It will be one of the biggest days of the year when the Bull Sharks host Brothers on Ladies Day on Saturday.
The players are all primed to put on a good show in front of a bumper crowd at The Canal.
Premier Men
The game:
It is a big challenge, but the players are excited for the weekend. It is Ladies Day at the club, there will be a big crowd and the players all lift for these games.
Where it will be won:
Brothers have more attacking weapons than last week’s opponents GPS, so we have to be on guard.
Last time around they scored some tries of mauls against us, which has also been an issue for us. But if we defend well, we have shown we can score enough to beat anyone.
Shuffling the magnets:
We’ve lost our Wallaby Matt Gibbon who will pay for the Reds against Wales. It is his debut for the Reds having joined them from the Rebels and we're happy to have him closer to home.
The focus:
It is about maintaining consistency in defence. We know we can defend well and we were very aggressive against GPS. We just have to maintain that every minute we don’t have the ball. And in attack we want to hold onto the ball a bit longer. We don’t always have to score of the first couple of phases. We want to retain that attacking mindset, bit sometimes we are better off grinding it or for field position. It is about finding the balance.
One to watch.
Lukas Ripley has been in great form, and we expect him to be a handful for Brothers this week.
The final word:
In attack we want to hold onto the ball a bit longer. We don’t always have to score of the first couple of phases. We want to retain that attacking mindset, but sometimes we are better off grinding it or for field position. It is about finding the balance.
With Sean Hedger.
Premier Women
Last time they met.
Rd 6, 2024
Bull Sharks won 52 -7.
The opposition:
Brothers are a much-improved team, they've always had a strong forward pack, but they have now made good improvements in the backline also. They put us under a lot of pressure last time we met so I look forward to a good hard game.
Shuffling the magnets:
The team will remain relatively unchanged this week, however flanker Jemma Bemrose is likely to miss a few weeks due to injury.
Ones to watch:
Dianne Waight is starting to find form at the right time as we approach finals time, scoring three quality tries in our last game.
The focus:
The girls are building nicely; our attack is coming together well so we want to remain focused on continuous improvement.
The final word:
We celebrate Ladies’ Day this weekend, the ladies will look to perform on and off the field come Saturday.
With Shannon Symon
Colts 1
Last time they met:
Bull Sharks lost 22 to 19.
The opposition:
We lost by three points last time we came head-to-head with Brothers, we were probably our own worst enemy that game. We conceded some easy points, but we did enough to almost win so we should take that confidence in with us to this round. Brothers have a reputation for a being great team, so we know we are in for a heck of a battle.
Shuffling the magnets:
Our captain Charlie Mccauley is out with injury this round, Tom Hebblewhite is coming in to take his place.
Ones to look out for:
Toby Waikato has played in the midfield lately and has been a big mover for us in the last three weeks really upping his defensive game which is pleasing to see.
The Focus:
The focus this week is mainly around our breakdown work, we conceded a couple of turnovers when we weren’t effective at the clean out. That is an area Brothers are really strong in. Another focus is getting over the ball as quickly as possible.
The final word:
We had a big win last weekend and have won two games in a row. We have great momentum going into this game, the boys will be charged and ready to go especially knowing they didn’t quite get the job done last time.
With Rico Gear