NO BRAWLING Coach issues warning as Heat come up against ‘niggly’ Thunder
JACOB GRAMS FNQ Heat coach Tim Campbell has urged his side to let the football, not their fists, do the talking when his side meet South West Queensland Thunder for the first time since their infamous all-in brawl at Barlow Park.
Players from each side were handed red cards in the last game of the regular season, while four Heat players received further sanctions for their part in the regrettable melee.
Campbell said physical retaliation for losing that game won’t help them win this one in Toowoomba on Saturday, which he said was a must-win if the players harboured title hopes.
“Discipline will be a big part of the game,” he said.
“Thunder have quite a good record over us last season, they beat us twice, so they get into us and they unnerve us a little bit and rattle us a bit and we reacted badly last year so we’ll need to address that and hopefully put it right on the pitch and get the result we’re looking for to keep in touch with that top four this year.
“It's a must-win game for us, so we’ve got to go down and be competitive. We won’t be competitive if we can’t keep 11 players on the pitch, so the players know what we’re expecting of them and we’ve talked a little bit about it and I’m sure they’ll be right.”
The Heat have lost their past two games to their Round 11 opponents, the away leg a 2-0 defeat including a Charlie Beverley send-off.
Both red-card receivers are unavailable for the Toowoomba trip, while Thunder’s brawl protagonist Adam Daly has played most of the season in his side’s under-20 squad.
Campbell said he expected the Thunder to be the same niggly side and reminded the players of the two losses that cost them the NPL premiership.
“If we want to be in the playoffs this year, we need to come back with a result; the players know that.”
While the Heat are used to travel, this is the toughest road trip of the season, involving a two-hour bus trip on top of the flight to Brisbane.
The club will have all hands on deck for the clash but are missing Shaun Owens, Darcy McCormack and Will Beverley, while Josh Jennison is carrying a knee injury but is expected to play.