ISC: What impressed Northern Pride coach most in Round 1 win

It wasn’t that they kept the opposition to just 12 points, or that they were able to put up 28 of their own — what impressed coach Ty Williams the most about the Northern Pride’s Round 1 win was that it had some of the hallmarks of their previous premiership-winning seasons.

It wasn’t that they kept the opposition to just 12 points, or that they were able to put up 28 of their own — what impressed coach Ty Williams the most about the Northern Pride’s Round 1 win was that it had some of the hallmarks of their previous premiership-winning seasons.

The Pride kicked off the new Intrust Super Cup campaign with a 16-point win over the Sunshine Coast Falcons in greasy conditions at Sunshine Coast Stadium on Saturday.

Despite running in five tries to the Falcons’ two on the afternoon, Williams said the victory was built on the Pride’s steely resolve and desperation in defence, as the club aims to fix the problems that plagued their 2019 campaign.

“There’s probably at least three times in the game where Sunny Coast should score tries,” Williams said.

Northern Pride’s Jayden Corrigan. Picture: Alix Sweeney

“Early on, Darryn Schonig gets held up over the line and loses the football; second one, the winger‘s going in for the corner and (Matt) Musumeci knocks it out; third one, (Nicho) Hynes puts a grubber through and looks like he’s going to get there but Terrence Casey-Douglas, who doesn’t have to be there, saves it.

“I was very impressed with the resilience the boys showed. It’s a good platform for us to start off with.”

Williams said it was a sign of where the players’ heads were at, with a heavy focus on playing for each other and not letting your teammates down in the pre-season.

“We stripped it right back with getting the boys to know what the Northern Pride is all about — the DNA and why it’s so successful — and those moments in those games are why the club has been so successful in the past,” Williams said.

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NRL; North Queensland Cowboys pre-season training at Willows Sports Complex. Ben Hampton. Picture: Alix Sweeney

“It was pleasing to see those boys really digging in and doing the jersey proud.

“I was happy with the way the guys really stood up to a few challenges to get the result we were chasing but, credit where credit’s due, after the game it was ‘let’s enjoy it, refocus and go again next week’.”

Former Newcastle Knights and NSW State of Origin halfback Jarrod Mullen came off the bench for the Falcons, but his fairytale return to rugby league didn’t quite go to plan after he dislocated his shoulder in making a tackle.

It wasn’t the only injury blow for the Falcons on the night, with young centre Jack Howarth hurting his hamstring in the first few minutes.

NRL; North Queensland Cowboys pre-season training at Willows Sports Complex. Heilum Luki. Picture: Alix Sweeney

Normanton product Casey-Douglas was called into the Pride’s starting line-up late on Friday, after Cowboys allocation and Cairns junior Jeremiah Nanai hyperextended his knee at training.

The late change forced Cowboys second-rower and fellow Cairns product Heilum Luki into the front row for a monster 45-minute stint on his Intrust Super Cup debut.

“He played some big minutes and his leg speed was very good,” Williams said.

“I had a couple of plans in mind and that was probably plan B, but it worked well for us.”

Cowboys playmaker Ben Hampton and prop Wiremu Greig, who crossed for a double, were both solid playing for the Pride, while halfback Tom Steadman and co-captains Chris Ostwald and Jayden Hodges controlled the game through the middle.

Fullback Jayden Corrigan did himself no harm in the No.1 jersey, scoring a try on his club debut and showing great resilience to come back from an error in the opening stages.

“He got beaten in a contested bomb early, it was a 50-50 chance and he had a go at it, which was great to see, and it bounced the other way for him,” William said. “But everything else was spot on.”

The Pride will now prepare for a clash with the Capras at Rockhampton this Saturday.

Greig steps up in Pride’s strong start

The Northern Pride have started the new Intrust Super Cup season in the best possible way, defeating the Sunshine Coast Falcons 28-12 at Sunshine Coast Stadium.

It was a case of deja vu for Pride fans when the Falcons hit the scoreboard in the third minute through Nat McGavin.

The Pride made a habit out of getting behind on the scoreboard early in their last full campaign in 2019 and went on to finish the season with just five wins from 23 games — the worst record in the club’s history.

But rather than go on to lose the match, as they so often did in 2019’s season of disappointment, the Pride went on to score 22 unanswered points and claim an emphatic first-round win over one of the competition heavyweights, running out 28-12 winners.

Wiremu Greig, pictured playing for Northern Pride in a pre-season trial against Townsville Blackhawks. Picture: Alix Sweeney

The Pride’s four-try spree began in the ninth minute when Cowboys allocated prop and Maori All Stars representative Wiremu Greig barged his way over for his first of two tries on the day.

Fullback Jayden Corrigan scored on his debut for the club in the 27th minute, before Cowboys allocation Ben Hampton, who played at five-eighth, found the line four minutes later to see the Pride take a 18-6 lead into the sheds at halftime.

Pride winger Matt Musumeci made it 22-6 when he scored 10 minutes after the break, before the Falcons hit back through prop Patrice Siolo to narrow the margin to 10 points in the 50th minute.

The two teams slugged it out in the wet over the next 25 minutes, before Greig sealed the victory with his second try in the 75th minute.

Originally published as ISC: What impressed Northern Pride coach most in Round 1 win