HORNETS PLOT THEIR BURELIGH REVENGE
FROM day one of pre-season, Mark Schumacher knew there would be some growing pains bringing his young squad together.
As the Helensvale Hornets under-16s outfit came together, scattered previously among different teams, the coach saw several clicks when they arrived at training. For every group he saw, they would run a lap, until they bonded together – with the goal of taking the field at Cbus Super Stadium.
With that goal reached as they prepare for the Rugby League Gold Coast grand final battle, all that stands between them and completing their full circle is a formidable Burleigh Bears outfit.
“I’ve never been so direct about how we can’t do it when one of us can’t do it,” Schumacher said.
“I said they might not like each other off the field, but you’re going to love each other on the field and I didn’t let it go,” Schumacher said of those early pre-season days.
“I remember at the beginning of the year I’d come to training and there would be a group of four, a group of two, a group of three and we went ‘OK there’s five groups, that’s five laps’.
“After a couple of weeks, it was four groups, a few more weeks and there were two groups. Eventually, they went ‘he’s not letting up, we have to be mates’ and when I come to training now, it’s one big group – it’s perfect. We did it the old-fashioned way.
“On the weekend (in our semi-final) at halftime, we were playing at Robina and we were down by two. I said ‘look to your right boys, that’s where we want to be’. They just dug deep and just wanted to play here. This might be some of their last games, so to get to play here well that’s a memory.”
Thus far in 2022, the Hornets have yet to taste victory against the Bears, going down in both their clashes by two and four points respectively. But Burleigh have undergone a recent injury crisis, including star fullback Raymond Puru and centre Sam Stephenson.
A member of the club’s Cyril Connell Challenge side, Puru is set to miss the grand final through injury, a massive loss having come off a two-try effort in his side’s last outing.
Bears coach Paul Kuhnemann, who also mentored Puru in the representative side, said his gun No.1’s inclusion could go a long way to determining how his team’s attack found its groove against a desperate Helensvale unit who “owe them one”. He said the teenage talent had the makings of a future NRL player should he wish to pursue that dream and put in the work required.
“He (Puru) devastating. I see him as an NRL contracted player who will definitely go on to bigger and better things,” Kuhnemann said.
“His feet and upper body speed his just exceptional, he’ll beat a player one-on-one any time of the day. He’s a real big loss for us, but it’s one of those things we have to deal with.
“Sammy Stevenson is 50-50 at the moment with a sternum injury, so hopefully we get him through because it’s a massive day for us if he gets to play on the weekend.
“One-on-one he’s one of the strongest kids in this age group I feel, he always breaks the first tackle and it makes our job easier coming out of trouble. He always takes the first ruck and does the hard yards for us, but his ability one-on-one he’s one of the best I’ve seen in the business.”