The Bull Sharks make their way to Chipsy Wood Oval in round 9 to take on the red-hot South Magpies in a top 4 match-up.
Last time they met
The scoreboard attendants got a workout in round 15, 2022 when the Bull Sharks produced an attacking masterclass, burying the Magpies 47-23 in the 70-point encounter.
On that day, Jake Upfield celebrated his 100th appearance for the club while Hayden Sargeant conducted a playmaking clinic. Both players have since progressed to professional opportunities with the Queensland Reds and the Australian 7s team.
Where it will be won
The Bull Sharks have taken learnings out of the nail-biting victory over GPS at The Canal on Saturday and assistant coach Damon Virtue is pushing his side to be a constant threat for the full 80 minutes.
“GPS were really good at punishing our errors and made us pay but our big thing this year has been our resilience in those moments, whereas in previous years we would have potentially lost those games,” he said.
Meanwhile the Magpies are having their best start to a season in several years, currently sitting fourth on the ladder. They boast plenty of attacking weaponry across the park.
“Credit to Souths, they have claimed some good wins and will be a very tough, physical side that will compete for 80 minutes,” Virtue said.
“The forward battle will be the key, with breakdown to be a fiercely contested. It will come down to whoever executes better on the day.’’
Talking point
The coaching battle is another element to this fixture. Souths Magpies head coach Garrick Morgan is a former Gold Coast Breakers player and coach, and assisting him is Ray Thomas who coached under Grant Anderson at the Bull Sharks until 2021.
The battle of minds off the field is just as intriguing as the attacking play on the field and will be another big test for Bond University.
Catch the game live on Stan Sport with kick off at 3:35pm.
Game times
Colts 2: 9:50am
Third grade: 11:10am
Colts 1: 12:30pm
Second grade: 1:30pm
First grade: 3:35pm
Premier Women: 5:20pm