Courtesy of the Mackay Daily Mercury
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AFTER three rounds of competition,
the Mackay Cutters sit atop the
Queensland Cup ladder and are the
only team yet to lose a game this
season.
Their elevation into the top spot
comes after a tight 22-16 victory over
the Sunshine Coast Sea Eagles at
Stockland Park on Saturday night.
In 2008, the Cutters only won seven
games in total, making their three-from-three start this season all the
more impressive.
Coach Shane Muspratt was particularly
pleased with how the team was
able to grind out the win on Saturday
even though it wasn’t their most cohesive
performance.
“To win ugly was a big bonus,”
Muspratt said.
“Our attack was very impatient
at times, we were trying
to push passes and offloads
and couldn’t get into a routine
to build pressure.
“But our defence again got
us through the game and
hopefully if we keep improving
our de(fence), our attack
will come.”
In the first half, a strong
breeze created havoc for the
Skills Training Mackay Cutters
and it was the Sunshine
Coast, aided by the wind at
their backs, that held a 16-8
lead at half-time.
However, the Mackay side
knew a win wasn’t out of
reach and, with the breeze
now in their favour, they piled
on 14 unanswered points in
the second half.
One of the pivotal moments
in the game was a 40-20 from
Roy Baira when the scores
were locked, which helped
spur the Cutters to victory.
Muspratt praised the likes
of Royston Lightning and
Chris Giumelli who “defensively made a lot of good
decisions and got us out of
trouble”, and Donald Malone,
who created plenty of headaches
for the Sea Eagles.
The only injury concern for
the Cutters was a corked leg
for Anthony Perkins, which
will be monitored this week.
The Cutters return to the
Mackay JRL grounds this
Saturday for their second
home game of the season,
where they’ll take on the
Burleigh Bears.
Mackay Cutters 22 (Anthony
Perkins 2, Royston Lightning,
Donald Malone, Quinton
Fielder tries; Daniel Abraham
goal) def Sunshine Coast Sea
Eagles 16 (Michael Chapman,
Jake Pearson, John Muir
goals; Trent Hodkinson 2
goals).
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