THE Cooly Blues ventured north to the home of Maroochydore Roos last week and when a team has to travel so far for a game, as a coach, you are always wary of how your side will start.

After two hours in a car, the players get tight in the hammies, a bit drowsy from the drive and generally not ready to play.

Then there is always the issue of transport problems – like a car breaking down. All these surfaced last Saturday afternoon.

For the second weekend in a row, we had a player not show due to transportation difficulties. This has led us to fielding a team one short on the bench.

It doesn't sound much but it gives the opposition an advantage in rotations, running power and position change options.

After giving the team a four-goal start, we eventually worked our way back into the game at quarter time. A very good (except goal kicking) second quarter gave us a handy break.

The third quarter was ugly. Our players got very frustrated with some decisions from the officials and we displayed very poor discipline giving away a number of 50m penalties and having a player sent to the sin-bin.

This provided our opponents with a “sniff” but we showed composure to ensure that Maroochydore only kicked one goal in the final term.

So I was a very contented coach to drive back down the highway with the four points in the bag, especially considering we also received no significant injuries from the game.

Another positive was that our goals came from different players than in previous weeks, showing we don't rely on one goal kicker to win.

The other highlight was the continuing good form of our PNG contingent. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel to Port Moresby earlier this year to coach the “Australian” team against the PNG Mosquitoes in a Test match.

Now, after only one week I don't pretend to understand the culture or difficulties of living in a third world country, however I do have empathy for what it is like for these players to live away from family and perform with things such as language barriers in the way.

I marvel at the ability of Emmaus Wartuvo and his inner strength, kicking four goals at the weekend.

Ali Pinda performed well again as our centre half forward, kicking three goals and providing an excellent target to kick to. Paul Philip displayed enormous courage to come back on the field from an early injury to his troublesome ankle to provide our team with the speed and hardness we needed.

The other two PNG men will work their way back into the senior team when they return from injury.

I am mindful that when working with our five PNG players, my job is not only to improve them as players for Coolangatta this year but also develop their playing and leadership abilities for the upcoming International Cup commitments later this year.

After travelling to PNG and working with these players, I want PNG to win the International Cup.

I want Emmaus and the boys to go home heroes and motivate the next generation to play AFL.

This weekend we play Sandgate at home. Sandgate are grand finalists from last year and coming off a win over Surfers Paradise.

This is our first major test to see if the foundations of our game plan and mental strength are solid or still developing.