No more monkeying around for cursed Cats

BROADBEACH Robina coach Shane Davis says his team are ready to step up the intensity as they try to break their Kookaburra Cup finals curse.

The Cats have made the play-offs for the past seven seasons but have not won a sudden-death match since the 2012-13 decider.

If Davis’s squad can defend their day-one score of 9-297 against Coomera Hope Island on Saturday, they will be all but assured an eighth straight semi-finals berth.

Davis revealed their hoodoo of recent years had been on the agenda internally.

“Absolutely it’s something we speak about,” he said.

“We have a win this week and then we are in the finals and then we start focusing on finals cricket. It’s been a tough year; not once have we felt as though we’re guaranteed, it’s been so tight.

“Our conversation (on Saturday) was around the season starts now: We win this game and then we are in the finals and that is what we play cricket for.

“We will lift the intensity … we need to lift to try to get that monkey off our back and win a semi.”

Davis feels the Cats are hitting their straps at the right time of the season.

“We always felt that our strength was the two-day stuff and (opening batsmen) Ben O’Connell and Steve Baker, they have got to come into the side yet,” he said.

O’Connell is due back for the club’s last-round match against Queens, while Baker is set to be on deck in the finals.