LUI-TOSO ADDS FIREPOWER TO NORTHERN PRIDE PACK
THE return of Nick Lui-Toso will give the Northern Pride more firepower in what is expected to be one of their toughest battles of the season when they face a Cowboys-bolstered Mackay Cutters.
In the round 1 win against Ipswich, Lui-Toso ran for 168m from 15 carries, with 73m of those postcontact. He also broke one tackle and made 14 of his own.
He was missed in the loss to Wynnum Manly, with Lui-Toso forced to watch on after copping a one-week suspension. His linebending, aggressive carries proved irreplaceable as the Seagulls ran away with the game late.
But Lui-Toso is back, rested and ready to rip in when the Pride face north Queensland rivals Mackay on Sunday.
His return bolsters a Pride forward pack which already includes a fast-improving Paea Pua, who put his hand up as a potential permanent starter with his performances over the first two rounds, and the underrated Lata Fakalelu, who will start from the bench but showed he can do a job.
Pride coach Ty Williams said Lui-Toso’s impact and hard work were missed.
“What we’ve learned over the past two weeks is his partner-incrime Paea can adjust to play big minutes through smart football as a core player, then we have Nick coming off the back fence and really bending the line,” Williams said. “We did miss that (last week), especially late in the game.
“It would’ve been nice to throw him out there when the game was in the balance.
“He’ll be ready to go, and we’ve got to tame the aggression that got him into the suspensions category first. If we can tame that a little bit, I think he’s going to be safe and ready to go.”
Williams said Fakalelu’s move to the bench was not a bad thing, as the former Innisfail Leprechauns bookend got more opportunities to develop his game.
“He’s showed he’s got the skill to adjust to the start of the game, and that was a whole focus for us last week,” Williams said.
“I’m excited to see how that unfolds for him over the next few weeks.”
Evan Child has been brought into the Pride’s starting side after an injury to centre Shawn Bowen.
Child, who was among the best for Brothers in the Cairns District Rugby League last week, spent most of his career in the halves before slotting into centre for the Pride last season.
He proved he could handle the position then, and is a natural replacement for Bowen, though that means expectations will be high.
“We expect a lot more there this time,” Williams said.
“He’s played the position before, and there’s no reason why he can’t play to his potential there.
“He was one of the best for Brothers last week and was unlucky to miss out on selection (for the Pride) in rounds 1 and 2.”
Mackay has named Cowboyscontracted trio Scott Drinkwater, Daejarn Asi and Ben Condon, and are coming off a 52-12 win against the Jets.
The Pride are 1-1, but with games against north Queensland rivals Mackay and Townsville Blackhawks in the next eight days, Williams wants nothing more than to see his team bring home competition points.