Burdekin chasing payback

BURDEKIN will be chasing redemption when they tackle the North Ward Old Boys today.

The Canetoads are licking their wounds after suffering a hard- fought loss to Brothers, and with a host of experienced personnel still unavailable through injury, they will be counting on younger players to dig deep.

“It’s been a tough time of the year,” Burdekin coach Brendan Bunyon said.

“We started off well but a lot of our blokes have been forced out with injury, going overseas and other commitments.

“But we have a lot of good players coming through and they’ve been doing a good job.”

The Canetoads sit third on the Townsville and Districts Rugby Union ladder, behind leaders Teachers Wests and second- placed Brothers.

Less than a win below Burdekin are North Ward and Ross River, who share equal competition points.

The bottleneck means every game between now and finals could mean the differ- ence between sneaking into the top four and avoiding a quiet end to the season.

“As long as we stay in the top four and keep playing a positive style of rugby we’ll be happy,” Bunyan said.

“We want to keep that going against Brothers, but we have to cut out the silly errors.

“Obviously we want to hit back from last weekend and get some redemption.” Ross River could present an unpredictable challenge for Teachers Wests when they clash in today’s other game at Mike Carney Toyota Park.

The Redskins pummelled North Ward 40- 10 last weekend in a reminder of how dangerous they can be at full strength, while the Old Boys will be keen to resume their early season form. Brothers return to their home ground at Ignatius Park College in today’s other game, hosting Charters Towers. TDRU ROUND 14 Today: 2.40pm North Ward v Burdekin, Mike Carney Toyota Park; 4.10pm Ross River v Teachers West; 4.30pm Brothers v Charters Towers, Ignatius Park College