Sport
21 February, 2025
Pride lose in tough contest
DESPITE a very close match, Northern Pride couldn’t defeat an aggressive and focused PNG Hunters falling 24-20 in their first match of the year, but coach Russ Aitken says they’ll return stronger in the next match
Friday night footy ended up being a bittersweet night for fans after both local teams lost their matches. Northern Pride lost to the PNG Hunters in the second half of the game 24-20 but the real disappointment came when a disconnected NQ Cowboys lost to the very dominant Dolphins 50-8.
Although they seemed to have the game in their pocket in the first half, with a score of 14-4 against the Hunters, Northern Pride took a tumble in the second half and ended up losing the match 24-20.
Head coach Russ Aitken said his focus wasn’t on the result, he said this trial match was the opportunity to trial combinations and see if the team could take their footy to the level they wanted for the season.
“I’m not worried with the result, I’m more concerned about the way we played,” he said.
“We wanted to play a certain way, we wanted to start fast, compete and connect really well which we’ve been working on all the pre-season.
“I think the boys did that well for large parts of the game, we dominated the game and played our style of footy, however, we still have got a long way to go to be where we want to be.
“We were a little too undisciplined without the ball and too many fundamental skill errors with the ball but overall, with the way we connected and competed, I was happy with the performance.”
Mr Aitken said it was only the beginning and that he was confident that this team could go far.
“With trial matches you’re playing around with your team more than in the normal setting,” he said.
“We were working on combinations. We had a lot of young fellas – who I was really happy with the way they played – but that inexperience at the end of the game, when we had a lot of our young boys on and playing against an experienced Hunters team, probably made a difference at the end of the game.
“But we’re continuing to get better every training session and our discipline and fundamental skill – it’s going to be key this start of the year, so we won’t be looking to play too expansive, we’ll be looking to nail down the basics.
“We have another trial game against Brothers next week and then a week off and then we’re into round one so we’re looking to get better at all the basics.
“I think we have a great combination of youth and experience.”
