Got to get through this
Souths mentor rallies behind troops as Tigers facing tough stretch
RUGBY LEAGUE: Football was never meant to be an easy game, and Southern Suburbs are experiencing that firsthand.
The Tigers slumped to their second successive defeat at the weekend, going down 50-16 to Dalby at the Toowoomba Sports Ground.
It comes on the back of a 66-0 defeat to Warwick just a week prior, however Souths aren’t throwing in the towel by any stretch.
With injuries and player unavailabilities leaving them undermanned once again, coach Liam Capewell is standing by his players as they look to turn the tide.
“It’s a bit of a tough one,” Capewell said.
“It’s the hardest injury toll I’ve had at the club. We had 10 of our top 17 unavailable at the weekend.
“We’ve bought some young blokes in and two 18year-olds made their debut.
“We were up 10-8 after 30 minutes, but with that lack of experience we ran out of that initial nervous energy and knew we were going in for a battle.
“It’s disappointing, but there are some positives to take out of it, considering the previous weekend.”
Souths held onto a narrow advantage deep into the first half, before three late tries gave Dalby a 26-10 advantage at the break.
“Those tries really did hurt,” Capewell said.
“You’re going to get that with an inexperienced bench, and it’s tough to match up against the likes of Dalby and Warwick, and then Gatton this week.
“As a club we need to knuckle down and come out the other side of this all guns blazing.
“There’s a bit of understanding in the group. We’re not a team for excuses.
“As a coach you want them to be upfront. If someone’s not putting in the effort, they pull them up, but at the same time they won’t snap at each other.
“There’s still a good vibe and we’re talking about what’s coming next, not dwelling on the past.”
GOONDIWINDI VS WARWICK
Goondiwindi has maintained its spot on top of the TRL Premiership standings, taking down Warwick 36-4 at Gilbert Oval.
David Armstrong kept his hot try-scoring form intact, breaking the deadlock with two tries in the space of minutes after a scoreless opening 10 minutes.
A clean break from Brandon McGrady laid the platform for the Boars to cross once more, with Geoffrey Prince scoring.
Warwick looked destined to head into the sheds scoreless, however Mitch Wilson capitalised on some scrappy play to trail 16-4 at halftime.
Armstrong secured his hattrick early in the second half after linking up with David McGrady, who set up his fullback with a pinpoint kick, before finishing with four tries.
WATTLES VS NEWTOWN
A depleted Wattles outfit have held strong against a gallant Newtown, prevailing 30-22 at Platz Oval.
The Lions opened the scoring in the 13th minute through Coen Hopkins, and soon after extended the lead to 10 as hooker Elliott Speed darted his way over the tryline.
It took 25 minutes, but the TRL’s leading tryscorer, Matthew Christensen, got the Warriors rolling, as he added another on the stroke of halftime to send Wattles into the sheds down 16-12.
Wattles took their first lead of the game with 15 minutes to play as Braydon Wilson and Ryan Duggan put the home side ahead 22-18 as they finished too strong.
OAKEY VS BROTHERS
Brothers is officially off the mark in 2021, downing Oakey 44-26 at Trevor Mickleborough Oval.
Desperate to get off the bottom of the ladder, Brothers came out firing with two early tries to take an early 12-6 lead.
Nathan Gaulton again put Brothers in front by 12, before tries to Brayden Schilf and Josh Stanton reduced the deficit to two at the break.
Chance Dawes and Zac Alberts helped the Leprechauns start the second half with a bang, pushing the lead out to 14 with 27 minutes remaining, before Betros’ second put the result beyond doubt.