16.04.2007
SUNSHINE Coast Falcons coach Des Allen vented his frustration at his side’s continuing problems with ball control during their 32-12 FOGS Cup loss to Tweed Heads at Quad Park yesterday.
A clearly annoyed Allen took aim at his players after several errors at untimely stages cost them any victory after trailing just 14-12 with 10 minutes to play.
“We’re our own worst enemies and I’m actually quite sick of talking about it,” he fumed.
“Actions have gotta speak louder than words and it’s gotta happen all across the club and all across the park. We talk and talk about it and we talk about it too much.
“It’s time players took responsibility for their actions and start playing better and controlling the football.”
Trailing 14-4 at halftime, the Falcons’ second half was far more intense. However, the Falcon’s pack, almost dwarfed by some of the giants in the visitor’s pack, eventually succumbed to their size.
After battling manfully to get themselves back into the match, Allen and his troops were left ruing several missed opportunities in the final 10 minutes.
The most deflating moment, perhaps, came when the Falcons knocked on from a scrum feed 30 metres from the Tweed line when trailing 20-12.
“That was quite pleasing, the first 20 minutes of that second half,” Allen said.
“Ten minutes in a game doesn’t seem like much time to people on the sideline, but it’s a bloody eternity in a game of football, because it’s 10 sets of six. If you give the ball to the opposition and they have seven (sets) and you have three, you’re going to struggle.
“They talk about it at every level of rugby league, ball retention and ball control. If you can hang onto it for 75% of the game, nine times out of 10 you’ll probably win that game.
“We have been nowhere near that in the last three games.”
A positive for the Falcons was the performance on young five-eighth Chris Chaisty. Chaisty continually troubled the visitors with his expansive passing game, laying on a superb cut-out pass for Murray Goldsworthy to score his second try.
He also intercepted an errant Tweed Heads pass to score the opening try of the game.
Sporting a freshly-shaven head yesterday, Falcons captain Clint Broomham may also be sporting a scar on his melon after he had a gash stapled up, suffered when cleaning up a loose ball, during the halftime break.
