RETURNING STARS LEAD CHARGE
HE IS the man calmly pulling the strings and making his moments count. Now, Dallas Wells has been tasked with tearing down the defending champions.
Wells returned to the Mudgeeraba Redbacks line-up for last week’s shock 26-18 victory over a Southport side brimming with NRL class.
The former Queensland Cup representative for the Burleigh Bears, who also has spent time in the Gold Coast Titans system, scored a double and was able to overturn the momentum whenever the Tigers threatened to run away with it.
But now with a clash against the undefeated Bears to prepare for, Redbacks coach Martin Griese said it would not be the X-factor plays he would rely on Wells for. Rather, it was the experience he brought to the field, and ability to control the emotions of his younger teammates in the face of such daunting opposition.
“He definitely fits in with the culture and where we want to be on and off the field, which has been a strong focus this year,” Griese said of Wells.
“He’s our leader, he’s our director, he’ll guide the boys around the field. If he scores, that’s good, but that’s not why he’s in the team.
“It’s a multitude of things; it’s his experience, it’s his ideas, it’s his calmness. Not much flusters him, which is really good, especially for a half.”
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from Mudgeeraba’s Southport victory was the discovery of self-belief in the face of such highly vaunted rivals.
With the injection of Wells, as well as fullback and co-captain Kyle Williams, the Redbacks had the composed influences needed to wrestle back the Tigers’ ascendancy at times – traits they were missing in their narrow defeat to Tugun in round 1.
However with the pair back on deck, along with marquee recruit Zeb Taia, Griese was confident they had the leadership and firepower to challenge the Bears for 80 minutes.
He said it was more than about the personnel they had available, but the mentality instilled in the group since pre-season began.
“We don’t have a team full of highprofile players on a lot of money, we’ve just got a team that wants to play as a team,” Griese said.
“It’s more about the culture; I think we’ve been working on a few different things this year about building a really good culture at the club.
“Playing for your mate and having everyone be mates on and off the field; I think that’s something that’s starting to show through.
“We’re up for the challenge. We’re just building at the moment, we’re not going to be anywhere near where we’re going to be for finals.”
Elsewhere, two sons of rugby league legends will clash in a battle of the halves between Currumbin and Ormeau.
Eagles five-eighth Nash Geyer is coached by his father, Matt, who cemented himself on the Melbourne Storm wing for a decade.
Now he will be tasked with guiding Currumbin to their first win of the season, faced with an Ormeau led by Jack Rogers, son of dual-code legend Mat Rogers, who has been at the heart of their attack.