Super chance to shine Saints keen to make a statement in “two-horse” Risdon Cup race
RUGBY UNION: USQ coach Gary Briscoe isn’t swayed by popular belief the 2018 Wagners Risdon Cup is a “twohorse” race and is hoping Saints can breathe extra life into the premiership battle today.
USQ tonight faces reigning premiers Dalby in a qualifying semi-final which highlights a packed day of football on Downs Rugby’s first weekend of Super Saturday finals.
The winner of tonight’s Saints and Wheatmen clash meets Goondiwindi next Saturday when they play for a place in the September 1 grand final.
Dalby has had the better of Uni this season with a 41-27 round-one win over the Students at USQ Oval in June followed by a 37-24 home victory last month.
Despite the dominance this season of undefeated Goondiwindi and the Wheatmen, who have dropped only two games, Briscoe said the arrival of finals’ football brings new pressure and challenges.
“Everyone is beatable,” Briscoe said yesterday.
“The team under most pressure now is Gundy.
“Everyone knows how good they are and what we need to do to try and match them.
“They won’t be easy to beat but if a team can lift to their level it will then be on them to see how they are able to respond.”
Both USQ and Dalby meetings this year have produced plenty of points and Briscoe believes he saw enough from Saints in their latest clash with the Wheatmen to attack tonight’s match with confidence.
“I wasn’t too pleased with how we finished the fixture season against Condamine,” Briscoe said.
“The boys were disappointed with our performance as well but with third spot being virtually assured for us our intensity was probably down. “We didn’t switch on. “The last time we played Dalby the score was blown out by a late try but we were competitive right through.
“We’ve got a few injuries going into tomorrow’s match but that’s football and all teams have to deal with it.
“I’m confident we can be compete with Dalby again.”