By Adam Sheldon

Bond University will put their finals hopes on the line this Saturday when they host UQ in the first of two season-defining clashes against direct top-four rivals.

Bond sit seventh on 22 points – just three behind UQ and 10 adrift of fourth-placed Souths, who they face next week in a make-or-break fortnight for the Bull Sharks.

Bond head coach Mick Heenan told Rugby News his side had trained well this week and were prepared for a “really important” run of games, starting with UQ.

“Uni have had a similar season to us – a bit up and down – but they’re one of the teams directly in our way,” he said.

“If we lose this weekend, it’s not fatal, because we play Souths next week. And nothing’s ever fatal until it is – but we know we really need to start winning games.”

The clash is equally significant for UQ, who sit fifth on 25 points – just seven behind Souths. A win would keep Elton Berrange’s side firmly in the finals hunt, while a loss could open the door for Norths and Bond to close the gap.

Although Bond have lost their last three matches, with Heenan describing the period as a “lull”, confidence remains high in the group, who are coming off a competitive showing against ladder-leaders Easts.

“We went toe-to-toe with Easts for three quarters of the game,” Bond’s head coach said.

“They just did what they’ve done all season – took advantage of our errors. It’s disappointing because we did a lot of things really well, but we weren’t quite good enough.

“We’ve got a really good group here. The energy at training has still been great. We just need to keep focusing on improving each session and each game.”

Bond are set to be boosted by the return of up to four key players after a tough few weeks on the injury front, including the loss of five players in the first 15 minutes against Wests two weeks ago.

“We’re hoping to get a couple of guys back this week – like Hamish Roberts, Deon Evans-Ao, Dave Scollon, and Kaleb Ngamanu,” Heenan said. 

Defensively, Bond will need to be on point to stop a UQ side that has scored 40-plus in two of their last three outings.

“UQ been mauling well and like to throw the ball around, so we can’t afford to miss tackles,” Heenan said.

“Defensively, we haven’t actually been too bad the last few weeks. Most of Easts’ tries came off first phase, so our phase defence has been okay. 

“But you’ve got to defend well and be really disciplined again against UQ, or else you give them opportunities to plug into a corner and maul, which they’ve been doing well.”

Among the key figures for Bond will be their experienced centres Tyler Campbell and Dan Boardman, who impressed against Easts, as well as flanker Matt Engelbrecht, who will line up against his former club.

“Tyler and Dan were probably two of our best last week,” Heenan said.

“Matty Engelbrecht is up against his old club this week – he was man of the match against Easts. He controls our lineout, and brings real presence around the park. He’ll be important again.”