By Adam Sheldon

Hospital Cup fans are gearing up for the competition’s biggest game of the season so far – a heavyweight clash between Easts and Brothers which could serve as a preview to the grand final if things continue the same. 

There’s clearly something special brewing at Easts – hosts for the day – who have won five on the bounce to start 2025. Standing in their way of another win is a Brothers outfit captained by Will Wilson, whose side have matched Easts’ results.

Speaking to Rugby News, Wilson said this weekend’s clash between the competition’s two undefeated sides was a huge occasion.

“There’s plenty of excitement amongst the group,” Wilson said. 

“It’s obviously great to build up to a regular season game like this, with East five from five and ourselves as well. So, it’s a huge match up on the weekend.”

The Brothers skipper said he expected his side to be greeted by a hostile Easts crowd when it ran out on the weekend.

“Easts is always one of the more hostile environments to play at. They’ve always got a very, very vocal supporter group. It’s good, it’s what club rugby is about. It’s similar to Brothers,” he said.  

“We’ve had some good tussles with them over the years, it been about fifty-fifty in terms of wins there.”

While Brothers have seemingly turned up and won without much hassle for the past few seasons, there is an extra level of preparation going into this game.

“Thursday night will be a full preview and deep dive with the coaches into the opposition’s team, it’s a great challenge on the weekend,” Wilson said. 

Wilson said Easts were a complete team which could hurt Brothers in a number of ways, and added his side would focus on cleaning up its defence.  

“They’ve been dominating teams. They have got a big forward pack, which they’ve been utilising well, and we want to try and shut them down. They also have a really strong kicking game – those are the main things to shut down from our end,” he said. 

“We really need to tighten up our defence. We have given away too many points in the last few weeks. They have a really good attack so it’s important.” 

With rain falling through Queensland this week, the clash is expected to be played on a wet track once again, which could suit Brothers. 

“It’s been like this all season – we have had to adapt. I think we have played to the conditions really well. We’ve won out in the wet each game,” Wilson said. 

While it’s still early days in the season, Wilson believed a win would provide a valuable momentum boost, and continue to motivate his playing group. He said he was counting on big performances from Brad Hemopo (8) and the return of lock Michael Wood

“Michael Wood is coming back which will add a lot,” Wilson said.