Hospital Cup 2022 Preview – GPS

Fri, Apr 22, 2022, 11:00 AM
Reds Media Unit
by Reds Media Unit
GPS players Michael Richards and Josh Collins
GPS players Michael Richards and Josh Collins

The 2021 season saw GPS poised as the club most likely to knock University of Queensland off the top of the Queensland Premier Rugby ladder, and the Gallopers secured a narrow win over the Students in Round 16 at St Lucia.

It looked as though GPS were peaking at the right time of year, before the COVID enforced break which saw Rounds 17 and 18 abandoned killed their momentum.

Yoku Road played host to the Queensland Premier Rugby semi-finals, and the two-v-three clash between GPS and Wests on Sunday was a finals clash for the ages. The Gallopers looked down and out before a late comeback saw them put themselves in a position to steal victory from the Bulldogs.

A cross field kick from Jason Hofmeyr put Matt Gicquel over for a try to level the score in the final minute of play. Hofmeyr stepped up to slot the conversion and secure a grand final berth for the Gallopers, sending Yoku Road into raptures.

Despite the team’s brilliant semi-final performance, it seemed they had played their grand final a week early and they were outclassed by UQ in the decider at Suncorp Stadium.

We caught up with assistant coach Paul Brown ahead of Round 1.

2021 REVIEW

“Overall, we really tried to be a well-rounded team,” said Brown.

“We wanted to pose multiple threats across the park, in the past, teams expect us to have a big physical pack, but the fact that we were able to have various threats and attack from anywhere on the field, it gave teams more than one thing to think about.

“During pre-season, we continued to work on our skill develop and made sure that defensively we’re sound.”

FOCUS

“From a Premier Grade perspective, we want to go one better and win the comp. In order to do that, we need to focus on our own performance.

“In terms of the club, we want to build depth across the grades. I think this is the first time for some years that we’ve had a Colts 4 team and that’s a promising sign for the club.”

RECRUITS

Tautalatasi Tasi – Bond Hudson Meyer – Toowoomba Rangers Tevita Kaitu’u – Souths

LOSSES

Matty Gicquel – France Teti Tela – Fijian Drua

GPS PLAYER TO WATCH

Nick Baker, Bas Ward, Hudson Meyer & Josh Collins

“I’m really looking forward to seeing our premiership colts come through, guys like Nick Baker and Bas Ward, while Hudson Meyer has impressed since making the move from Toowoomba and you can’t go past Flash Gordon – aka Josh Collins.”

OPPOSITION PLAYER TO WATCH

Paddy James (Brothers)

“Paddy is just an experienced head, he has been in the competition for a long time and has a high level of Rugby IQ. He makes other around him better.”

Share