Bond returns home to The Canal this weekend for Culture Round, hosting Easts in a blockbuster grand final rematch for the women.
The Bull Sharks women will be out to reignite last season’s rivalry, with both sides eager to make an early statement in what promises to be a fiery contest.
Meanwhile, Bond’s men will look to defend home turf and continue building momentum in front of the Bull Sharks fans.
With Culture Round celebrations adding extra energy to the occasion, The Canal is set to come alive on Saturday.
Premier Men
Last Round
Bond v Brothers – Brothers won 43-31
It was a disappointing game. Brothers had put a couple of tries on us back-to-back, and we couldn’t recover from that. We finished the game well and scored a couple of tries late, but it was a bit too late at that stage. We were definitely the second-best team.
Round 7 – Bull Sharks v Easts at The Canal
The opposition – Easts played Brothers last week and lost only by a point, which was their first loss this year, so they have been the early pace setters in the competition.
The challenge –The biggest challenge is standing up to their raw power; they have a really big, physical pack and we will be outsized physically so we won’t be able to match them unless we are really aggressive.
Shuffling the magnets – We should have Heremaia Murray and Harrison Usher available to start for us this week.
The focus – The focus is to match the physicality that Easts bring and if we do that, we will be able to move them around. If we don’t, they’ll be able to strangle us, which is what they do to every other team.
Final word – I’m really looking forward to it, it’s a great test for us. We were humbled last week and we’re playing against a really good team this week, so it’s a great opportunity for us to show we belong at the top of the table.
With Mick Heenan
Premier Women
Last round
Bond vs Brothers — Bond won 49 -0
It was a bit clunky with lots of comings and goings in our squad. We are still finding our flow as a group, but we will get there; it's a bit of a work in progress.
Bond v Easts at The Canal
The opposition – It's the grand final replay against Easts this weekend. They will be coming in with a lot of confidence after their win last week, probably looking to get one over us.
The focus – The focus is to keep collecting five points; that’s always the focus. Keep building our combinations, try to make everything a bit smoother. We have been picking up wins when we haven’t even been playing our best footy, so we will keep working away and see where we can get to.
Shuffling the magnets – It will be all hands on deck with about 9 or 10 girls missing from the starting lineup, another challenge we will have to contend with. We will just embrace it and put our best foot forward.
The challenge – The girls are under no illusion about what they are coming up against: a powerful, forward pack. They’ve got some good speed on the edges, an all-around game where they can hurt us right through the middle and then also speed out wide on the edges. It will be a great contest.
Final words – Get down to The Canal and support the Bull Sharks!
With Setu Naseri