Vintage display by ‘the Clifford of old’
NORTHERN Pride playmaker Jake Clifford turned back the clock for one of his best performances in the Intrust Super Cup in the rivalry round win against the Townsville Blackhawks.
The Tully product played out of his skin as Cowboys coach Todd Payten watched on from the grandstand, kicking for 258m from eight kicks, running for 82m from nine runs, and making seven tackles in an error-free display.
He also scored a try, set up another, made a line break, broke two tackles then broke the Blackhawks’ hearts by kicking five conversions from as many attempts — including a last-minute shot from the sideline which added salt to Townsville’s wounds.
A conversation between Clifford and Pride coach Ty Williams 24 hours before kickoff might have lit the spark ahead for the performance.
“We saw the Cliffo of old,” Williams told the Cairns Post.
“We had a bit of a chat with him on Friday, before the captain’s run. It wasn’t about playing a certain way, but we just revisited those memories of 2018.
“He defended well, we knew he was in the game.”
In 2018, Clifford was the ISC Rookie of the Year and a Player of the Year finalist as he steered the Pride to the finals.
And while his future is sorted — Clifford will move to the Knights at the end of this season — the Tully junior is fighting for another crack at the Cowboys’ No 7 jersey while he remains at Townsville.
Clifford and halves partner Tom Steadman terrorised the Blackhawks’ back three, with Josh Hoffman, Michael Carroll and Kalifa Faifai Loa forced to contend with a sustained aerial assault which put the Pride on the front foot — then proved crucial in the pursuit of a win.
“I thought Cliffo probably had his best game for a long time with us,” Williams said.
“He ran the footy, defended well, which was probably the start for it, and Steadman probably had his best game for us on the weekend.
“We flipped them around this week. Clifford has half last week; Tommy went half this week and controlled us a lot better, and that gave the chance for Cliffo to run the football.
“(Clifford’s) confidence built over a period of time, and it’s good to see.”
Williams was also happy to see the growth of the Pride’s spine, with Steadman, fullback Jayden Corrigan and co-captain, hooker Chris Ostwald, developing a deeper and more thorough understanding of how the others play — a partnership which can only mean good things for the club.
“Our reactions through individual errors was a lot better,” Williams said.
“I’d like to cancel those out, but that will come with more consistent football.
“There were a few repeat sets that we hung for a bit. I like the way Tommy, Ostwald and Corrigan are combining.
“Their communication was nice and clear.
“We went in with a simple game plan but knew we had to execute it.
“It can be daunting for a young fella coming into the team and you’ve got someone like Cliffo, who has played about 40 NRL games, who comes in and tries to control a lot. Tommy took that on board and said ‘this is my team, I have to be doing it this way’.”
Co-captain Jayden Hodges and Matthew Musumeci were both ruled out after they failed to finish last week’s big loss to Wynnum-Manly, and Williams said both men would see a surgeon this week.
“Musu has to stay in a sling so it’s probably worse than what we first thought,” Williams said.
“Jayden has had a scan and we have to see if we need to get surgery on both of them.
“Hopefully not, but that will come down to the docs.”
Williams will today name his team for Saturday’s home game against the undefeated Norths Devils, who sit atop the ladder after four games.