THE Ipswich Jets this season are proving to be a bit like the little girl with the curl in the middle of her forehead.
When they’re good, they’re very, very good. But when they’re bad, they’re horrid.
Unfortunately for Jets fans at the North Ipswich Reserve on Saturday, it was the latter, at least in the first half.
The Jets trailed 30-6 at halftime before a stirring second half comeback saw them level scores at 40-all.
But a penalty goal after the final hooter was enough to ensure the Magpies got the win and left the Jets and their fans deflated.
“It was pretty bad,” Jets forward Josh Seage said of the mood in the dressing room after the game.
“Most of us were saying we’d have rather lost by 40-10 than to lose like that.”
Seage said the Jets players only had themselves to blame for their poor start, missing tackles and failing to put the coaches’ plans into practice.
“We missed a lot of one-on-one tackles,” Seage said. “And we didn’t do what Ben and Shane (Walker) showed us, in terms of who their threats were and what they would do.
“It was exactly what they did.
“We had no intensity really.
“We probably underestimated them as well.
“We weren’t winning the ruck and they were getting quick play-the-balls.”
It proved fatal, though the Jets always believed they could haul back the deficit.
“We know we can score a lot of points,” Seage said.
“The one time we had them on their line in the first half, we scored, so we knew we could.”
Flying wingers Wes Conlon and Carlin Anderson both scored two tries each, allowing home fans to believe the miracle comeback was possible.
“Wes had a great game,” Seage said. “So did Matty Parcell and Carlin Anderson got a couple of good tries.”
The Jets play such a high paced, high pressure game, that when it is slightly off, blowouts are a possibility and Saturday was not the first example this season.
“We’ve lost three in a row at home and two have been pretty bad,” Seage said.
“I don’t know what it is, to be honest. We stick with the plan regardless of the score.
“And when you’re behind and are dropping the ball it puts us under too much pressure.”
The win has boosted the Magpies’ chances of playing in finals.
They now sit four points behind the Jets, who remain fifth.
Seage is about to complete his teaching degree with eight weeks of practical placement at a school this semester. He hopes to be placed at Ipswich State High.
As for his footy, Seage is focused on working hard to keep his fitness up, knowing his game time off the bench for the Jets is often limited.
“When you’re playing half a game, you need to keep working on it,” Seage said.
“I just want to keep playing.
“Hopefully I can go on the PNG trip (August 9-10) and make the finals.”