Consistency key to being successful

HELLO everyone, welcome to the fourth edition of Churchie’s Comment for the year in your favourite rugby league newspaper — The National.
The pre-season has officially ended with our final trial match against the Northern Pride.
We travelled to Cairns for last weekend’s game knowing that we were going to be tested.
We were aware that the Pride were going to field a stronger side than the young Capras side we faced the week before.
Last Wednesday, we had probably one of our best training sessions since I took over coaching the SP Hunters. The players were loud, energetic and looked quite impressive.
When we trained in Cairns, we were quiet and less energetic.
To be a great football side, you need to show consistency in all that you do as a team.
For most of the squad returning from last year and the rookies, playing at this level requires consistency to be successful. The returning players endured a season last year that lacked consistent performances. You only need to look at the points they conceded at the end of last year to know that they needed a lot of work to build that consistent effort.
When the Pride got out to a 26-12 lead on Saturday, it was interesting to see how the players were going to respond. The message at halftime was simple. Hold the ball, work hard for each other and make sure our markers are set. So when the boys got themselves back into the contest after back to back tries to Terry Wapi, the signs were encouraging that the boys wanted to fight hard and work for each other.
While we turned over way too much ball and at times struggled to defend our line due the amount of pressure we put ourselves under, I was proud of the boys for showing the character to get themselves back in the game.
I feel that the SP Hunters played a more attractive game. We just couldn’t maintain the pressure due to our ball security.
The team returned on Sunday and resumed training on Monday and Tuesday, going through some tough sessions. They are on a break now and return to camp on Sunday. The break or rest is the most important part of any high performance environment. It allows the body to recover from the tough nature of our sport. It also gives players a chance to freshen the mind and escape the bub- ble of training and camp for a few days.
From Sunday, we set our sights on starting the season off strongly in our round-one clash with the Souths Logan Magpies in Brisbane on March 15. It’s exciting to think that some of our players will officially become SP Hunters in the coming weeks. I am excited to play a part in these players reaching one of their milestones.
While I would love to have my first official game as the SP Hunters coach to be played at the Oil Search National Football Stadium in front of our sponsors and fans, having it in Brisbane allows my family and friends to share in a proud moment for myself.
I take great pride in being the SP Hunters coach and will work hard regardless of results to pre- sent a consistent team that make all our families and fans proud to support us.

Until next week, let’s respect and be kind to each other.

Cheers,
Matt