Brothers look to lift as finals approach
Brothers coach Zane Hilton expects to see a lift in intensity on Saturday at Crosby Park against Sunnybank as the Brethren try to build momentum heading into finals.
Entering Round 14 of the Premier Rugby competition, the Brethren are being challenged for top spot on the ladder for the first time this year.
The Brethren have a game in hand but now sit in equal first alongside Souths on 41 points, with Easts a further one competition point behind.
“We need to be at another level come finals time but we are extremely happy with where we are at in terms of the way the team is developing,” Hilton said.
“We had a bit of freshen up week last week with our training, so we’re really keen for Saturday. It has been a while since we’ve been home and the boys are just jumping out of their skin to play.”
Aiding their cause is the return of former QR Reds leader David Croft, who opted to play for the Brothers reserve grade team last weekend after a two week sabbatical overseas.
Australian Under 20 and QAS Reds Academy representative Jake Schatz has been given the responsibility of going toe-to-toe with Croft and of securing clean ball for Sunnybank’s firepower out wide.
Last week’s inclusion of Reds backs Ben Lucas and Mark McLinden, and iRB Junior World Player of the Year finalist Richard Kingi failed to present a 17-7 loss to Norths.
But Hilton is expecting a far more coherent and polished performance from the Dragons’ stars this weekend following their first full hitout together.
“That scoreline from Norths doesn’t really do us any favours,” he said.
“I’d imagine that Sunnybank side is going to be very fired up to play, especially in the dry. They’ll have a massive crack and we’re expecting big things from them.”
While Sunnybank lost to Norths and GPS in their past two outings, playmaker Ben Lucas has been a standout performer for the Dragons. Lucas has again been named at flyhalf, creating a formidable inside backs trio with Kingi and Charlie Fetoai.
But Hilton is also wary of the strong Dragons forwards.
“We have to shut down their midfield, but they are a very strong team across the park,” he said.
“We respect their forward pack immensely and we’re expecting a big battle come scrum time. At lineout, with guys like Tom Murday, they're going to be very strong.
“Then you have (Mark) McLinden in counterattack, so they can do anything on their day.”
Hilton expects the full-time return of Reds hooker Sean Hardman to add another dimension to the Brothers pack, especially with the team’s struggles at set-piece following the long term loss of tighthead Adrian Dixon.
“We really need to improve at scrum time, there is no doubt about it. We’re under no illusion that teams will try to target us there.
“We’ve moved Dan Kilmartin from loosehead to tighthead, which he has never played before.
“But from Dan’s perspective it is great having Sean there - the knowledge he will gain from playing alongside the most capped Red is invaluable.”
In their first encounter this season Brothers demolished the Dragons 69-16.
