PALAVI WARNED TO KEEP LID ON IT
CONTROLLED aggression will be the key for Seagulls ace John Palavi’s meeting with his former club today, according to coach Ben Woolf.
Palavi has been a consistent performer for Tweed this Intrust Super Cup season and his body language alone during the week has been an indication of his eagerness to go head-to-head with Norths at Piggabeen Sports Complex.
“He’s really keen, JP,” Woolf said. “He has been really good for us week in, week out anyway but he has got a spring in his step and you can tell he is ready to go.
“I reckon he will come out firing. It’s probably just a matter of containing his aggression a little bit.”
Palavi will have reinforcements alongside him in the forward pack, with captain Cheyne Whitelaw having recovered from a concussion and Titans veteran Will Matthews playing his first game since pre-season trials.
“He’s obviously going to be a bit underdone with the amount of footy that he has missed but he is looking good,” Woolf said of Matthews.
“The main thing I notice when I go up to Titans trainings is that he is a very good defender.”
Fresh from a nine-day turnaround, Burleigh will head to Dolphin Stadium for a 6pm kick-off tonight.
Pivot Dylan Phythian is set to be rested for one more week but hooker Pat Politoni is a confirmed starter.
“At the end of the day, regardless of how results have been, Redcliffe are still the premiers from last year and the second last game we played them for a chance to go straight into the grand final and they beat us,” Bears coach Jimmy Lenihan said.
“It’s a really important game for us this week to perform well because last time we were there we probably didn’t have a great game.”
Lining up in the Dolphins halves will be outstanding Broncos prospect Cory Paix, who scored a try against Tweed a fortnight ago.