Coaches' call: Hostplus Cup Round 4 preview

Brisbane Tigers v Western Clydesdales

Brisbane Tigers coach Matt Church: Our win in Round 3 was really about us rediscovering our identity as a footy side. I felt at times in the first couple of rounds we went away from what was a major aspect of our year last year. We tried to play too pretty rather than gritty. We were a team that were very hard to beat last year and we hadn’t lived up to those standards in the first couple of rounds of this year. Moving forward into this week, we now want to maintain our presence and identity. Obviously a week off is good at times but also it can be a little adverse for a performance. But we ripped in at training last night and I feel like we’re going to build on last round’s performance. The Clydesdales are a good footy side and they’re a tough team to beat. They’ll be hungry after two weeks off and they should be full of energy. We’re expecting them to come flying out of the blocks and we’ll have a challenge to maintain them physically. You only have to be five per cent off in this competition and you can have your butt handed to you. We’re wary that they'll be looking for their first win. 

Western Clydesdales coach Jason Alchin: We're coming back in this week after two weeks off - we played two, had two off, then we'll play two again and have another bye. It's a bit hard for us but it’s okay – that’s the draw and that’s the way it is. There’s no excuses, it is what it is and we’ll be right. We’ll do what we’ve got to do. All the boys are happy and we’re ready to play against the defending premiers this weekend. We’re fit and healthy and I’m sure they’re ready to go to play us too. Churchie will have them up and going. They had a good win against Ipswich before Easter.

Broadcast: Qplus.tv.

Tweed Seagulls v PNG Hunters

Tweed Seagulls coach David Penna: It’s no secret we’re not happy with where we are. As a team and as a coach and as a club, we didn’t expect ourselves to be where we are but we are. We’ve done all the talking we need to do. There’s no excuses. We’ve given good teams far too much footy so far this year. We looked at the stats over the break and we're having to make 310-odd tackles a game and completing less than 55 per cent. We have a lot of hard work to do but we have to do it - keep working hard and sticking together. We’ve had to train harder and really focus on doing the simple things well... we haven’t done that in first three rounds. We’ve been in the games at times but our completions and the amount of tackling we have to do, we’re going to make it really, really hard for ourselves. Coming up this weekend against the Hunters, we know it’s a lot of hard work for 80 minutes. They’re a terrific side and love the game of rugby league. They run hard they tackle hard. They do all the simple things well. We’ll have to be just as good as them to go close to competing with them.

PNG Hunters coach Paul Aiton: Comments to come.

Broadcast: Qplus.tv.

Townsville Blackhawks v Mackay Cutters

Townsville Blackhawks Terry Campese: I thought our defence was really good in Round 3. It was a tough match against the Pride, who have started the season really well and they’re well-drilled. It was a tough loss at home but you could tell the attitude was there. There were a few little things we’ve been looking at and working on since – it’s a bit of our timing. We’re quite a new squad so still learning each other's attributes and what we bring to the table. We’ve been working on that and trying to work on what will hopefully transpire into some points, especially this weekend because we’re playing another tough opposition with a lot of Cowboys players going back to the Cutters. They look at full strength. They’ve got some very big, powerful outside backs and play a lot of their football off their forward momentum. They’ve been playing with a lot of time and space with their halves and their little fullback is very nippy. They get (Thomas) Mikaele back this week too, who is a big injection into their team… I think of what I’ve seen of him, he’s unlucky not to be playing NRL and is someone we’re definitely looking out for.

Mackay Cutters coach Michael Comerford: It was a relief to go into the Easter break on a positive from a results point of view. It’s a long time to stew on a loss so to have a happy group was definitely a positive. But, in saying that, we weren’t real happy with how we played against the Capras. We lost every stat area but we were able to find a way to win. It was just far from our best footy – our discipline was poor in defence but some of the resilience we showed, we scrambled well and showed a lot of composure. The players put a plan together at halftime and went out to execute in the second half. This week, we had some local referees come into training to give the boys a bit of insight and hopefully we can improve in that area - being tidier at marker and off the line. If we can tidy that up, we give ourselves more footy, which is what we want and more opportunities for our attack to connect as well. The Blackhawks are a physical, tough team. They’re coming off the back of a couple losses but they have strong ball carriers and dominate the metres week to week. We know we have to be staunch in defence. On home turf, we expect them to be high in motivation. They’ll be eyeing this game off to turn the form around and we're under no illusions of how tough the road trip is to Townsville.

Broadcast: Qplus.tv.

Sunshine Coast Falcons v Northern Pride 

Sunshine Coast Falcons coach Brad Henderson: The takeaway from our loss to PNG is that I feel like we actually took a step forward with our intensity and physicality. While we didn't get the result, our attitudes were a lot more focused on doing what we needed to do. We dropped off with 15 minutes to go and they were good enough to put us away but I was reasonably pleased with the effort over there. For 65 minutes I felt we were in control until we weren’t. Overall at the moment, we’re just not completing high enough and we’re putting a lot of pressure on ourselves. I want to keep the intensity levels high but take the pressure off each other. Coming up against the Pride, they have had a great start. You know they’re going to be physical. The last few times we’ve played them, it’s been extremely gritty. It takes 80 minutes of good, tough footy. They have a really strong roster, a great halves pairing. Depending which fullback plays - Seamus King-Smith or Tom Chester - they’ll have a really skillful fullback. They’re great across the park but we just have to keep our focus on ourselves at the moment and hope we get it right. We haven’t got it right yet, but I think we’re getting closer to that performance we can be proud of for 80 minutes.

Northern Pride coach Eric Smith: We’d never spoken about how many games we wanted to win going into the Easter break but it was nice going into the week off with three wins under our belt. Wins at the start of the season are so important because you’re not playing your best football yet. You’re a long way from the finished product. They’re so crucial at the start of the year. The players… it’s a good reward for them for the amount of work we’ve put in. It was a very big pre-season and one very different to what a lot of these players are used to. I have to give credit to them for buying into the changes that I wanted to incorporate here. As we get deeper into it, every team gets better and we’re looking to do the same. We need to be better if we want to continue those performances that give us a chance to win. So far this year we’ve been at home or close to home but have a big block with a lot of away games coming up so we need to nail our preparation. This starts with the Falcons and they played really well in Round 1. If they play that style of football, they’ll win a lot of games this year. They made a lot of errors against the Hunters and will want to rectify that. I’m expecting a pretty heavy Storm contingent. The NRL played last night so all their extended bench players will be free to play. This will be a really good challenge for our forward pack, probably the biggest challenge we’ve had so far. They’ll be looking to bounce back after their last game and will be disappointed with that performance in Round 3 and amount of errors they had. We think it will be one of our toughest challenges so far.

Broadcast: Qplus.tv.

Central Queensland Capras v Burleigh Bears

Central Queensland Capras coach Lionel Harbin: We just didn’t turn up defensively up there in Mackay two weeks ago. We didn’t come there with the right attitude to roll our sleeves up and work and it showed on the scoreboard. It’s something we can’t do this week against Burleigh as they’re a really good attacking side. We have to turn up with the right attitude this weekend. They have a really good forward pack, they get momentum down the field really well and create opportunity for their experienced halves. The Bears have been the benchmark for quite a while now. There’s always up around the top of the table and strangle teams out of it. We have to be ready for a really tough battle. I think the players are looking forward to coming up against their former teammates too in Bailey Butler and Tyler Szepanowski. Bailey is coming off some really good form last year and started the season well. With Tyler, you know what you’re going to get.

Burleigh Bears coach Luke Burt: What I really liked about our last game before the Easter break was the way we built into the match. The whole 80 minute performance – the way we were patient and built a play count against Tweed. That paid dividends late in the match. If we were healthy and fit I would have loved to have kept rolling on but there were a few bumps and bruises so the boys needed a week off. It came at a really good time for us. It’s something we won’t roll into again this week. We understand we need to restart and reload and start with a bit of patience again against the Capras. They’re a powerful, aggressive side... Defensively we have to be really strong. 

Broadcast: Qplus.tv. 

Ipswich Jets v Redcliffe Dolphins

Ipswich Jets coach Ben Cross: We realise we shot ourselves in the foot quite a bit in our last game. We should have gone into the half at nil-all with the Brisbane Tigers. It would have been a better reflection of the game but we lacked concentration when they scored that first try. They got two more tries that were more our doing than theirs. It didn’t reflect the true nature of the game. For us, it came down to a few decisions and individual errors. If you don’t control the ball, you don’t control the game. It’s discipline and control. We have enough footy in us to score enough points. If we can get 50 per cent of the ball and complete at 75 per cent, we’ll be in 90 per cent of our games. This week we have Redcliffe who are a highly professional outfit. They’re up there every year for a reason. They'll be smarting after their last start as well. It wasn’t a great performance from them and not the standard they know. I’m not too sure what players they’ll get back but with Sean O'Sullivan likely leading them around, they’ll be well structured.

Redcliffe Dolphins coach Ben Te’o: It was a tight battle for us in Round 3 and I think Wynnum were great at home. They really stood up defensively and held us out. We couldn’t score for long periods of time. That frustrated us at times and they got a really good win. We’ve had some new personnel, new players come into the team, which we have to figure out the best way to play. But it’s part of the system and the development pathway with the NRL club. When you have new players coming in, it’s never going to be perfect straight away. This weekend is the start of a new process. We need to focus on ourselves and our football. The Jets are now full of confidence and had their first win recently in a long time. They’re getting high quality players back from the Titans and look like a happy team. But we’re preparing well for them.

Broadcast: Qplus.tv.

Bye: Souths Logan Magpies

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