As the halfway point of the season approaches, Bond University will finish the first round of games against the Easts Tigers at David Wilson field before having the bye.
Fresh off the emphatic victory over heavyweights Brothers, Bond will be eager to continue the momentum against the Tigers with the Batty Bremner Thomas Trophy on the line.
The long-standing trophy goes up for grabs each time Bond goes head-to-head with Easts dating back to the Gold Coast Breakers era. The Tigers currently hold the silverware after last year’s 32-22 win.
Bond University attack coach Damon Virtue has taken plenty of learnings from the 10 point win over Brothers heading into round 9 against the Tigers.
“It was really good to beat quality opposition and we are getting more consistency in our game but It’s just about having more polish in our A zone, we had a lot of opportunities and probably didn’t come away with enough points,” said Virtue.
The Tigers who currently sit 8th have been inconsistent throughout the season thus far but are due to welcome back several Queensland Reds squad members to bolster their side.
“Going up and playing Easts on their ladies’ days, I think they will be pretty pumped, similar to us they play an expansive style of rugby and will be looking to score plenty of points.”
Spencer Jeans comes back into the Bond University squad from the Queensland Reds and  Tyler Campbell is back in the starting side, providing an extra playmaking option in the midfield for the Bull Sharks.
“Tyler played some really good footy in his first start and made some good inserts which really boosted our attack, I’m looking forward to seeing the partnership he can build with Dan Boardman,” Virtue said.
Virtue is imploring his side to be more direct this week and earn the right to go wide in attack first.
“I think we need to be a bit more direct in what we do, we were playing too much edge to edge instead of punching some holes and asking a few more questions,” he said.
Second placed Bond will Battle Easts at David Wilson Field kicking off at 3:05pm, followed by Premier Women at 5:00pm.