Rebuilding Hawks take punishment
A COUPLE of leaps forward and then one step back.
That is how Brad Sinclair’s second stint as coach of the Manunda Hawks has started in 2020.
The side showed encouraging signs away at South Cairns in Round 1 and upset City Lions seven days later, before being belted by Saints in Round 3 on Saturday at Cazalys Stadium.
This is the same club that just a month or so ago was talking like it was not going to participate in the current season, therefore 1-2 and a few encouraging efforts is not a bad start to the campaign.
Hawks were fair early on against Saints on Saturday, but Sinclair was honest postmatch – they have a lot of work to do if they want to be competitive against the big three of the competition.
“We will do a video session this week on a few things we need to fix and clean up – some body positioning, where to stand, just education things,” Sinclair said.
“They are second-guessing themselves a little bit, so we need to keep the confidence in the guys.
“They are young, having a crack, but they are just not up to the top three yet.
“The scoreboard will say today was a step back, and structurally we did, but our attitude was good, they want to get better and learn.”
Wes Glass’s perfect run as senior coach has rolled in to a third week as Cairns Saints moved to 3-0 for the season.
A wasteful Saints kept Manunda in the game in the first half on Saturday afternoon at a beautifully sunny Cazalys Stadium, only converting four of 13 scoring shots.
But, they got reward for their effort in the second two stanzas, kicking away as big recruit Travis Tedmanson hit the scoreboard on a number of occasions.
Saints also welcomed back club juniors Riley Clarke and Timakoi Bowie, who have chased higher honours down south over the last few years, and were back in red, white and black on Saturday.
Saints playing-coach Glass returned to his usual role of defence in the second term as Manunda had the momentum.
At Port Douglas, the Crocs unfurled their 2019 premiership flag before their contest against CTB Bulldogs, which has become almost an annual occurrence for the club.
The Crocs, chasing five straight flags this season, had no issues with the struggling Bulldogs and went to 2-0 for the season with a comfortable victory.
In the final Round 3 game, City Lions accounted for North Cairns in the annual Dreamtime by the Sea match at Holloways Beach.
Lions were inaccurate but did enough to get the job done.
In his first game for the club, West Australian product Ashton Hams received the Cockatoo Collins Medal for best on ground in the annual showpiece game.