THE great rugby league coaches always say a win is built on the back of good defence, and Bilambil Jets will want that to be the case when they travel north to take on Runaway Bay tomorrow.

The Jets have the second-best defensive record in the Bycroft Cup this year, but their opponents have an intimidating attacking record, having amassed 178 points in six rounds.

The question tomorrow will be whether the Jets’ miserly defence will hold out against the try-scoring prowess of the Bay.

Jets coach Jim Lenihan expects it to be a hard road trip, and will sweat on the availability of a host of rep stars.

“It should be really tough. They are a good side, Bay, they’ve got a good coach in Mick Wood. It is going to be a danger game for us,” Lenihan said.

He has eight players who will represent the Gold Coast in tomorrow’s Chairman’s Shield clash with Brisbane
Hooker Andrew Cross, five-eighth Paul Rowles and front rower Wade Hall will all be backing up from the A-grade rep game, while five other Jets are in the under-20 team.

Jets will also miss a number of players through injury, including Blake Broadwood and Mark Mulherin.

Lenihan knows Matthew Lloyd will be there to fill one of the gaps, but will only decide on his line-up on the day of the game.

“I am waiting for the morning of the game to see who is available and how we got through the rep game as well.

“The team performances have been good, and as a unit they are going really well, but it’s a bit stressful when you look at the side and see five or more players sitting on the sidelines injured.”

Both clubs have been in good form over the past month with Bilambil sitting in third place on the ladder and Runaway Bay on the rise in fifth.

After a slow start to the season Runaway Bay have won three of their last four matches and only Tugun has amassed more points this season.

Bilambil however have given up just 62 points.

Runaway Bay coach Michael Woods said the club had recovered from a somewhat disastrous start, where they lost a number of players to injury and lost their opening two matches.

“The whole club has been working hard and showing some great attitude,” he said.

“We didn’t have the best start to the season and we had some pretty bad injuries but the club has great depth and the reserve graders and juniors who have come up have really stepped up to do a great job.”

While happy with his side’s current form, he is under no illusion and knows that Bilambil will be a big challenge.

“They’ve got some very good playmakers in key positions and a great defensive record,” he said. “To beat them we’ll need to be consistently strong across the field.”

Meanwhile Lenahan has a number of injured players of his own to worry about after sustaining injuries in recent weeks.

In other Bycroft Cup games, Tugun hosts Tweed Heads Seagulls, Currumbin play Burleigh and Southport take on Hinterland.