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26 March, 2021

Northern Pride Round 2: Pride looking for 2 from 2

Northern Pride Round 2: COMING off the back of a strong win last weekend the Northern Pride will line-up against the Capras this Saturday in Rockhampton.

By Peter McCullagh

Northern Pride Round 2: Pride looking for 2 from 2 - feature photo

Coming off the back of a strong win last weekend the Northern Pride will line-up against the Capras this Saturday in Rockhampton.

Northern Pride Coach Ty Williams has named a relatively unchanged roster for this week’s game.

The halves combination of Hampton and Steedman proved successful and will be looking to further develop as a game changing combination.

Debut full-back Jayden Corrigan continues to impress after a electric game last week.

Corrigan joined the team from Brisbane during the pre-season with stints at North Devils as well as Valley Diehards.

Corrigan is a fast-running electric and unpredictable full-back. Scoring on debut, and leaving the Falcon’s defensive line bewildered at times.

Coach Williams wants all his players to take the chances when they see them, effectively allowing Corrigan to play his natural game and potentially prove a game changer for the Pride.

Thomas Steedman’s debut also proved vindication for William’s recruiting focus this year

The fullback role is a heavily contested position with Matthew Musumeci, Cephas Chinfat and Mark Rosendale all vying for the coveted position.

“All 17 boys got their first opportunity, and for 80 minutes they proved they were worthy of donning the jersey. It’s the same this week,” Williams said.

“It’s something we’ve been pushing pretty hard, and it’s come from when we first established that you have to earn the right to wear that Northern Pride jersey.

The 21-year-old former North Sydney Bear paired well with Ben Hampton, controlling the game and creating opportunities.

Williams was impressed with his first-round performance and has named him again at 7 for this week’s game.

“Early on, I thought he was a bit jittery; I think nerves were a big thing, but as he got into the game he got better and better,” Williams said.

“Defensively he was sound, attack-wise he got into the game nicely.

“It was more of a relief for me as a coach because the selection of the halves was pretty tight.

“He did his job on the weekend which was good.”

Terrence Casey Douglas gets an opportunity once more to press for a permanant spot in the team after a last minute callup for last week’s game.

The CQ Capra are coming off a 28-18 loss against Tweed Seagulls and cannot be taken lightly.

Williams and his coaching staff said they will review the footage from the game before developing the required game plan.

However, his focus is very much on his squad and refining their performances.

“We won’t dig into them too much because we’ve got so much to improve as a playing group moving forward,” he said.

“Over the next few days, we’ll do a little bit on them, but the sole focus is on where we can improve and where we need to better, moving forward. I thought we were okay on the weekend, but we need to be better if we are to beat the top-class teams.”

The Capras along with Ipswich and PNG Hunters are the only Intrust Super Cup teams without direct alignment to NRL clubs.

The Capras with no NRL-aligned players proved tricky last week for the Seagulls squad including seven Titans contracted players and could prove to be a strong and unsettling matchup for the Pride after their long road trip south.

TEAM LIST — ROUND 2

NORTHERN PRIDE

1. Jayden Corrigan, 2. Shawn Bowen, 3. Connolly Lemuelu, 4. Bernard Lewis, 5. Matthew Musumeci, 6. Ben Hampton, 7. Tom Steedman, 8. Wiremu Greig, 9. Chris Ostwald, 10, Rod Griffin, 11, Joshua Stuckey, 12. Ewan Moore, 13, Peter Hola, 14. Jayden Hodges, 15. Heilum Luki, 16. Ieremia Nanai, 17. Tom McGrath, 18. Terrence Casey-Douglas, 19. Matt Egan, 20. Evan Child, 21. Grant Anderson.

CQ CAPRAS

1. Blake Moore, 2. Jedidiah Simbiken, 3. Larsen Dale-Doyle, 4. Nathan Bassani, 5. Maika Tudravu, 6. Radean Robinson, 7. Jack Madden, 8. Harrison Leonard, 9. Treymaine Brown, 10, Tyler Szepanowski, 11, Nixon Putt, 12. Jesse Jennings, 13, Lachlan Hubner, 14. Joel Holdsworth, 15. Mckenzie Yei, 16. Aaron Teroi, 17. Ryan Jeffery, 18. Jake Maizen, 19. Chalice Atoi.

Round 2 games:

Saturday March 27

Bears v Cutters

Hunters v Jets

Blackhawks v Tigers

Capras v Pride

Sunday March 28

Devils v Dolphin

WM Seagulls v Seagulls

Magpies v Falcons


INTRUST SUPER CUP LADDER


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