THAT WINNING FEELING

Q AThe first win over Townsville this season (26-6 in round three). The maturity our boys showed was outstanding. That’s when we started to believe we were going to be a competitive team. We, as coaches, always knew we had the squad to do it but the belief kicked in then.

The ethos at the Pride has always been ‘born and bred’ and about giving young blokes from the north a go. That said, it must be pleasing to see guys like Jake Clifford flourish with the Cowboys.

AIs there a win that stands out in your mind?

As a coach you reflect on how far the group has come both as players and individuals. At the start of the season, Cliffo was always a chance to play NRL this year. With injuries he got an opportunity early and you can see how good he’s going to be. We’ve believed for a long time that it’s important to keep our local boys rolling through. This year we’ve done a great job with guys like Jack Campagnolo, Shawn Bowen and Matthew Musumeci, who come from Tully and Shawn’s from Mossman. It’s a good sell to the public that if you’re a quality player in Cairns you don’t have to move away from home. If you play consistent footy within the CDRL, it will be noticed. If you watched the Tully final last week against Atherton you might’ve noticed Matthew was probably the best player on the field. Jordan Biondi-Odo took another step this season too.