By Finn Morton; Photo – Brendan Hertel/QRU Media 

Brothers enter Round 16 with an added incentive as a win against UQ would all but secure the Minor Premiership for the Filth.

Last season’s seventh-placed finish is now long forgotten after a 2019 campaign which has seen them lose only one match.

This week the ladder-leaders face the “benchmark of the competition” away, but Captain Patrick James couldn’t be more excited.

But to leave St Lucia with a victory on Saturday, James is looking for an eighty-minute performance for what he thinks would be the first time in 2019, despite a near-perfect season.

“They are an extremely tough team and have plenty of young talent and experience,” James admitted.

“[Their] Set piece is always strong and they’ve been playing some really good footy the last month or so. I think they key for us will be to start well and try and put together an eighty-minute performance, which we haven’t done yet.

“They’ve probably been the benchmark of the competition for the last couple of years along with Jeeps, so we know what to expect come Saturday.

“I think all the boys were hanging out for the bye after a few scrappy wins, just to mentally and physically prepare for a good tilt at the finals.”

James is expecting another fiery clash between the traditional rivals.

He will be hoping that history repeats after they defeated the Students 48-20 coming off the bye in the round seven.

While the Minor Premiership would just be a “bonus” for The Filth, James is adamant that good performances are the key as they head into finals.

“I’m not sure if it’s the fiercest rivalry in Premier Rugby but from a Brothers perspective, it’s definitely up there.

“As a player, you always look forward to UQ and trying to get one up on them.

“We are definitely looking forward to stringing a few good games together. For us, it’s about not looking too far ahead and playing one game at a time.

“Minor Premierships would be a bonus.”