Spina says North Queensland must tackle errors in defence
INAUGURAL Cowboys captain Laurie Spina says interim coach Josh Hannay can’t lose heart over last weekend’s onepoint loss as the Kalyn Ponga show returns to Townsville.
The Cowboys take on Ponga’s Newcastle Knights at Queensland Country Bank Stadium this weekend following Saturday’s 31-30 loss to South Sydney, a result that left Hannay shattered.
“There is a lesson there in how to throw away the unlosable game,” Hannay said after full-time.
“I will have to watch that last five minutes again but there were a number of individuals that came up with some bonehead plays.”
While the Cowboys threw away an unlosable game, the Knights came up with the points in their clash against the Sea Eagles last weekend, with Ponga pulling the strings in the thrilling 26-24 win.
He created the matchwinning try for former Kirwan State High School student Enari Tuala, who bagged a double, and set up another to cement Newcastle’s first finals spot since 2013.
It was strong display in playing 80 minutes of football, one that Spina said the Cowboys had to achieve in order for Hannay to score his first win in the coaching hot seat.
“I felt for Josh, for a couple of minutes towards the end it looked like he’d clinched his first win,” Spina said.
“It was some of the best attacking football seen from them all year, and there was the magnificent try from Hamiso (Tabuai-fidow).
“It was very entertaining footy.
“It was one of the most entertaining games I’ve seen all year.
“But they need to work a lot on their goal line defence, and there were some poor decisions that cost them near the end.
“They shouldn’t have that game.
“But there were some very positive signs and Josh just needs to keep his head up, because it’s a tough gig.”
The Knights come to Townsville knowing they will play finals, and have an enviable array of attacking talent led by Ponga, who spent three years at the Cowboys as part of lost their under-20s and first grade squads.
Newcastle also have former Ignatius Park College students Gehamat Shibaskai and Aidan Guerra, who have helped their outfit through a three-game winning streak heading into Sunday’s clash.
While the Cowboys were arguably the better team for 70 minutes during last weekend’s game, led by an impressive upfront performance spearheaded by Jason Taumalolo with 200m, Hannay’s outfit still came up short.
“You just can’t turn off and make silly errors, because we all saw how crucial that was,” Spina said.
“But there are a few inexperienced players and a lot of inexperienced combinations.
“There’s no easy games, but hopefully they don’t drop their heads.
“If they perform like they did on Saturday, they can still get some wins before the end of the season.”