Deliver to keep Egan out
Pride duo has to perform
Pressure to perform will be heaped on Northern Pride halves Dantoray Lui and Evan Child as the club’s injured firstchoice playmaker inches closer to his return.
Matt Egan is yet to play a game this season after he suffered a torn pec towards the end of the pre-season, but the 26-year-old could be back within the next month – slightly earlier than first anticipated.
That means the spotlight will be firmly on Lui and Child over the next few weeks.
While Lui was praised for the way he came up with two ultimately game-saving plays in the 16-12 win against Mackay last week, coach Ty Williams made it clear the rising star had plenty of work to do.
“He missed eight tackles, four coming at crucial times,” Williams said.
“Let’s not sugarcoat it, he made two big plays to get us home but there’s three other opportunities where he could’ve stopped it.
“He’s pretty clear on where I stand with that. Half-time couldn’t come quick enough for him. We had to calm him down a bit as to where his head was at. In the second half, his performance let us know what he can do.”
What Williams wants to see out of the Yam Island product is consistency across the full 80 minutes. It’s not impossible. His debut was an outstanding display, which gave the staff and fans confidence the Brothers junior could compete at this level. And Williams has been impressed by what the exciting five-eighth has done since returning to the Far North. But it’s something he needs to address as Egan’s return gets closer.
“The big thing for him is he has to be very good for 80 minutes,” Williams said.
“He drifts in, drifts out – that first game, his debut, he was sensational for 80 minutes.
“We need consistency from him. That’s the good thing about D-Ray, it’s an area we can work on.
“He’s 19-20 years old, leading a Q Cup team. There’s not many of them in the competition at the moment.
“I’m expecting those troughs at times, we just don’t stay there too long. His progress has been really good.”
With Egan’s return still a few weeks away, Lui has the chance to stake his claim for the No. 6 jersey moving forward. The next opportunity will come on Saturday when the Pride travels to Toowoomba to take on Western Clydesdales.
“At the moment D-Ray has that position and Egs is tracking along well. He’s about three weeks away,” Williams said.
“He and Ev need to be putting their best feet forward. Egs is a 30-plus gamer for us, an important piece and was in our plans at the start of the season.
“They’re doing a good job at the moment, but we need to raise another bar for us to be consistent week-in, week-out.”
The Pride’s win against the Cutters, their second for the season and, bizarrely, with the exact same scoreline, has allowed the club to climb into the top eight in the midst of a tough block of fixtures.