Cairns rugby league: Pride coach’s high praise for winger Kawiri-Kusu
Northern Pride Intrust Super Cup coach Ty Williams believes up-and-coming outside back Aiden Kawiri-Kusu has “a big future in the game”.
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Northern Pride Intrust Super Cup coach Ty Williams believes up-and-coming outside back Aiden Kawiri-Kusu has “a big future in the game”.
The Pride Giants winger was a standout in the second round of the Lightning Challenge, scoring two tries in his side’s 28-0 victory over Cairns Brothers at Stan Williams Park on Saturday afternoon.
As well as displaying his outstanding finishing ability, the Edmonton Storm junior showed himself to be a damaging runner of the footy, especially in bringing the ball back from an opposition kick.
Williams said Kawiri-Kusu made the most of the opportunity to play outside former North Queensland Cowboys centre Javid Bowen.
“He’s just so natural and raw in what he does,” Williams said.
“Chucking him in there with Javid, I thought they were really good on that edge.
“For us moving forward, it’s about just managing him and making sure he’s in the right environment.
“I think he’s got a big future in the game, whether it’s at the Pride or a higher level.
“He’s got more than enough to go to a higher level, but he just needs to get all the little things right.”
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While the 28-0 scoreline didn’t reflect the physicality of the match, Brothers delivered on their promise to push the Pride side to its limit.
The Brethren matched the intensity of their Intrust Super Cup counterparts in the opening stages of the match and looked up for the challenge of taking on some of the best players in the region.
But, after a courageous opening 20 minutes from Brothers, the Giants started to click and were able to put on three tries before halftime.
The Giants went on with it in the second half, with the potent left edge of Kawiri-Kusu, Bowen and Heilum Luki causing all sorts of trouble for the Brothers defence.
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Williams was impressed by the way Brothers had not shied away from the physical aspects of the game.
“Credit where credit’s due, Brothers come out and they stuck it to us nice and early, and I didn’t expect anything less,” he said.
“We thought they would do that, just because we had a few guys there that played ISC, but when we got into our groove and flexed our muscle we sort of showcased our skill.”
Brothers coach Paul Steven praised his players for digging in and having a red-hot crack, even with a depleted bench.
“We lost a couple of troops throughout the day – Jordan (Biondi-Odo) has an issue with his arm and we lost Corey (Child) after 15 minutes – so I was really proud of the guys’ efforts,” he said.
The Lightning Challenge will head south this weekend for the official opening of the new grandstand at Tully Showgrounds.
Originally published as Cairns rugby league: Pride coach’s high praise for winger Kawiri-Kusu