TRL finals start early for Eagles
Highfields keen to lift for big games
Highfields coach Justin McKellar is resigned to missing out on a top two finish and is instead focusing on big games ahead in the Hutchinson Builders TRL Premiership.
A loss to Gatton last weekend has left Highfields two wins outside the top two in fourth with just three rounds left.
McKellar has all but given up hope of finishing in the top two and earning a second chance in the finals.
Instead he wants to see the Eagles find top form ahead of sudden-death games in the finals.
Highfields has a great draw to get ready for the finals given they play teams in the running for spots in the top six in the final three rounds.
“We’ve got three tough games to finish,” McKellar said.
“We’re just trying to get ready for the big games.”
The Eagles host ladder leader Dalby tonight at Kuhls Rd Recreation Ground and both teams are desperate to bounce back after losses last round.
Highfields gets Universities World Cup winner Jarrod Lee back to take on Dalby.
He last ran out for Highfields in its 24-18 loss to Dalby on June 10 when he started at fullback. McKellar is keen to continue that tactic with Nick Bainbridge and Zac Loxley settled in the halves.
“He’ll be playing fullback for the rest of the year barring injury,” McKellar said.
“I think it’s a good position for him. I’ve been thinking about it for a while.”
Dalby coach Kerry Carmichael will see if his team can play itself back into top form after two losses in the past three games.
The Diehards were the form team of the competition ahead of the Madsen-Rasmussen Trophy Final, when they suffered the first of three losses this season.
“We know we can beat all of the teams in the competition because we have done that this season,” Carmichael said. “For us it is about staying fresh and making sure we do the basics right again.
“If we keep fading in games then come the semi-finals, teams are going to blow us off the park. We do not want to be limping into the finals.”