Northern Pride coach Ty Williams to question late call in loss
Northern Pride coach Ty Williams has questioned why his players weren’t given a final crack with the footy after a last-second melee in the loss to Brisbane Tigers on Sunday.
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NORTHERN Pride coach Ty Williams has questioned why his players weren’t given a final crack with the footy after a last-second melee in the loss to Brisbane Tigers on Sunday.
The Pride raced to a 12-0 lead after 21 minutes but coughed up that advantage as the Tigers fought back for a tense 14-12 win in a match played at a frenetic pace.
But it is the final seconds which earned Williams’ ire.
The Pride threw the footy around in what was their last throw of the dice, which came to naught when centre Bernard Lewis’s chip and chase was caught by Brisbane hooker Haele Finau. Rather than complete the tackle for a loss, Pride winger Will Partridge swung his right arm in an attempt to dislodge the ball and earn his side one last shot at victory.
Finau rubbed his chin as Tigers players swarmed, who were closely followed by Partridge’s Pride teammates.
Among the melee and in clear view of the camera, Tigers replacement prop George Fai was seen throwing and landing a punch from a standing position at Partridge, who was on his back on the ground.
The melee rolled on, but once under control the officials opted to put the whole incident on report and call fulltime.
Williams, who said his side should never have put themselves in that position to begin with, questioned why his team wasn’t awarded a penalty.
“I’m going to question the ruling,” Williams said.
“Will’s tried to dislodge the ball, and there’s two punches thrown in there, but the game was finished.
“Fai throws two punches at Will on the ground.
“The official in the middle is in charge of the game, until he blows that whistle three times the game is still going but he’s called it off.”
The Pride drops to 11th on the Hostplus Cup table, and are now three points outside of the top eight.
LUI-TOSO’S CALL ON NORTHERN PRIDE FUTURE
NICK Lui-Toso has not looked beyond this Sunday’s potentially season defining clash with the Tigers as the powerhouse Northern Pride forward keeps his options open for 2023.
Lui-Toso was already regarded as a wrecking ball in the Hostplus Cup, but the Minchinbury Jets junior has taken his game to another level as he fights for one last tilt at the NRL.
And he puts that performance boost down to his enjoyment of the game.
“I’m pretty happy with it so far, I’m enjoying my footy so that probably has a bit to do with it,” Lui-Toso said.
The powerhouse prop has been among the form forwards of the state league this season.
In 10 games, he has passed the 100-metre mark eight times, and clocked up more than 200m with the Steeden tucked under his wing twice.
The latest came in last week’s 26-22 win against the league leading Burleigh Bears, with Lui-Toso running for 244m, of which a massive 117m were post-contact, from 20 runs, four tackle breaks, a line break assist and 10 tackles.
Pride coach Ty Williams and his staff can take a fair bit of credit with tweaks to Lui-Toso’s game, which include turning the former Panthers forward into a three-stint player to maximise his impact.
“I feel like Ty has given me a lot of his trust to do a big job,” he said.
“I take pride in that, and that helps me put my best foot forward.
“Ty, Obsty (Sam Obst, assistant coach), the way they have adjusted how I play with my stints has been a big change and that’s contributed to me being a better player.
“I’ve changed up my game a bit, just trying to be a bit more smart about things.
“I’ve been playing with a different intensity, and that’s just from being smarter about it. I’ve got a bit more experience now which helps, and I can get into the rhythm of the game a bit better.”
Lui-Toso took the mantle as Northern Pride’s forward pack leader after the departure of 2021 Hostplus Cup second rower of the year Josh Stuckey, and he hasn’t looked back.
He has been fit, avoiding serious injury with discipline the only real hurdle in keeping him out of Williams’ game-day sides.
“The MCL still isn’t attached in my left knee but my body must have adjusted as its felt pretty good,” Lui-Toso said.
When available, Lui-Toso is among the first names written down when Williams jots down his team sheet each week, and should be one of his main targets when it comes to his 2023 roster.
But the barnstorming, line-bending 26-year-old hasn’t considered his options for the future yet, and is instead focused on taking the Pride back to the finals for the first time since 2018.
“I’m not sure about next year to be honest, I don’t have a manager anymore,” Lui-Toso said.
“If an opportunity comes along I’ll take it with two hands.
“I’m really enjoying myself at the Pride so if there was an opportunity to stay I’d look at it.
“But I’m not too good with the future, I’m more about the day to day. I want to play finals and it’s been a while since the Pride has made it, so that’s one of my main goals for this year.”
BOWEN MAKES WAY FOR FORMER COWBOY
IT was fitting Shawn Bowen scored the matchwinning try against Burleigh to mark Ty Williams’s 100th game as Northern Pride coach, but it hasn’t been enough for him to keep his spot in the top squad.
Bowen was a late call-up in the shock 26-22 win against the league-leading Bears to replace Gideon Gela-Mosby, but will again revert to the extended bench with the former Cowboy set to return.
He was on the end of the Pride’s last-ditch attack against the Bears, scoring in the 77th minute to seal the shock win.
“Gids hurt his back at work late last week so we brought Bowie in to fill that last roster spot,” Williams said.
“If Gids gets through the week, he’ll play, and Shaun will travel as 18th (man) for us.
“Hopefully he gets through OK through the week.”
Mossman product Bowen, who ran for 129m and made 14 tackles against the Bears, is one of Williams’s prime examples of one of the former Cowboys and Maroons flyer greatest achievements at the Pride.
In an in-depth interview with the Cairns Post to celebrate his 100th game, Williams said that the club’s focus on the entire footprint, which extends north from Cardwell up to the Cape and west to Normanton, was a key to its future success. Part of that is giving young, locally developed players an opportunity to play at a higher level.
“On-field, I get pulled across the coals a little bit for giving young guys an opportunity, but you wouldn’t see the Cephas Chinfats, Matt Musumecis, Shawn Bowens, Terrence Casey-Douglases, they wouldn’t be getting the opportunity to play at a high level if you didn’t take a gamble on them,” Williams said.
“That’s something I hang my hat on.”
Williams has named a fairly similar line-up to the one which rolled Burleigh last week, though Cowboys duo Ben Hampton and Connelly Lemuelu will not play.
Five-eighth Tom Steadman has won a recall to partner Matt Egan in the halves, while Tom McGrath has been named on the bench.
Gela-Mosby will have to get through the week of training to be cleared to feature in Sunday’s high-stakes clash with the Tigers.
Williams said the focus was purely on this weekend’s game, in which two teams with an identical record face off as they mount late-season runs at the top eight.
The Tigers started the season as one of the pacesetters of the Hostplus Cup, but have lost four straight and six of their past seven to slip to 11th.
STEADMAN URGED TO MAKE MOST OF RECALL
RECALLED Northern Pride five-eighth Tom Steadman has been urged to make the most of his opportunity after being named for the club’s crunch Hostplus Cup clash with the Brisbane Tigers.
The Pride are coming off a 26-22 win against the league-leading Burleigh Bears at Barlow Park, and have now gone five games without a loss as they rebuild their season and set their sights on a run at the top eight.
The next club in their way is Brisbane Tigers, who sit one spot below the 10th-placed Pride but boast an identical win-loss record.
The Tigers will be hungry to reboot their season.
They started well to be among the early pace-setters but have been on a slide in recent weeks, and the Pride are poised to pounce.
But they will likely do so without any Cowboys players, opening the door for Steadman to show why he has been among the first picked since arriving in Cairns last year.
North Queensland utility Ben Hampton has started at five-eighth for the Pride for the past few weeks, forcing to Steadman out of the side.
Steadman has spent the past two weeks playing for Southern Suburbs in the Cairns District Rugby League, scoring tries, kicking goals and steering the Gordonvale club around the park with the confidence of a seasoned state league player.
And it is that form that Pride coach Ty Williams wants to see him bring back when they run out on the field at Totally Workwear Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Williams, who has been in constant contact with Steadman, praised the young playmaker’s attitude and his desire to return to the top squad has given Suburbs a lift.
“He’s been the difference for them,” Williams said.
“The Tully game two weeks ago, he was definitely the difference down there, he guided that team around pretty well.
“Then watching the vision of the weekend, they had an opportunity to beat Innisfail but didn’t ice it at the end there.
“Tommy was a heavy influence in that game considering the conditions.
“What I was pleased about is his attitude. He can get disappointed in not getting picked, but he just needs to wait it out and when he gets an opportunity, make sure takes it.
“He and I have had some very good discussions over the past few weeks in regards to how he gets back into the team, and he’ll get that chance this Sunday.”
Second-rower Tom McGrath has been named to make his return from the bench with Kenneth Fonoti named in the starting lineup.
McGrath was unavailable last week due to a suspension from his stint for Ivanhoes in the CDRL, but will be part of the Pride side this Sunday.
“We’ll bring him straight back in,” Williams said.
“Kenny was good through the middle on the weekend so might look at keeping Ken him there, then giving Tommy an opportunity on the edge with Tom Steadman coming back in as well if Benny’s not there.
“Bit of a balance change, but they’re going to be that right edge together so we’ll work on that this week.”
Jacob Wallace was rewarded for his strong debut last week by retaining his spot on the bench, with Chris Ostwald to start at hooker.
Gideon Gela-Mosby has also been named at centre after missing the Burleigh game through injury. Shawn Bowen, who replaced the former Cowboys and scored the matchwinner against the Bears, will be 18th man.
WALLACE A CUP GUN
JACOB Wallace has proved he can handle the Hostplus Cup after a solid debut in Saturday’s 26-22 win against Burleigh Bears.
The impact of his performance could actually have a bigger benefit on the wider squad.
Brought in to replace injured co-captain Jayden Hodges, the reigning CDRL Gold Medal winner played almost half an hour against the league leaders, and never looked out of place.
Pride coach Ty Williams was that happy with Wallace’s debut that he won’t hesitate to turn to the Ivanhoes rake in future.
And that could be as soon as this Sunday’s clash with Brisbane Tigers.
If Hodges is not 100 per cent fit, Williams will give his experienced leader a week off to lessen the risk of re-injury and make sure he has the on-field general available for the run to the finals.
“He was very good,” Williams said. “He did everything we asked, and made a good line break through the middle there, too.
“It gives him confidence, but also the players around him.
“That’s the luxury we have now. I don’t need to rush Hodgo back, we know Wal can do the job.”
matthew.mcinerney1@news.com.au
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