‘Ball security let us down’

SP Hunters Coach Matthew Church blamed ball security in their 24-36 loss to hosts Northern Pride at Barlow Park in Cairns, Australia, on Saturday.
“Unfortunately, we struggled at times throughout the game in this area in a match played in hot and steamy conditions,” Church said after the game.
“This led to us defending our line for long periods of time, something you don’t want to be doing. We made our catching and passing a massive focus in the preseason and we let ourselves down by making some simple errors or forcing passes that didn’t need to be thrown.
“When we managed to hold the ball, we probably played better football compared with the Pride.
“You want to be getting off your line hard and we missed the target here as well.
“A couple of the Pride’s tries came by way of defected kicks close to the line and the rest were from close range which allowed them to skip out to a 26-12 lead.
“I felt that when we completed our sets, we looked more dangerous than the Pride. One of the few times we actually completed back-to-back sets was when Terry Wapi scored and then from the kick-off set, he scored again.”
Church said with the momentum, they fought back into the contest to close the gap at 26-24.
He said the message to the group was simple.
“Hold the football, get our markers set in defence and we will win the game,” Church said. “We dropped the ball off the kick-off following Wapi’s second try and just like that, all the momentum we built was gone.”
He said Pride, bolstered by the inclusion of five North Queensland Cowboys players, got a couple more close-range tries to run out victors
“I was proud of the boys for staying in the fight and getting themselves back into the game,” Church said. “The game is now about pressure, how much pressure you absorb or put on your opposition.
“Ila Alu suffered a knee injury in the captain’s run on Friday so our squad of 20 was reduced to 18 for the match. Enoch Maki had a strong game, carting it up and doing some nice work with the ball and his communication.
“Terry Wapi, with a couple of tries, was handy also and Stanley Olo built on the game he had last weekend against Capras with a great run to set up Wapi’s second try.”
Church said the team will have training on Monday (March 2) and Tuesday (March 3) before going for a break.
“We re-assemble next Sunday to prepare for the first round Intrust Super Cup match against South Logan Magpies in Brisbane on Sunday March 15, 2020,” Church said.
The 2020 Intrust Super Cup season will be launched in Brisbane this Friday March 6, 2020.