Northern Rivals to meet in Cairns
Thursday, August 4, 2016
After a tight game against the Mackay Cutters in Round 21 the Townsville & Districts Mendi Blackhawks will be facing another local rival this weekend when they hit Barlow Park to take on the Northern Pride on Sunday at 3pm.
The always dangerous Pride will be full of confidence having defeated the ladder-leading Burleigh Bears last round and this week announcing former Pride and Cowboys cult figure Ty Willaims as the 2017 Coach.
The last time the two teams met back in Round 8 this year the Mendi Blackhawks came away 26-13 winners in Townsville. However it will be a different match at Barlow Park on Sunday in front of a parochial Cairns crowd. The Pride have named Cowboys big men Ben Spina, Partick Kaufusi, and Coen Hess in their line up, who alongside Jack Svendsen and Vaipuna Tia-Kilifi will form a formidable pack and no doubt prove a handful for the visitors.
The Mendi Blackhawks have named a similar side to the team that played the Mackay Cutters, with the return of Delouise Hoeter and Brendan Santi from injury and minus an Davin Crampton who will miss a few weeks with a knee injury. Hard running centre Moses Pangai will be looking to put a week of media attention behind him with a big performance following the news that he has signed with the Brisbane Broncos from 2017.
The Pride will be looking to continue their winning ways whilst the Blackhawks will be working towards securing their place in the finals.
“We are looking to build some consistency in playing out some good tough wins. Last week was a tough win and this week we expect the same kind of game.” Coach Kristian Woolf said.
“The Pride will be on a high and will certainly be keen to put us away in front of a home crowd.”
“We look forward to the match and if we play like we did in the last few weeks I think we will be a good chance.”
Northern Pride v Townsville Blackhawks
Barlow Park on Sunday, August 7 – 3pm
TOWNSVILLE BLACKHAWKS
1. Matt Bowen 2. Samsen O’Neill 3. Moses Pangai 4. Delouise Hoeter 5. Conor Carey 6. Jahrome Hughes 7. Michael Parker-Walshe 8. Brenden Santi 9. Anthony Mitchell (c) 10. Corey Jensen 11. Lona Kaifoto 12. Rhyse Martin 13. Lorenzo Maafu 14. Sam Foster 15. Andrew Niemoeller 16. Willie Minoga 17. David Munro
Coach: Kristian Woolf
NORTHERN PRIDE
1. Linc Port 2. Khan Ahwang 3. Justin Castellaro 4. Shaun Hudson 5. Luke George 6. Jordan Biondi-Odo 7. Jared Allen 8. Ben Spina 9. Ryan Ghietti (c) 10. Patrick Kaufusi 11. Coen Hess 12. Jack Svendsen 13. Tom Hancock 14. Colin Wilkie 15. Sheldon Powe-Hobbs 16. David Murphy 17. Vaipuna Tia-Kilifi 18. Aidan Day
Coach: Joe O’Callaghan
Tickets for the match can be purchased via Northern Pride website or at the game. Prices are as follows:
- GRANDSTAND Adult $22
- GRANDSTAND Child $15
- GRANDSTAND Concessional $15
- GRANDSTAND Family $60 (2 Adults, 2 Children)
- GA Adult $7.50
- GA Child $5.00
- GA Concessional $5.00
- GA Family $20.00
