How Ignatius Park is getting the jump
KICK after kick, catch after catch, Thomas Duffy and Jake Mcaulliffe-fickling do not stop until they get it right.
It is a common sight each day after Ignatius Park training sessions to see the pair staying back to work on their set plays.
A state basketball representative, Mcaulliffe-fickling has one of the best vertical leaps in the Aaron Payne Cup, and his halfback takes full advantage.
Their combination was on full show in the win over St Pat’s, Mackay on Wednesday as the pair combined for the match-sealing try in a 30-12 demolition.
But it was not a one-off effort, as they have been working hard to get their combination right.
“After every training session, Tommy and I disappear to the other end of the field to work on the kick and catch,” Mcaulliffe-fickling said.
“He just keeps putting kicks up and after each one we talk about what worked and how we can improve. We would push 80 to 100 kicks every session.
“We do it in club footy for Centrals as well. We have it down to the point where I just give him a bit of a word and he knows where to put the ball.”
The trick play almost came off twice for the pair against St Pat’s, Mackay, and while the centre did cross for a second late in the game he refused to celebrate too hard afterwards.
Instead he was mulling over missed opportunities.
“It was my first double, and that is good to help the boys get up for the win,” he said.
“But I missed two or three other opportunities when we could have put them away. We were breaking them and it was coming through pretty smooth.”
Ignatius Park coach Steve Lansley was full of praise for the young centre who has become one half of a dynamic duo with fellow centre Eddie Hampson, who also made a double against St Pat’s.
“We did identify that we could score through our edges and the boys did a good job of executing that,” Lansley said.
“Eddie did a great job running strong lines off of our halfback, and Jake has become such a weapon for us under the high ball.
“We try and put the ball on their second rowers’ heads and he jumps over the top of them. He almost came away with two tries the exact same (way).”
But the play would be lost without the pinpoint kicking of halfback Duffy, who has grown into an impressive playmaker for Ignatius Park.
Duffy pulls the strings for most of his side’s attacking raids, working in tandem with fullback Cathane Hill, and set up four of the side’s six tries in Wednesday’s win.
Lansley said he was impressed with the side’s ability to put together two strong halves, and said it was the closest it had come in the Aaron Payne Cup to a complete performance.
“It is always nice to start well, it gives boys confidence and gets them on the front foot,” Lansley said.
“But we had let the other teams back in the game by releasing the pressure so that was a big focus for us. When we got to the two-try lead we quickly made it a three-try lead. We had a focus on staying in the moment and not worrying about end of sets.”