Rugby teams hopeful of return to the field following wash-out interruptions
PERHAPS the most frustrating part of the Gold Coast Eagles disrupted season for coach Scott Hyde has been being deprived of the chance to see just how far a “lightning” winger can stretch his try-scoring streak.
Last week’s wild weather has forced the region’s rugby union competition fixtures to be called off, meaning the Eagles will still have played just one game since their win over Bond on April 9.
Because of the club’s bye week, Easter break and Cyclones representative trials, cohesion has been hard to come by for the 1-3 outfit. However one constant has been Brad Gordon’s ability to cross the white line.
In his first year with the Eagles, the flyer has scored in every game for his new side, with each coming from either an intercept or loose ball.
And Hyde said there was no luck involved with these efforts. They came from an innate ability to read the play and sense when his time had come to strike.
“He seems to have an eye for an intercept, he’s got a real knack for that and he puts himself in the right position at the right time,” he said.
“As we say, if you back yourself and follow through we’ll back you with what you do. He’s backing himself to go for that intercept and he’s getting them each game.
“He’s lightning quick, too, and obviously speed is a massive thing if you’ve got that hidden talent. He’s letting the guys know that he’s pretty well up on the try-scorers charts.”
The Eagles were set to take on the high-flying Nerang Bulls last Saturday prior to the rain calling off the round, but are now finally set to return to the field against Griffith Uni Colleges Knights.
While Hyde said it had been a challenge keeping his side up for a contest without any sort of continuity on the field, ultimately that was not an excuse he or the club were buying into.
Given their next clash will be against the defending champions, he said they could not afford to wallow in the past.
“It’s quite disappointing, we would’ve had one game in six weeks for our A-grade. One thing is we’re pretty much injury free which is nice, probably the fact we haven’t been playing many games is the cause of that,” Hyde said.