Currumbin keeping sights locked on Bilambil in final round despite looming RLGC A grade playoffs

CURRUMBIN are keeping their sights firmly on Sunday’s crucial Rugby League Gold Coast encounter with Bilambil as four sides jostle for a finals edge.

CURRUMBIN are keeping their sights firmly on Sunday’s crucial Rugby League Gold Coast encounter with Bilambil as four sides jostle for a finals edge.

While Burleigh are safely locked into top spot with a bye this weekend, the three-final-round fixtures could turn the top five into a game of musical chairs.

With second-placed Southport coming off two-consecutive heavy defeats, they are no sure thing to overcome a Runaway Bay outfit hoping to leapfrog Tugun into fourth spot.

A Tigers loss would open the door for Currumbin to leapfrog them into second – and gain a home-ground advantage when they meet next weekend – but Eagles coach Ryan Gundry said their focus was solely on a Bilambil side ready to throw caution to the wind.

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“We’re more focused on Bilambil this week, making sure we’re prepared as best we can be. Being their last game, they will be throwing everything at us,” Gundry said.

“We’re definitely wary of Bilambil. It will be a good test because they have got nothing to lose. It’s a good early finals game for us.

Currumbin’s Blake Morrison. Picture: Mike Batterham

“Finishing second does (make a difference) in terms of getting a home fixture but in the grand scheme of things, it’s the same game of consequence so we’re just looking to build on what we have been doing in the last month.

“We’re just preparing to play Southport in the first week of the finals.”

A bye for the Eagles in Round 20 interrupted a strong run of form that featured wins over Ormeau, Tugun and Runaway Bay, and an 18-10 loss to Burleigh.

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But Gundry said it would do little to disrupt their charge towards finals.

“(The bye) was a good thing for us. Throughout the year I have been a bit of a sceptic of it but leading up to the finals and having played Burleigh, Tugun and Runaway Bay in consecutive weeks, it was good to have a freshen up,” he said.

“We have got certain areas of our game that we’re trying to improve on from the last few weeks so we have got to make sure we’re doing those things. We have improved in key areas.

“Probably one of the big things is we have settled on a line up a little bit. We have got close to that the last three or four games and our performances have showed.

“The team that can have their best roster fully fit at the business end is the team that’s going to come away with it.”

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RLGC A GRADE - ROUND 21 FIXTURES

■ Sunday 2pm – Currumbin vs. Bilambil

■ Sunday 2pm – Ormeau vs. Tugun

■ Sunday 2pm – Southport vs. Runaway Bay