Blackhawks hope for home revival
BLACKHAWKS PRIDE
THE Townsville Blackhawks are hoping a return to their home fortress at Jack Manski Oval will help them rediscover their best form against the Northern Pride on Saturday night.
The Pride have not beaten their North Queensland rivals in six clashes, but the Blackhawks could be vulnerable after an errorriddled 20- 18 loss to Ipswich on the road last weekend.
The Blackhawks have traditionally been tough to beat in Townsville and coach Kristian Woolf challenged his side to get back to those high standards in their first home game of the season.
“We’ve always had a really good record here at home and we’ve always played our best footy here as well,” Woolf said.
“There’s a lot of blokes who need to find some improvement. You’d like to think they’re all champing at the bit after last weekend to make sure they do that.
“We had 17 errors and eight penalties ( against Ipswich) which means we gave the ball back to the opposition 25 times. That’s a good place to start.”
The Blackhawks have stuck with an unchanged team while the Pride have not named Todd Carney as he recovers from a back strain, but the five- eighth could still be a late inclusion.
The Pride showed their class even without Carney to beat defending premiers the PNG Hunters 26- 14 last weekend and Woolf said the Blackhawks would not take them lightly.