By Adam Sheldon

UQ head coach Elton Berrange says he’s thrilled the club was able to overcome Wests by one point in the Hospital Cup last weekend, with the “important” victory showing his players what’s required to win matches at this level.  

In what was arguably the game of the round, UQ defeated Wests, away from home, 18-17. 

Berrange, who is in his third year as head coach of UQ, said it was a crucial victory over last year’s grand finalists Wests, especially considering his club had started the season with losses to GPS and Norths. 

“It was really important to get our season back on track,” he said. 

“I don’t think anyone’s surprised that we’ve been very disappointed to start our season how we have.

“We changed our approach – the playing group and all of the coaches. We’ve all had to have a good look at ourselves and think about what Premier Grade standard really requires in terms of preparation. That is, the 22 hours when we are not training.” 

The UQ coach acknowledged the club was better in dry conditions, and thought this was one of the reasons it had lost the first two matches, which were both played on muddy pitches. 

Considering that, Saturday’s win – also played on a muddy pitch – was even more impressive.

“It was unbelievable. It was muddy and just torrential rain,” he said. 

“We had a very clear and simple game plan, which we spoke to the players about on Tuesday when we knew it would rain. It was centred around our kicking game and playing as little footy in our own half as possible. 

“We have had no issues getting into the try scoring zone, so we felt pretty confident we would get down there a couple of times. But one of our goals was that every time we got down there, we had to get points. And we did that.”

Berrange heaped praise on a few of his key men. 

“Flynn McDermott, our halfback was excellent. He was tough, combative, he was into everything. Our captain and No.7, William Rua went for 80 minutes and tackled anything that moved,” he said. 

“Morgan Rees, our young Welsh fullback felt like he was at home. He jagged a try and an important kick at the end.”

Berrange said the win showed his new players that this was the entry level of physicality and grit required to win Hospital Cup games. 

“We had seven debutants in round one and we have a lot of players experiencing this level for the first time,” he said. 

“This win shows them that this is the entry level of grit, determination, and physicality required at this level. It’s easy to talk about it, now they have lived it. We are just arriving in our season – we have by no means peaked. 

“The next challenge will be bringing this to our match against Bond, who are a different threat, a team which are very skilful and will move the ball a lot… hopefully the field is dry.”  

In the weekend’s other fixtures, Norths continued its strong start to the season beating Souths 34 to 31 away, while defending premiers Brothers trounced GPS at home, 33 points to eight. 

But perhaps the biggest result of the weekend aside from UQ’s victory, was Easts’ 22 to 20 away win against Bond, which means the side have won three straight games to start the season. 

“Easts are the real deal – they have some really good home-grown players as well as good recruitment this year,” Berrange said. 

“Their front row depth is unbelievable They have some experienced football players there. I don’t know how many games Elijah Pilz at 9 and Matt Smit at 12 have played together, it must be 50 at least. It helps a lot.”

Sunnybank had the bye.