It’s do-or-die footy this Sunday as the Knights and Hogs look to keep their 2023 campaign alive.
Having worked with the brightest young talent on the Coast in his role as the Cyclones colts coach, Colleges head honcho Shaun Cole is better informed than most about the threat Helensvale pose.
We caught up with Cole this week to preview Sunday’s clash.
Shaun Cole (Cole): Yes we were very disappointed with the result but we were our own worst enemy.
We had more than enough opportunities in that game to put Nerang away but we didn’t take them and Nerang took there’s so credit to them. Our first half starts have to improve and our general execution in scoring zones of the field has to be a lot better to knock off these finals sides.
Cole: No, not at all.
We were without Lesi Tawake who’s pivotal at set piece but apart from that we were full strength and we always go out to win no matter who or when we play.
We tried to show our absolute best against Nerang but we didn’t execute our attack well enough. Luckily we can still get another shot at them throughout the next three weeks if we play our cards right and its not an unfamiliar situation for us as we headed into finals last year in the exact same position.
Cole: Its great to have Helensvale back in the top grade this year. They’re a dangerous side as they have a lot of attacking flair.
They’re not afraid to throw the ball around and chance their arm and they never give up which makes them a handful.
Cole: Through my time coaching Cyclones Colts I got to see how dangerous guys like Elijah Hola, Flynn Carson and Oscar NauNau can be plus other young guys like Dane Mason & the halfback Ezekiel Stewart are weapons for Helensvale.
We need to be on our game that’s for sure. Elijah in particular is very classy and is a threat in attack and defence.
Cole: As a club we have a big 3 days of Rugby coming up, We have our Old Boys playing Friday night, 2’s & 3’s on Saturday and then 1’s are on Sunday.
The Knights faithful don’t need much of an excuse to have a cold beer so I'm sure we will have a vocal supporter base come Sunday Afternoon.
