Saints Eagles Souths zero in on major prize
THE chance to make history on home soil is driving Saints Eagles Souths away from complacency and towards their most rampant form yet.
Never has the club won the North Queensland Football Premier League premiership, but it can stamp its dominant season with victory against Warriors on Sunday night.
While Saints Eagles Souths have made a habit of scoring goals at will — courtesy of emphatic seasons from Aden Ibrahim, Damien Hodgetts and Campbell Hume — their impenetrable defence typified their campaign.
Only three goals have squeezed beyond their defensive structures, and playercoach Corey Waples said that fortified attention has been the hallmark of their success.
Now with a parochial home crowd expected for their clash with Warriors, the opportunity to confirm their maiden silverware in front of them is inspiring the most determined mindset they have portrayed this season.
“It’s something the club has never been able to achieve before so to do it at a home has ground with a game in hand would be memorable for the club, and top off what’s been a tough year,” Waples said.
“What I would say the biggest change is the club’s really supporting (co-coach) Matt Smith and I, they’ve really supported us from the top all the way down to the players.
“When you get a club that really gets on board with the way the coaching staff wants to do things, it starts falling into place.
“It’s just the mentality of the team, the commitment has been really positive and hopefully we can carry it on. The season’s not done yet, there’s still a chance to slip,” the player-coach said.
For Saints Eagles Souths to lock in the premiership, they will need to fend off a Warriors side that has risen up the ladder in recent weeks.
On the back of former North Queensland United defender Justin Rawlins and the goalscoring exploits of Adam Sheens, they have leapt passed defending premier MA Olympic to become a force to be reckoned with.
It is for that reason Waples said his side was not looking too far ahead, even after dismantling its Sunday night rivals 5-0 the last time they played.
Hume and Sheen are locked in a battle for the premier league’s leading goalscorers’ tally, presenting a tantalising test for the pair of strikers.
“They’re coming second for a reason, they’re going to be hard to beat, so we’ve got to be very focused and not look too far in front of it until we finish the game,” Waples said.
“Speaking to a few of the Warriors boys they’re up for revenge and coming to knock us off our pedestal.”