Defence must lift for Bears
THE Townsville Blackhawks have vowed to sharpen their defensive focus ahead of another top- four blockbuster against the Burleigh Bears at Pizzey Park on Saturday.
The Blackhawks have lost their grip on the Queensland Cup minor premiership after a late defensive lapse in last weekend’s 20- 18 defeat to Redcliffe, who moved into top spot with two rounds remaining.
Townsville is still the competition’s best defensive team this season, conceding just over 14 points per game, but coach Kristian Woolf felt their standards had dropped in recent weeks.
Things won’t get any easier against the third- placed Bears and Woolf said it was an issue that the Blackhawks must address before the finals.
“I don’t think we’ve been, for the last two weeks at least, as good as we have been all year defensively,” Woolf said.
“We need to tighten up a little bit and we certainly need to be a little bit tougher in how we’re defending in patches.
“We certainly can’t sit there and think we’re happy with what we’ve done and where we sit coming into finals.
“We’ve got two games now to make sure that we’re fixing things up and playing our best footy.”
The Blackhawks have named an unchanged team to face the Bears, but halfback Jaelen Feeney is a chance to return from a groin injury, while captain Jake Marketo is in some doubt after injuring his shoulder against Redcliffe.