Bulls not bothered by tilt at fourpeat
RUGBY BARRON Trinity Bulls are within striking distance of a fourth FNQ Rugby A-grade premiership and a shot at history, but the players and staff don’t want to hear it.
The Bulls have won the past three titles, and a win against Southside Crusaders in Saturday night’s preliminary final will put them just 80 minutes from a fourpeat.
It will set up a 2020 season in which they could match the great Brothers teams’ run of five straight in the early 2000s.
But all that talk of history and past glories is just that: history. Wayne Meredith, the man who coached the Bulls to numerous juniors grand finals and titles before stepping up to lead the A-grade team’s dominance, hasn’t even considered the decider.
His calendar shows July, with a big red circle around the “27”. That’s the date of the preliminary final, the Bulls’ next and possibly last game of the year.
Meredith gives the impression he thinks a glance past that date would be foolish.
His job this week is to give his team the best chance of success.
Last week’s minor semi final win against Port Douglas, which ended the Reef Raiders’ season, disguised a serious issue the side can’t repeat.
Up 20-nil early and holding a lead which blew out to 35-7 midway through the second half, Meredith’s men relaxed, allowing Port to quickly add another 18 points.
“Port are a big unknown so to have that start and the control, I was extremely happy,” he said. “We got a good lead but that last 20 minutes was disappointing.”
He said it gives his team something to work on, to focus on, as they prepare for the sudden death battle with Southside.
The Crusaders were the form team in the first half of the competition, but will now be forced to play for their future after a 20-point hiding from minor premiers JCU Mariners.
They are also likely to be without Quentyn Taumalolo, who was shown a red card in the major semi final.
Meredith isn’t worried. His focus is on defence.
“Attack is natural, but the defence will be the difference.
“We’ll spend a lot of time on defence this week.”
Lancers play Taipans
CALIFORNIA Baptist University’s men’s basketball team will be an opponent of the Cairns Taipans in their pre-season for the 2019-20 NBL campaign. The Lancers of California will spend 13 days travelling to four different cities and playing five games against professional and club teams, between July 29 and August 11. During the trip, the Lancers will compete against the Sydney Comets, Centre of Excellence, Dandenong Rangers, Melbourne United, and the Cairns Taipans on August 7. “We are thrilled to be embarking on this foreign tour to Australia,” said Lancers head coach Rick Croy.
Eyes on future Snakes
ASSISTANT coach Jamie O’Loughlin represented the Cairns Taipans at this week’s NBL Next Gen Camp. “We get to see a whole bunch of talented players in a couple of days,” O’Loughlin said. “We do track a lot of players during the season and watch them in their straight leagues. Now, we can top it off by seeing them in the flesh.”
Motor sports club win