Post by bazal on Apr 30, 2018 6:02:22 GMT
North QLD coach Nick Bailey has urged fans not to get too carried away, after his side snatched a rare victory over reigning premiers Adelaide.
Speaking at recovery session at a series of bars on the Cairns Boulevarde, Bailey was clearly thrilled by the result, but still believes his side needs to improve to truly threaten the ASRL this season.
"Well, any win over Adelaide is a good win. Not only are they a great side, but I don't beat them very often even when my sides are flying so it always puts a bit more of a smile on my face."
"But I'm not reading too much into it. They've had a bit of a slow start to the season themselves and they aren't at their best yet. We've done well to get back to 2-2 after losing two games but we're only four rounds in. We need to keep getting better if we're going to keep winning."
The North QLD squad underwent one of the most dramatic off season changes in ASRL history, signing a raft of high quality players to bolster a side that had relied solely on Billy Slater. Fans were optimistic, and after two early losses that optimism seemed misplaced.
The coach, however, never bought into the hype.
"I was stoked with how we went in bidding. We brought in a lot of quality to a squad that had been severely neglected. But some fans were talking about it as the return to glory and I never went for that."
"We filled a lot of holes. We've got two quality centres now, our pack is very handy and we've got two good hookers. The Guthbus is a genuine superstar and he's already been a huge signing for us, and even old reliable Berrick Barnes filled a desperate need."
"But at the same time, we couldn't grab that quality half we were after. Smith and Hunt were definitely on the radar, but we weren't going to pay the massive money that was flying around for them. We needed to build a squad and we focused on doing that, even if we didn't manage to fill every position the way we wanted."
"Gutho does a great job as a stop-gap six, but he'll tell you himself is best position is fullback or centre. And Berrick is a calm head with a lot of skills, but to win a competition you need someone alongside him who can break a game open. Gutho can do it from the back, but his skillset is a little bit wasted at six and he doesn't have the same impact."
"So, no, I never really thought about winning the thing even before the first two weeks, and I'm not thinking about it after beating Adelaide. We're still rebuilding and it's not a process that happens over a single off season. We've got an RSC side to rebuild as well, that was absolutely decimated in my absence."
"We'll be happy to have a solid season, compete with the big boys again and continue to build a side capable of returning North QLD to the top of the tree."
North QLD play Cape Town in Townsville in Round Five, with both sides suffering imperfect starts to the season.
"They've had their moments, much like us. We're in similar positions, but we're winning right now and they aren't and they'll be hungry to change that, so we need to keep up our approach and our desperation."
"Berrick and Chairman Ma'u are under injury clouds as well, so we'll have to see what we can put on the field before we start focusing too much on the game itself. Not having a halfback will make things a lot more difficult."
Speaking at recovery session at a series of bars on the Cairns Boulevarde, Bailey was clearly thrilled by the result, but still believes his side needs to improve to truly threaten the ASRL this season.
"Well, any win over Adelaide is a good win. Not only are they a great side, but I don't beat them very often even when my sides are flying so it always puts a bit more of a smile on my face."
"But I'm not reading too much into it. They've had a bit of a slow start to the season themselves and they aren't at their best yet. We've done well to get back to 2-2 after losing two games but we're only four rounds in. We need to keep getting better if we're going to keep winning."
The North QLD squad underwent one of the most dramatic off season changes in ASRL history, signing a raft of high quality players to bolster a side that had relied solely on Billy Slater. Fans were optimistic, and after two early losses that optimism seemed misplaced.
The coach, however, never bought into the hype.
"I was stoked with how we went in bidding. We brought in a lot of quality to a squad that had been severely neglected. But some fans were talking about it as the return to glory and I never went for that."
"We filled a lot of holes. We've got two quality centres now, our pack is very handy and we've got two good hookers. The Guthbus is a genuine superstar and he's already been a huge signing for us, and even old reliable Berrick Barnes filled a desperate need."
"But at the same time, we couldn't grab that quality half we were after. Smith and Hunt were definitely on the radar, but we weren't going to pay the massive money that was flying around for them. We needed to build a squad and we focused on doing that, even if we didn't manage to fill every position the way we wanted."
"Gutho does a great job as a stop-gap six, but he'll tell you himself is best position is fullback or centre. And Berrick is a calm head with a lot of skills, but to win a competition you need someone alongside him who can break a game open. Gutho can do it from the back, but his skillset is a little bit wasted at six and he doesn't have the same impact."
"So, no, I never really thought about winning the thing even before the first two weeks, and I'm not thinking about it after beating Adelaide. We're still rebuilding and it's not a process that happens over a single off season. We've got an RSC side to rebuild as well, that was absolutely decimated in my absence."
"We'll be happy to have a solid season, compete with the big boys again and continue to build a side capable of returning North QLD to the top of the tree."
North QLD play Cape Town in Townsville in Round Five, with both sides suffering imperfect starts to the season.
"They've had their moments, much like us. We're in similar positions, but we're winning right now and they aren't and they'll be hungry to change that, so we need to keep up our approach and our desperation."
"Berrick and Chairman Ma'u are under injury clouds as well, so we'll have to see what we can put on the field before we start focusing too much on the game itself. Not having a halfback will make things a lot more difficult."
