The extra special meaning behind Townsville Blackhawks’ big win over Northern Pride
Townsville continued its unbeaten start to the Queensland Cup with a determined 28-14 win over the Northern Pride, with two debutants adding to the occasion. Catch up on the special victory and hear from coach Campese.
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Townsville continued its unbeaten start to the Queensland Cup with a determined 28-14 win over the Northern Pride on Saturday as Kalifa Faifai Loa celebrated his 100th appearance for the club.
Faifai Loa put a cherry on top of the Blackhawks’ statement win by converting Joshua Stuckey’s second try in the dying stages.
Stuckey had a strong performance with a game-leading 18 carries while a second-half double to winger Dudley Dutoi helped seal the deal for the Blackhawks after Cowboys-signed five-eighth Zac Herdegen scored to get the visitors back within two points.
Leading 16-14 after Herdegen sliced through the defence with a dummy, Townsville held off the fast-finishing Pride and regained an eight-point buffer when Dutoi scored with a nice move in the left corner.
A short kick-off by Cowboys centre Zac Laybutt backfired on the Pride and Stuckey was able to bag his second meat pie of the afternoon under the posts when he slipped out of a Harry Edwards tackle to score under the posts.
Blackhawks coach Terry Campese said he couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season after he was forced to make three late changes.
“Very proud. It was an outstanding couple of weeks for us as a club and I think that the team is believing in their ability,” Campese said.
“The guys that came in did a tremendous job. We had two guys debut for the club tonight and we had Hodgo (Jayden Hodges) and Kalifa with some pretty big milestones.
“The way that they went out there and their attitude was all you could ask for as a coach and I’m very proud of their efforts.”
Veteran winger Faifai Loa made a game-high 190m on 16 carries, while club debutants Assariah Lenoy and Jesse Pascoe only found out the extent of their roles when they arrived to Jack Manski Oval.
Campese said Lenoy’s quality had been apparent since joining the squad.
“He’d been training with the Cows and asked if he could join our squad. We were happy to have him here, he’s a local Palm (Island) guy and he’s been playing at Charters Towers, this year with Norths,” Campese said.
“His attitude from day one, we knew that we had a pretty handy player. Tonight he got his opportunity and I thought he took it with both hands.
“He was meant to be coming off the bench and he was grateful for that, and then when he arrived at the game, I let him know that he’d be starting and he had a little bit of shock.
“But the way that he handled himself – and he was up against Zac Laybutt – so what a game to debut and I thought he handled himself and played a really big part in the win.
“I don’t think (Pascoe) would have thought he’d be playing in round 2. He was the same (as Lenoy), he was 18th man today and it wasn’t until he arrived at the game that I let him know that he’d be on the bench.
“So a bit of a weird debut for him, but he did a job when he went out there. He played limited minutes but sometimes that’s all you need from players and he did his job.”
The Blackhawks enjoy the bye this week before hosting the Central Queensland Capras in round 5 on Saturday, April 5, kicking off at 5pm.
INSIDE STORY: FAIFAI LOA BRINGS UP INCREDIBLE BLACKHAWKS MILESTONE
March 21
NRL veteran Kalifa Faifai Loa will make his 100th appearance for the Townsville Blackhawks on Saturday, becoming only the second player to achieve the feat for the club.
It would never have happened if he wasn’t pulled out of retirement two years ago by none other than James Tamou.
The New Zealand-born winger had a great NRL career, amassing 66 games across eight seasons with the Dragons, Cowboys and Titans before retiring from first grade in 2017.
Faifai Loa joined the Blackhawks the following year, finishing as the team’s top tryscorer with 16 four-pointers to his name.
Eventually, the former New Zealand Kiwis representative called time on his rugby league days at the end of the 2022 season.
The next year is when he got a tap on the shoulder from his old Cowboys teammate Tamou.
“I was happily retired two years ago, and then Jimmy finished with NRL at the Cows and he said he was going to go and play for Blackhawks,” Faifai Loa said.
“I was playing with Brothers at the time and took some convincing to come back.
“I had to start from scratch: a new coach, some new players, and then your spot isn’t fully yours – you’ve got to show the new coaching staff that you’re there for a good reason.”
But the veteran had no trouble earning his place back in the side and he is now on the cusp of a major milestone, just four appearances behind the Townsville’s all-time leader Kyle Laybutt.
Faifai Loa said the PNG Kumuls halfback had reached out to him to congratulate him on the achievement.
“He said there was no other person besides me that he’d want to take the record,” Faifai Loa said.
“I think he’s only saying that because I’m only four games away from it now. But he did message me to say congrats my Kiwi brother.
“I’ve been lucky enough to have all of my milestone games at home. I had my 100th here, my 150th (reserve grade appearance), and now I’ve got my 100 games for the club here – all at home.
“It’s been good, if I hadn’t come back from retirement, I wouldn’t have got gotten all these milestones that I’ve had in the last two years.”
Blackhawks teammate Jayden Hodges will also celebrate his 100th Queensland Cup appearance on Saturday when he runs out for Townsville.
This will be the hooker’s 32nd game for the club after playing 43 for Mackay and 25 for the Northern Pride.
The Blackhawks host the Northern Pride on Saturday, March 21. Kick-off is at 1pm after the Mal Meninga Cup under-19s fixture at 11.30am.
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Originally published as The extra special meaning behind Townsville Blackhawks’ big win over Northern Pride
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