THE Ipswich Jets showed they have learned lessons from their opening two rounds of the Queensland Cup.
The Jets beat the Central Queensland Capras 28-26 on Saturday night after weathering the home team’s first half dominance.
“Going into half-time we thought we had them,” Capras former Jets fullback Javarn White said.
“It was just silly errors in our own half. Against a team like Ipswich you can’t give them much ball on your own line or they’re going to punish you.
“Then typical Ipswich, scoring tries from long range out.
“That kinda kills you.
“You need to go into half-time on a positive note and in the second half we didn’t start well.”
The Capras dominated for 30 minutes of the first half and led 20-6. But in the space of five minutes the Jets scored twice, once from close range and a 100m effort to trail just 20-18 at half-time.
Two second half tries sealed the match for Ipswich before the Capras clawed one back in the dying seconds.
White had warned his team of the Jets ability to drag defenders out of position and to score long-range tries
But knowing about it and stopping it are two different things.
“They’re turning the ball around and you’re trying to follow the ball around,” White said.
“They’re going to find holes in the defence eventually.”
Yesterday White was enjoying the day with his family at the beach.
It is part of the reason the former Jets fullback decided to move back to Rockhampton.
That and the family connections he has there.
While the home life is ideal, White admits the Capras remain a work in progress, though the signs are positive.
“Against Ipswich we had to match up in defence,” he said.
“That was out our main focus because they can score from anywhere. We’ve been leaking a few tries and you can’t do that. But we’ve proved we can score points and d-up. We’re still trying to work on our combinations but once we get that we’ll be fine.”
As for the Jets, White wasn’t giving too much away about how he rated them.
“They’re good,” he said. “Their fast paced style stuffs people over.
“I’m not sure how they’ll go this season. Anything can happen.”
State of Play
Qld Cup: Ipswich Jets 28 (Chris Walker, Nemani Valekapa, Carlin Anderson, Dane Phillips, Matt Parcell tries; Marmin Barba 3, Wes Conlon goals) def CQ Capras 26 (Jonas Pearson 2, Russell Webber, Fabian Soutar, Garrett Field tries; Matt Minto 2, Ian Webster goals) at Browne Park.