GPS skipper Matt Gicquel understands that things haven’t quite clicked for his young side just yet.

But the Gallopers remain in the mix in 2024. Jeeps six fifth with six rounds remaining and are just five competition points behind Wests in fourth and seven competition points behind Souths in second. 

If they can build some momentum, Gicquel thinks his side could be dangerous at the backend of the season. 

“We’re working hard to get back into the top four and although we don’t have the hardest run home, there are some good sides ahead of us. Then you’ve got sides like Bond and Sunnybank who are trying to do the same thing as us,” he told Rugby News this week. 

“Bonus points are probably going to become really important. We need to secure as many as we can and we need to stop other sides from getting any, particularly sides in the mix for the finals. 

“I back us to do it, but she’s gonna be tough and we’ll need to play with more cohesion than we have through the first half of the season.”

A veteran at Yoku Road, Gicquel recently played his 100th match for Jeeps and is now a senior figure in a young GPS side with a tremendous amount of upside. 

But the backrower said he and coach Sio Kite have struggled to get through to players at times this year which has led to inconsistency. 

Jeeps are yet to win three straight games this season and head into Saturday’s important clash against Sunnybank coming off losses against Souths and UQ.

“There was a game against Wests earlier this year where me and Mitch Treleaven were the oldest in the side at 28 and the next closest in age was probably 22 or 23. 

“A lot of those younger guys have played a lot of footy together, but collectively as a team, we’re pretty fresh. 

“We’ve got the talent to do it. We just need to get everyone focussed on sticking to our game plan. At times, we’ve got blokes trying to do everything on their own and that just doesn’t work. 

“Against Wests, we had a really good win and that came down to all of us sticking to the job at hand, so it shows we can do it when we stay focussed.”

Jeeps play Sunnybank, Bond, Wests and Norths throughout July with three of those four matches at home. 

Ahead of a bye in round 17 and an away clash against Brothers in round 18, the Gallopers will most likely need to win three if not four of those matches to be a chance of playing finals. 

“We’ve got a strong supporter base with the Glue Factory and love playing down at Jeeps. Hopefully we can really draw on that and string a few wins together. 

“We probably don’t have the confidence we need to be a real threat just yet, but if we win a few in a row, that can change pretty quickly and maybe we can go on a run.”