By Adam Sheldon

Bond University captain Tyler Campbell says his side will need to be perfect if it has any chance of beating Brothers at home in this weekend’s Hospital Cup fixture, but believes it’s a winnable game.    

Bond turned around a string of unlucky performances last week – it lost its opening three matches by a combined total of five points – with an eight-point win over Souths. 

Campbell said his side were full of confidence for this weekend’s clash with Brothers, after getting its first win on the board.

“Losing three extremely tight games in a row was hard to take. The win gives us a boost in confidence, and it will hopefully continue with this weekend’s massive matchup against Brothers,” Campbell said. 

But despite the confidence, Campbell is well aware that two-time reigning premiers Brothers set the standard in the Hospital Cup. He added his side would need to be at its best this weekend, and it would look to capitalise on unforced errors as a gameplan.

“They are back-to-back premiers for a reason – it’s a team which is strong across the park,” he said. 

“They are really good at ball retention. They stick to what works for them and it makes them hard to beat. You have got to find a way to disrupt what they are doing and make sure you play a full 80-minute game.

“If you slack off for five minutes, they will punish you. We will need to be fully focused and at our best to win. The plan is to disrupt them, and make sure we are engaged for the full 80 minutes.

“We know we have to make sure we take our moments when they give it to us. If they make an error, we get a chance to attack. We’ve just got to be efficient there. They don’t have any weaknesses, so when points are on offer, you need to take the chance.”

Aside from trying to disrupt Brothers’ ruthless attacking unit, Bond’s captain said his team would be looking to hurt the visitors by playing to its own strengths. 

“We’ve always been quite an exciting team. We have very good backs and a lot of young talent who are starting to find their feet in first grade,” Campbell said. 

“But in saying that, the performance of our forwards last week was really promising. If they can grind it out in a similar way to last week, it’s going to be massive.” 

Campbell, who plays at 12, is expecting big performances from new recruit Kaleb Ngamanu and established clubman Dylan Loader.

“Kaleb is really exciting; he’s come across from Rugby League. I reckon he is just starting to find his feet in Union. He had a really good game last weekend and is showing everyone that he can be a strike weapon,” Campbell said. 

“The other one is Dylan Loader. He missed a few games through injury but he’s back this weekend. He’s really growing as a footballer since getting to play first grade last year and he leads the forward pack well. 

“He’s a big one, and I’m keen to see how he goes this weekend against Brothers. It will be a big test for him but he is ready.”