Great Wall of Innisfail
Rock solid defence would be envy of NRL
IF defence truly wins you premierships, Innisfail Brothers has the CDRL A-grade title sewn up.
We’ve dubbed it “The Great Wall of Innisfail” and it has proven throughout 2017 it can tackle just about any rival army attacking the tryline.
In 11 matches this season, the Leprechauns are averaging just 8.54 points conceded per game to remain in double figures with 94 in total and it should be no surprise considering they’ve led the way at this stage of the season in the past two seasons.
NRL teams could only dream of holding their opponents to so few points per game.
Leprechauns coach Leon Hallie said it was all about attitude, trust and some experienced heads in the key defensive positions.
Surprising as it may be, they don’t overdo it at training.
“It just comes down to a good attitude I think. The boys take pride in defending their line,” Hallie said. “They all know how to do the job, but having two experienced centres in Anthony Perkins and Brett Anderson, they tighten up our edges and they make good defensive reads.
“Everyone has confidence in the man either side of him and once you know they’ve got your back, it makes it a lot easier.
“I think the key for us is we haven’t placed too much attention on it. We haven’t gone overboard.
“A lot of that group has been together for a while now, so they know what they’re doing.”
Anderson said having a big forward pack helped the Leprechauns win the middle, often leaving their rivals too tired to attack.
The wily centre said apart from attitude, there wasn’t too much to it.
“I probably wouldn’t tell you if there was a secret,” Anderson said.
“I think it’s just about the boys working hard at those one percenters.
“When there’s a break, we’re all about getting more people in the frame.”
Innisfail will almost certainly dip into triple figures conceded for 2017 after tonight’s crunch match with Mareeba, a team that put 20 on them at Davies Park back in Round 2 to condemn the Leprechauns to their only loss of the season.
The return battle starts at 6pm at Callendar Park