Sarina eyes off Brothers after resolute qualifying final win over Mackay Magpies

Fresh off a strong 20-14 qualifying final win over Mackay Magpies, Sarina now has its eyes set on victory against the minor premiers in Brothers this weekend.

Kenny Edwards. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)

Fresh off a strong qualifying final victory over Mackay Magpies, Sarina now has its eyes set on victory against the minor premiers of the Mackay and District Rugby League A grade competition in Brothers.

Sarina coach Kane Linnett said while he expects the game to be a “tough grind” he believes his group is capable of getting the job done.

“We’re going to have to turn up with our best attitude, we know Brothers has been the benchmark of this competition all year. But it’s the business end of the year now so hopefully we can go in and put on a good performance to get one over them,” Linnett said.

Sarina played their upcoming opponents - who lost just one game this season - relatively close in their round 10 clash, going down 16-10.

“We just need to compete at a high level for the full 80 minutes this time around, especially on the defensive end,” Linnett said.

Their matchup with Brothers comes after a 20-14 win over the Magpies which saw both sides get off to a blistering start.

Kane Linnett. Picture: Michaela Harlow

 

Sarina’s star fullback Zane McKellar opened the scoring inside three minutes with a try, before Magpies second-rower Isaiah Cooper-Tetevano responded just moments later with one of his own, with the successful conversion making it a 6-4 game Magpies way.

Sarina was able settle into the game quicker than their opponents after the frenetic start, scoring in the 25th minute courtesy of Benny Barba.

“We settled in pretty well, we defended our goal line really well for a few sets in a row, it’s an area of our game that we’ve spoken a lot about wanting to improve,” he said.

“We just kept grinding it out and everyone did their job.”

A pair of penalty kicks at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second extended Sarina’s lead to 14-6, before Barba was able to get in for his second try of the game with the subsequent conversion making it a 20-6 scoreline.

The Magpies’ centre Tenzin Contor scored a pair of quick tries in the 72nd and 76th minute to throw a brief scare through Sarina, but they were ultimately able to hold on for the win.

“It’s not the way we wanted to finish the game, we probably lost a bit of focus just as the ‘Maggies’ were getting desperate and trying a few different things,” Linnett said.

“It’s something for us to work on, we can’t afford to have those lapses against Brothers or they’ll punish us.”