Courtesy of the Mackay Daily Mercury
THERE is still no light at the end of the tunnel for the Mackay Cutters after the team fell to its eighth consecutive defeat at the weekend.
The 18-12 loss to Easts Tigers at Brisbane on Saturday means the Cutters, with eight competition points, are now last on the Queensland Cup ladder and have not tasted victory since April 11, when they beat Wynnum-Manly by two points.
Skills Training Mackay Cutters operations manager Jamie McDonald said a slow start to Saturday’s game had allowed the Tigers to race out to a respectable lead.
McDonald said it was a try to Chance Bunce that sparked the 15-minute period where their way back into the match to trail by two points with just minutes remaining on the clock.
"Easts put 14 points on us to start so we were playing catch-up footy," he said.
"It’s the same as every week – we have to not let them get off to a good start."
Ill-timed errors, including a knock-on from the first half kick off, didn’t help the Cutters’ cause at Langlands Park.
But when they did eventually click, the Cutters showed glimpses of some dangerous attacking potential, and were able to claw the Cutters had all the momentum.
"Chance took an intercept and ran 80 metres to score," McDonald said.
"It was a turning point for us."
Not long after that, threequarter Dean Tass crossed for his own four-pointer following a slick backline movement.
But the Cutters’ hopes of ending their demoralising losing streak were dashed when the Tigers scored a final try off a kick on their last set, taking the scoreline
out to 18-12.
As round 13 is a split round, the Cutters now have a week off and McDonald said it would provide the team with a "much-needed" break.
"After a string of losses and with confidence being down, getting away from football for the week is probably the best thing," he said.
The team returns to the Junior Rugby League grounds on June 20 to tackle the Sunshine Coast Sea Eagles.
Easts Tigers 18 (Wade Liddell 2, Isaak Ah Mau, Arana Taumata tries; Wade Liddell goal) defeated Mackay Cutters 12 (Dean Tass, Chance Bunce tries; Daniel Abraham 2 goals).
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