Saunders looming as crucial player for Eagles
IF his Eagles are to thwart the minor premiers, captain Jake Lateo knows it could take a State of Origin calibre effort.
Good thing for the Currumbin youngsters they have just that blood in their unit.
Rising hooker William Saunders, the cousin of Queensland Maroons Game III hero Tom Dearden, looms as a crucial figure to his side’s cause when they meet the Nerang Roosters.
The Palm Beach Currumbin product comes into each contest with the fighting spirit the Cowboys star has embodied throughout 2022, and according to Lateo will hold the key to the Eagles’ fortunes.
With gun rake Dorian Lotaki donning the Roosters number nine jersey, showcasing plenty of strength running from dummy half to be fifth in the try scorers tally with nine, an enthralling battle awaits.
“He’s going to have to have a big game out of dummy half, he’s pretty fast out of the nine. If our forwards can lay a good platform for him he’ll break the game open for us,” Lateo said.
“He’ll get banged up and just get up, he’ll play the rest of the game with a limp if he has to. He won’t take no for an answer.” It took what Lateo described as a “shocker” of a first half against Burleigh midway through the season to cause Currumbin to awaken from their slumber, after a slow start threatened to cruel the campaign.
Since then, however, he said they had found a rhythm, and despite Nerang having the wood on them throughout the regular season the Eagles earnt a week off in the finals with a 30-28 triumph two weeks ago.
Currumbin and Nerang will kick off from 12pm on Saturday.