The Lindroth Cup makes its long-awaited return this weekend.
The second-placed Northern Panthers will host third-placed Power House at C.H. Sullivan Reserve on Saturday in the Lindroth Cup Match of the Round.
We caught up with both sides before their Round 7 clash to hear their thoughts on their sides preparations and what they believe the opposition will bring game day.
Power House Coach Andrew Pitt
Power House sits in third place with a 4-2 record, how do you feel the side has performed in the first half of the season?
As a coaching staff, we have been very pleased with the players' efforts so far. While unfortunate not to record a win against uni before the midseason break, we believed we put on a great performance that we can build on for the back half of the season.
What players have been your biggest improvers this season?
We have been pleased with the constant improvement of the Luafalealo sisters, Chelsea Renshaw, Gabrielle Fergus and Jen Jackson. These players have consistently been at training each week and it's fantastic to see their hard work paying off.
How has the team re-grouped from an extended covid and SUPER W break?
Many players in the team worked hard over the break to maintain their fitness and skill levels. With numbers continuing to return back to training, the vibe in the team has been exciting with players keen to run back on the paddock for their first game back.
What will be the focus for your team for the second half of the season?
The break gave the coaches sometime to review the season so far and identify our strengths and weakness. With that in mind, the team will now focus toward building upon our team structure to promote our strengths and conceal our weakness.
What are you expecting Northern to bring to the match-up and where do you think the match will be won or lost?
The Panthers are reknown for their dominant physicality and desire to win the contest within the contact zones. For us to come away with the W, we'll be looking to match their physicality and get the ball to our explosive backs to penetrate their line.
Northern Panthers Coach Silei Etuale
Northern sits in second place with a 4-2 record, how do you feel the side has performed in the first half of the season?
It's been hard as we started with 2 weeks of 10's and then had to transition to 15's when other teams had already played 15's and then unfortunately had 2 games forfeit against us, so unfortunately we haven't had much 15's game time up our sleeve and are lucky to be sitting in second place to date
What players have been your biggest improvers this season?
We have about 10 newbies for this season and to see each of them give 100% and enjoy the game, you wouldn't think we had newbies on the team. Alot have now come through our successful Youth Girls team and show real maturity in the women's game. Definitely a young quiet achiever to look out for is our lock/flanker Nadia Aumua
How has the team re-grouped from an extended Covid and Super W break?
It's always hard to try and get back into the swing of things with Covid in the way but we were still able to train whilst we had some of us away for Super W. Bunj our backs coach took the reigns by checking up on our girls and getting great feedback on areas of improvement and worked with a few of our girls with the 1%s
What will be the focus for your team in the second half of the season?
Our focus will be to get the basics right and execute well, keeping things simple will get everyone on the same page especially after a few weeks break. We're a very family oriented team so the closer we are the more trusting our team will become
What are you expecting Power House to the bring to the match-up and where do you think the match will be won or lost?
Coming off the back of Super W, both teams had an even amount of girls in the squad so both are eager to get the W as we're both quite tight on the ladder with a point difference. After a few weeks break and not many games left til finals, I believe the team that executes their game plan well will definitely walk away with their heads held high on Saturday. It will definitely be a great match to watch.
The Lindroth Cup Match of the Round will be held at C.H. Sullivan Reserve, K/O 1:35pm.
