READY FOR THE DEVILS

AN UNBEATEN record at home against Norths will be on the line for the Northern Pride this weekend and Ty Williams couldn’t be happier to take on the “favourites” tag for a change.

The Devils have not tasted success in their nine previous matches at Barlow Park and come into this game with a more dismal record than their Round 19 opponents, losing their past seven matches this season to the Pride’s six.

Pride coach Ty Williams oozed confidence the season could move in the right direction against Norths, knowing the record and with a win up their sleeve against the Devils already in 2017.

“We had a good win down there at the start of the year and obviously we’d hope to do the same,” he said.

Starting the game was once again a problem in the loss to Mackay and Williams hoped his side would be proactive in setting the game’s pace.

“The biggest thing I’ve noticed with our playing group, and it comes with being young, they get on the field and just watch how the game unfolds and they think we’ll adjust to it instead of going: ‘No, this is the way it’s going to be’,” he said.

“That only comes with experience. Through time, they’ll learn and that’s something I’m slowly getting across to the boys, but it will take time.

“We did that against PNG, we set the tone very early against the front runners and then we just get run down because we’re camped on our try line for five sets, and that’s something we need to learn from.”

The Pride may need to do it without prop Will Bugden, who will have scans on an injured knee this week.

Cowboys centre Javid Bowen could be a late inclusion pending the results of a fitness test and it could come in handy after Gideon Gela-Mosby was cited again for a high tackle.