Captain seeks an ‘excited’ reaction

BLACKHAWKS captain Sam Hoare admits there is a waning confidence in his side as the losses pile up, but a returning star could go a long way to picking their campaign back up from the doldrums.

Former NRL forward Patrick Kaufusi will line up for Townsville against Mackay this weekend, having overcome a hamstring injury sustained in round two.

That was the last time his side were victorious, having since endured the club’s first four game losing streak.

Perhaps the most frustrating part for Hoare has been the fact his team have been in each defeat with a genuine chance to win.

No loss has come by more than eight points — even on those occasions against Norths and the Sunshine Coast they led at various stages.

Hoare said a sense of deja vu had played some factor in the players’ minds, but that was where the onus fell on he and the more senior men to ensure that mentality did not eventuate.

“I think it’s probably starting to chip away at everyone’s confidence a little bit, but in saying that we know we’re doing enough to win games there’s just a few things to polish up on,” he said.

“It’s been the same things for a few weeks, we need a reaction out of everyone to get our season back on track.

“It’s just feeling like it’s here we go again — that type of vibe. But it’s up to the senior guys to ensure that mindset doesn’t creep in and when we’re ahead late in the game that we manage the game.”

An escalating injury toll has themed the Blackhawks 2021 campaign, and Hoare said it certainly had been a factor in a lack of cohesion in defence.

The captain has not recalled a recent game where the side have finished with 17 fit players this season, with the likes of hooker-lock Sam Murphy shifted to the centres to accommodate the absences in the outside backs.

Different combinations on the edges were coming together each week, and the comeback of Kaufusi could be pivotal in halting the flow of points.

“He’s spent a fair bit of time in NRL systems so he knows what it takes to be a strong defender and play his role our defensive line,” Hoare said.

“I’ve noticed he’s started to be willing to give guys feedback at training on things to improve on defensively, so I think he’ll be a huge positive for us to get back and hopefully add a little bit of steel to our defence.

“We just need to get back to that attitude where we don’t make life easy for teams when they’re attacking us. We want to get excited about defending our goal line and make it a strength of our game again.”