Waples has his team firing
FIRST time coach Corey Waples will forever be etched into the history of Townsville football.
As a former NPL Queensland player of the year his standing as a player was evident. In a new challenge, he took the reins of Saints Eagles Souths alongside Matt Smith prior to the FFA Cup beginning.
Now the club has advanced to round three of the national competition for the first time in its history.
The side’s 3-1 defeat of Burdekin sealed the historic moment and has them just one game away from advancing beyond the local stage.
Waples said there was a level of composure about the squad that had not been there in previous campaigns.
Early in the second half, after leading 2-0 going into the sheds, Saints Eagles Souths conceded a goal that in years gone by the co-coach said would have begun a spiral.
But now there was a mentality among the team that had set them on a clearer pathway and had everyone on the same page when the going got tough.
“It’s about coaching that instinct from day dot. It’s not stopping five metres before the line, it’s finishing the run,” Waples said.
“It’s having a thought process behind everything you do, not just going through the motions.
“Usually that comes from experience so we’ve passed that on to the team and that’s slowly working.”
Typically the road trip to Ayr is accompanied with an eager country crowd determined to throw the visitors off their game.
But a host of Saints Eagles Souths fans made their way to International Park to rally their boys home.
Waples has continued to play for the club in tandem with his coaching role, while Smith has taken care of things from the sidelines.
Fortunately, the midfielder has been performing well enough not to be hooked by his partner in crime.
He said while it took some adjusting to be comfortable operating in a coaching and playing capacity everything was starting to click.
“We’ve really developed our partnership over the past 10 weeks or so,” Waples said.
“It’s a testament to him that we can work so closely together and are going down the same pathway. It’s starting to work really smoothly.”
Saints Eagles Souths will face Brothers in the next fixture to determine who will represent Townsville at the next stage of the FFA Cup.