a big battle between the two packs.

“They’re strong through the middle of the park,” he said of Souths Logan.

“That’s pretty clear. We have to do a good job through the forwards and middle of the field. We have to win that battle.

“We just need to embrace and get around it a little bit more, keep turning up for one another and just get stuck into it this weekend.

“Hopefully we can complete a lot of sets and control the momentum of the game and everything will pan out ok. If we do that, we’ll put ourselves in a good position to win that game.”

For Tua-Davidson and Souths Logan, she knows they sit in first place on the ladder, but she says it’s only by a margin.

The Magpies for-and-against is 68 points – just four ahead of the Bears on 64.

“Even though Burleigh didn’t do as well last year, they’re still the team that’s set that standard over the last decade,” Tua-Davidson said of her opposition.

“From my playing days, I think I’ve only personally beaten Burleigh once, maybe. In our playing group I don’t think there’s too many people that could say they’ve beaten Burleigh or done it more than once.

“I still think they’re the strongest team in the competition. We’re slightly higher on the table but I think every team would perceive them as the best team in the comp.

“They have the best halves in the competition, the most experienced, and they’ve gone to another level with their game management and composure this year.

“With (Temara) and Ash Quinlan in there, you can’t really take both or either of them out of the game.

“I feel like we have a lot to work on but everybody is really committed to that continual improvement. We’re not going to sit on our haunches.”

Ahead of season 2023, there was a lot of focus on teams such as Wynnum Manly, Norths and Mackay who all made a number of star signings.

Souths Logan and Burleigh alike have been the dark horses of the competition, using a strong mix of youth and experience to push their way to the top of the ladder.

Tua-Davidson – who started coaching in the BMD Premiership last year – said she has of course been impressed with the leadership of her captains Brittany Breayley-Nati and Frieda Seu, but also pleased with the efforts of her backrowers, Jasmine Fogavini and Tyesha Mikaio.

She said while Fogavini has received a lot of acknowledgement for her strong BMD Premiership campaign so far, Mikaio has not despite having the same quality work rate.

Mikaio is four rounds in and still yet to miss a single tackle.

But she said as a whole squad, Souths Logan have come together the way they have because the focus has always been on recruiting not just quality athletes, but quality people.

“My approach coming into the situation, almost starting from scratch, was people first and making sure we had a good group of people that wanted to work hard,” Tua-Davidson said.

“We had that last year but not the experience in the group to bring each other up. This year we had a year’s worth of experience together, I had a year’s worth of experience as a BMD coach.

“We have good people, hard-working athletes and that experience we didn’t have last year, we have now. On paper we always had potential but we have to have those three things.

“The other part of it is the group we have are really tight off the field. They’re a good, connected group of women that want to work hard for each other. They have a really good balance.”

Elsewhere in Round 5, Norths and Central Queensland will meet in a must-win match if either team want to keep their finals hopes alive.

The Capras have just one win to their name this season while the Devils are yet to get the two points.

The Tweed Seagulls will also be on the hunt for their first win when they meet the fourth-placed Wynnum Manly Seagulls in a ‘flockbuster’ at BMD Kougari Oval on Sunday.

And the Brisbane Tigers and third-placed Mackay Cutters will go to battle on Saturday night, with the Tigers desperate to stay within reach of the top four.

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