By Finn Morton; Photo – QRU Media

As the old sports adage goes: you learn more from your losses than your wins. After conceding 116-points in a three-game stretch, the University of Queensland will look to do just that as they attempt to develop some consistency in their performances. 

Head coach Mick Heenan was impressed with his sides convincing 40-10 victory over Sunnybank on Saturday, but acknowledges that they have to be able to perform like that every week if they want to compete this season.

Heenan described the two losses against Wests and Norths as the “wake-up” that the Students needed as they look to get their season back on track. 

“We just didn’t turn up against Wests and Norths, there was a lack of resilience there. It was good against Sunnybank, it was a really close game up until early in the second half, and then we managed to put our stamp on it,” Heenan said. 

“It was a much improved [performance]. 

“Our defence was better, our attack was better, and our set-piece, we stuck at that. 

“There was a lot to like, but the challenge for us is being able to get some consistency in our performances because that’s something that we’ve struggled with this year.”

While Heenan described their recent run of form as “just a fact of life,” he’s confident that the squad can work through any defensive issues. 

But the coach said an improved defensive outing against Sunnybank means that there’s now a new “baseline” standard that’s expected within the group. 

 “There’s two things about defence. One, the most important thing is attitude. Then there’s some technical issues. We’ve still got some technical issues that we’re working on but we’re improving as we go. 

“Attitude has been a problem in the last two weeks.

“We certainly haven’t been great, but we defended well on the weekend. You wouldn’t say that it was just one thing [that was holding us back]. Obviously it hasn’t been great but we’re working hard on it. We saw some improvement on the weekend, and we’ve got to continue to improve.” 

The Students will look to put their attitude to the test this weekend as they travel to Crosby Park to take on ladder-leaders Brothers. 

They currently sit fourth on the ladder but with only five-points separating second-placed Jeeps and sixth-placed Easts, every game is vital as they near the half-way mark in the 2019 season.  

“We’ve been up and down, and all over the place. 

“But Brothers have been very consistent. That’s the standard that we’ve got to aspire to. 

“I don’t think they’ve had a down week really. They’re tough, they beat us pretty well in the trial that we had against them. They don’t really have any weaknesses. 

“We’re going to have to be at the top of our game.”