By Andrew McKaysmith
Grant Anderson has been welcomed back into the Head Coaching role in emphatic style as the Bull Sharks flogged Norths in their Round 8 clash at home on the weekend.
Unlucky to have been marooned near the bottom of the table after some close losses going into the contest, Bond scored seven tries giving Captain Harry Nucifora many opportunities to regain his mojo as he nailed some challenging conversions.
Norths had belted Easts the week prior, and given Easts edged Bond in Round 4, few would have predicted the 45-10 score to favour Bond.
Coach Anderson said that it was important the players went into the match believing a victory wasn’t far away.
“The biggest thing was that boys just needed some belief,” he said.
“I kept reiterating all week that they’re all excellent rugby players individually and that we’re a very, very good rugby side, they just needed to start believing that.
“Their actions would do the talking for them, and they responded well, they went out there and ripped in, we were very physical in defense and made good decisions in attack and executed our skills.
“Rugby is a simple game if you can do those three things, and we did them very well.”
The Bull Sharks enter their round 9 clash against a Sunnybank side who will be determined to ignite their floundering 2019 campaign and give their fans something to cheer about in their 50th year.
Coach Anderson said that despite Sunnybank’s lowly ladder position, they would be a very tough side to beat.
“They’re a very threatening side,” he said.
“They have some really good players, and we will need to play well away from home to get a victory up there.
“We haven’t been able to get an away victory so far this year, so that’s the challenge for us this week.”
There is a strong case of deja vu for the Bull Sharks as Coach Anderson reflected on the similarities between seasons 2018 and this year.
He said the squad was keenly aware they need a win this weekend to stay in touch with the top-4 and that they are prepared to back themselves for the rest of the season.
“This position is nothing new to us, we have got experience in this, and it's nothing to be concerned about because we know how to respond because we were in the same position last year,’ he said.
“I think the boys brought into that; we said that we didn't make excuses last year and we are in the same position, and we are not making excuses this year.
“We are working hard; we will play good rugby, and we are confident we will get good results.”
Catch the Bull Sharks in action this Saturday against Sunnybank at Oldmac Oval, 470 McCullough Street Sunnybank, May 25th.
Colts 2 Kick-off 11.10am
Colts 1 Kick-off 12.30pm
2nd Grade Kick-off 11.50pm
1st Grade Kick-off 3.20pm