Broadbeach Cat Ben Hancock has been named the round seven Syd Guildford nominee after kicking six goals in their victory over UQ.
The 192 cm forward, coming back from an extended break after a devastating knee injury, said the mental recovery has played a huge part in his return to form.
“I’m coming off an ACL so it’s taken me a few games to get my confidence back as well. I feel like I’m more confident in my body,” he said.
“I had a big break and I think my knee always felt good, I sort of just needed to get the mental side back.
“The more games I get under my belt the fitter I’ll get, that will help.”
Hancock said the team’s performance put him in the position to be able to kick the goals.
“Everybody played well, a bit better than what we’ve been playing in the last couple of weeks. That makes a difference in the forward when the ball’s coming down faster and better,” he said.
New coach Brett Andrews highlighted their skills and ball use as areas the team could improve on before the game, something Hancock said, “has probably been killing us.”
The second half and in particular the third quarter, where he kicked three goals, showed what the Cats were really capable of and the team was able to follow through on the game plan.
“In the first half it was pretty even between both teams, it was a bit of an arm wrestle but in the second half, in the third quarter, we just started using the ball better and a bit smarter,” he said
“We didn’t over use the ball too much, which is something we’ve probably been doing the last few weeks. We were getting it down to the forward line quickly which puts the opposition under pressure.
“There were glimpses of good stuff, but when we play against teams that are on the ladder above us we are going to be really tested and I suppose we need to play well against those teams.”
By Danny McCarthy
