Douglas: ‘We can’t get worse’

SCOTLAND prop Luke Douglas says glimpses of form have given him hope a young side can turn things around after a horror start to the Rugby League World Cup camp.

The Bravehearts were the laughing stock of the rugby league community after a 50-14 loss against NSW Country Under-23 on Friday as coach Steve McCormack blooded some less experienced players in Australian conditions.

Douglas, who was rested for the match, said being out-enthused was the biggest concern.

“Whenever you pull the Scottish jersey on, you don’t want things like effort to be your downfall,” he said.

“We’ve got to do a fair bit of training, a fair bit of hard work and we’re still working on a lot of combinations with a lot of young guys in the squad.

“There’s a lot of hard work to do this week and we’ve definitely got our work cut out for us. I suppose we can’t get worse, we can only get better.”

Injuries to NRL stars including Cowboys fullback Lachlan Coote and Panthers hooker Peter Wallace have robbed Scotland of their strongest possible World Cup squad but Douglas said the experienced left had to inspire players here to lift.

“We’ve only sort of had the one session with all the boys and then the captain’s run.

“Steve and the coaching staff have got to make some big decisions about who plays where and I think once we have a few session we can improve a few things and give it a good crack.

“There’s a few things we’ve got to tinker on and us older boys and guys who have played over here can just help a little bit.”

Scotland players had their first session in a climate chamber at JCU under the watchful eye of strength and conditioning guru Stephen Bird yesterday and will have their first field session today at Barlow Park.