Dolphins brace for tough battle against Pride

REDCLIFFE Dolphins coach Adam Mogg insists he’s not interested in playing games – other than his players running the Northern Pride off their feet on Saturday.

The home side can retain a position two points off the top of the Intrust Super Cup ladder with a win at Dolphins Stadium and the coach expects a tight battle centred on the best work ethic.

The likes of Sam Anderson, James Taylor and Tom Geraghty have shouldered the load but also handled the upbeat style with the ball they require to match a highly rated forward pack.

“I think if you look at both teams defensively, we defend pretty well and we’re sitting level with them, so that tells me it’s going to be a really good game,” Mogg said. “We’ve had some good combinations right across our middle.

“They’re not the biggest guys and we always come up against teams that are bigger.

“They’re a big team and they’re like most teams that are a lot bigger than us, so we understand that’s the case and we’ve just to focus on what we can control and improve on what we did in the last game.”

Mogg expected Todd Carney’s loss to make the Pride stronger as players lifted across the board.

“When someone like that leaves your team, you’ve got 16 other guys who all pick up the load ... so it makes them more of a complete side,” he said.

“They’ve got plenty of strike through their spine.”

With the Dolphins enjoying their first TV spot of the season, all eyes will be on exciting centre Kotoni Staggs, a humble Broncos-contracted taking competition by storm.

“He’s an exciting young kid and it’s the good thing about this competition,” Mogg said.

“It’s like Jake Clifford up there. He’s a good young kid and the fact these kids are playing Q-Cup against players who are more experienced is going to get them on the NRL path.”

The Pride v Dolphins clash kicks off at 1.10pm on Saturday. 19year-old the