Cutters missing Cowboys but eager for dance with the Devils

The Cutters are set to play a Mackay-only side against the top team, but the players are excited to line up alongside their mates.

Mackay Cutters players Rayden Burns and Joshua Smith.

The Cutters may be missing their Cowboys contingent in Dysart this week, and potentially longer, but the players are excited to be playing football with their Mackay mates.

The side debuted Bayley Gill and Jake Thornton last week and will add Blake Atherton back to the squad after battling injury this season.

Cutters coach Michael Crawley said the squad was eager to play with a Cowboy-less team.

“The boys enjoy playing with the guys they train with week in, week out,” he said.

“It’s not that we don’t appreciate the Cowboys, we do and they really add to our performance every week, but the boys build a bond training together each week.

“They want to see their local mates play Intrust Super Cup as well.”

The Cutters are set to miss six North Queensland Cowboys players who have all played games in Mackay this season, but Crawley said he thought the squad would handle its absence against North Devils.

“The Devils are the high-flyers of the competition, but we’ve got a bit of confidence at the moment and hopefully we can go out and give a really good account of ourselves,” he said.

“When you’re playing against opponents who are on top of the ladder you’re aware you’ll have to be on top of your game, it certainly helps with your preparation and you can’t leave anything to chance.”

The Cutters secured their second win of the season at the weekend, defeating the Capras in a scrappy affair.

Crawley said the side was playing some of its best football at the moment.

“We’ve competed well over the past four or five weeks, hopefully we can do that again this weekend,” Crawley said.

“We’ll start underdogs but that’s okay, we’re going to have to kick well and move them around the park to win.”

Originally published as Cutters missing Cowboys but eager for dance with the Devils