Woolf: We have ability
Discipline still a key issue as Blackhawks put pressure on themselves
TOWNSVILLE Bl a c khawks coach Kristian Woolf believes his side can still be a force in the Queensland Cup this season despite slumping a third straight loss against Redcliffe 26- 14.
The match at Dolphin Stadium finished three tries apiece, but discipline was again an issue for the besieged Blackhawks as Kontoni Staggs kicked four penalty goals to seal Redcliffe’s win.
The Dolphins were on the board after just eight minutes when halfback Cameron Cullen put through a chip kick on halfway which was toed for- ward by backrower Toby Rudolf who raced away to score the opening try.
Back to back penalty goals extended Redcliffe’s lead before a 40/ 20 from Jaelen Feeney gave the Blackhawks a chance to hit back on the stroke of halftime, with Feeney slicing through the line after a big dummy to make it 10- 6.
Staggs exposed some soft defence on Townsville’s left edge early in the second half to score before Blackhawks centre Ty Carucci found the line to get his side back to 16- 10.
Dolphins centre Jeremy Hawkins again found space down on the fringes for his side’s third try before Staggs added another penalty goal as the margin blew out to 14 points.
The Blackhawks gave themselves a chance with 10 minutes left to play as winger Jonathon Reuben kicked back infield for Feeney to bag his second try, but a fourth penalty shot from Staggs put the result beyond doubt.
Woolf felt the Blackhawks had improved on their recent losses to Ipswich and Cairns, but he conceded that errors and penalties were still killing their momentum.
“I thought there was improvement, that’s the positive side of it … but we’re certainly still a long way off playing to our potential as well as a group,” Woolf said.
“We’re still making it really difficult for ourselves in the number of penalties or errors that we’re making and just taking the pressure off the opposition and putting it back on ourselves.
“You consider that we lost the game by 12 points and we gave them eight points through penalties and we missed two goals ourselves.
“You clean a little bit of that up and it’s a very different game.”
Woolf admitted it was a frustrating time for the Blackhawks as they struggle with their discipline, but the coach was confident they can still turn their season around.
“It’s a bit of a difficult one at the moment to be honest. If I had a direct answer for you ( on how to fix their discipline) then we wouldn’t putting ourselves in this position every week,” Woolf said.
“What I do know and what I see is that there’s improvement. We haven’t lost our ability as a group and we haven’t lost the type of people we’ve got.
“I’ve said all along, I think we’ve got a good group. We’re all willing to work hard and they’ve got a good toughness about them.”
For full Q Cup results and ladder go to page 29.