Pressure to perform will be heaped on Northern Pride halves Dantoray Lui and Evan Child as the club’s injured first-choice playmaker inches closer to his return.
Matt Egan is yet to play a game this season after he suffered a torn pec towards the end of the pre-season, but the 26-year-old could be back within the next month – slightly earlier than first anticipated.
That means the spotlight will be firmly on Lui and Child over the next few weeks.
While Lui was praised for the way he came up with two ultimately game-saving plays in the 16-12 win against Mackay last week, coach Ty Williams made it clear the rising star had plenty of work to do.
Dantoray Lui makes a break in the Northern Pride pre season ISC Cup match against the Cowboys Young Guns, held at Barlow Park. Picture: Brendan Radke
“He missed eight tackles, four coming at crucial times,” Williams said.
“Let’s not sugarcoat it, he made two big plays to get us home but there’s three other opportunities where he could’ve stopped it.
“He’s pretty clear on where I stand with that. Half-time couldn’t come quick enough for him. We had to calm him down a bit as to where his head was at. In the second half, his performance let us know what he can do.”
What Williams wants to see out of the Yam Island product is consistency across the full 80 minutes. It’s not impossible. His debut was an outstanding display, which gave the staff and fans confidence the Brothers junior could compete at this level. And Williams has been impressed by what the exciting five-eighth has done since returning to the Far North. But it’s something he needs to address as Egan’s return gets closer.
“The big thing for him is he has to be very good for 80 minutes,” Williams said.
“He drifts in, drifts out – that first game, his debut, he was sensational for 80 minutes.
“We need consistency from him. That’s the good thing about D-Ray, it’s an area we can work on.
“He’s 19-20 years old, leading a Q Cup team. There’s not many of them in the competition at the moment.
“I’m expecting those troughs at times, we just don’t stay there too long. His progress has been really good.”
Northern Pride’s Matthew Egan is just a few weeks away from his return. Picture: Brian Cassey
With Egan’s return still a few weeks away, Lui has the chance to stake his claim for the No. 6 jersey moving forward. The next opportunity will come on Saturday when the Pride travels to Toowoomba to take on Western Clydesdales.
“At the moment D-Ray has that position and Egs is tracking along well. He’s about three weeks away,” Williams said.
“He and Ev need to be putting their best feet forward. Egs is a 30-plus gamer for us, an important piece and was in our plans at the start of the season.
“They’re doing a good job at the moment, but we need to raise another bar for us to be consistent week-in, week-out.”
The Pride’s win against the Cutters, their second for the season and, bizarrely, with the exact same scoreline, has allowed the club to climb into the top eight in the midst of a tough block of fixtures.
Tough decision awaits coaches
The cavalry may be about to return for the Northern Pride, with three players one successful training session away from being available to resume their Hostplus Cup campaign.
But that could mean a headache for coach Ty Williams, who named a rare unchanged line-up for the Pride’s clash with Queensland Cup newcomers Western Clydesdales in Toowoomba on Saturday.
The Clydesdales’ return to the state league makes for one of the toughest road trips the Pride will endure in the Hostplus Cup, with the flight to Brisbane now coupled with a potentially more-than-two-hour bus trip to Toowoomba for the clash.
That will undoubtedly come into consideration when Williams makes a call on the fitness of skipper Chris Ostwald, who would play his 100th game if he is available to play.
Chris Ostwald will captain the Northern Pride in the Host Plus Cup 2023 QRL season. Picture: Brendan Radke
Ostwald scored his first try of the season in the Pride’s heart-stopping 16-12 triumph against North Queensland rivals Mackay Cutters at Barlow Park on Saturday, but spent time on the sideline for a HIA and copped a knock to his knee during the club’s fourth win of the 2023 campaign.
Ostwald is expected to play, but Williams could also have three more weapons at his disposal, with Denzel King, Daniel Woodhouse and Justin Frain on the cusp of returning.
King is in the middle of a resurgence after several quiet seasons.
He trained and played his way back into contract consideration in the past 12 months, and earlier this season played his first Hostplus Cup game in almost two years.
He has come off the bench four times this season, but missed the past two games with a hamstring injury.
Frain, who has played four games since he joined the Pride from Townsville, has also missed the past two weeks but will need to get through training to be a chance of playing.
Justin Frain breaks the line in the Northern Pride pre season ISC Cup match against the Cowboys Young Guns, held at Barlow Park. Picture: Brendan Radke
Winger Woodhouse is the most unlikely of the trio having missed several weeks with a shoulder injury.
If any of the trio are successful, it will leave Williams and his staff with a tough decision.
“We’ll do an opposed (Wednesday) night, then decisions made at that session,” he said.
“Denzel is not far away, Frain’s just about there, and Woodhouse, he’s tracking along good.
“Strength is key for us with ‘Woody’, he’s been getting that in the past five days.
“If they all three get through, we’ll have a discussion as coaches. We’ll have to throw them in the ring there somewhere because all three have performed well for us.
“There’s going to be a few hard decisions to make.
“Whether they play for the Pride or local team, they’ll do their best to get back there.”
The Clydesdales, who are captained by Cooktown product and former Pride forward Darryn Schonig, are 12th on the Hostplus Cup ladder with two wins and five losses.
But Williams hasn’t considered their position on the ladder at all in his scout, warning his troops they could not disrespect or overlook any opponent in what has been a tight, tough season to date.
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