Brothers see positives in loss to brilliant Bulls

BARRON Trinity Bulls have left Brothers coach Sven Schaefer scratching his head as to how to beat the competition yardstick after another clinical performance at the weekend.

Brothers were competitive in the first half at Stan Williams Park before Bulls charged away to prevail 44-18 winners on Saturday afternoon.

Schaefer was full of praise for young Bull Declan Meredith, who performed strongly alongside experienced heads Kele Degei and Alphonse Gima.

“Declan was superb for them and set up their play beautifully,” Schaefer said.

“We had lapses in our defence, particularly in the second half that hurt us.

“But there were some real positives out of our game. I thought our forwards had a really good game.”

Asked if the Bulls were beatable, Schaefer laughed.

“If I say they’re vulnerable, it sounds a bit hollow after such a big loss,” he said.

“But you have to neutralise their attack. You cannot give them space to run at you.

“If you do that, you’re on an even keel. But as soon as you don’t do that, they’ll punish you. Defensively, you must have a good structure in place.”

Bulls star David Brooks said the Machans Beach powerhouse wouldn’t be getting ahead of themselves despite a strong start to the season.

“Losses are good to have because you learn more from them but we’ll just keep working hard at training,” Brooks said.

Brothers welcomed former Cairns Wanderers star Marcus Johnston to the team.

“He had a strong game at fullback and fit in very well,” Schaefer said.

In the round’s other match, Penrhyn narrowly defeated Southside 19-15.

YOU HAVE TO NEUTRALISE THEIR ATTACK. YOU CANNOT GIVE THEM SPACE TO RUN AT YOU