Rugby league: Pride coach wants side to know when it’s ‘hammer time’

STRAP yourself in, the rollercoaster has started.

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STRAP yourself in, the rollercoaster has started.

The Northern Pride may have won Saturday’s final trial 20-18 against the Cowboys under-20s but the club fully understand the biggest area of improvement lies between the ears.

In the most muggy conditions possible, the hosts led 14-6 at the main break before North Queensland’s generation next defied their age and ground back into the surprisingly physical contest.

A fortnight out from the ­Intrust Super Cup opener, Pride coach Joe O’Callaghan admitted his side must learn to put the hammer down – but knows it will be a topsy-turvy process.

“This is going to be a rollercoaster,” he said.

“We have never known a roster at the club this young.

“There are weeks they will be ruthless and there are weeks when they will do it the hard way. I wouldn’t have minded if they had their pants pulled down in the last two minutes.

“I’m sorry, and no disrespect to the Cowboys 20s, but they were struggling at halftime and we could have ­kicked on.

“We have got to learn that you don’t have to kill off the game in the first 10 minutes after the break.

“We let them back into it ... but to the boys’ credit they kept scrambling to the end.”

While the Pride were disappointed for not putting the young visitors away, the Cowboys should be applauded for adding backbone to their typical blitzkrieg style.

“The back end of the first half and the start of the second warranted a blowout,” coach Aaron Payne said.

“I spoke to them after the game about how they hung in there.

“They can draw on that next time they’re in a tough situation.”

Though the Pride play just one home fixture in the blazing Far North in the opening five weeks of the season, O’Callaghan employed just eight ­interchanges on Saturday.

Jack Svendsen and Ben Spina both churned through big minutes, with Denzel King good from the bench and Akeripa Tia Kilifi putting his hand up for Round 1.

“The conditions hit both teams in the back end,” O’Callaghan said.

“But you want different things from different trials and they asked plenty of questions.”

In Saturday’s other games, the Pride under-20s beat Kangaroos 22-14, Pride under-16s won 32-12 against Roos under-20s, and Pride 18s won 44-8 over Roos reserves.

Originally published as Rugby league: Pride coach wants side to know when it’s ‘hammer time’