Run the opposition off their legs – that will be the message from Eric Smith to his young side when they face the Warriors on Sunday at Sunshine Coast Stadium.
The Thunderbolts have shown fleeting moments of the up-tempo style of football they have tried to implement so far this season.
However as they prepare to host New Zealand the plan will be to showcase that fast-paced game plan for the full 80 minutes.
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“We started really well against them last time, we got out to a 10-0 lead early over there but we just weren’t able to keep the foot on the pedal and they came home pretty strong,” Smith said.
“They’ve got a lot of strong carriers of the football and like to play ad-lib football with off loading. We know that if we can play up-tempo football they might struggle to keep up with us.”
“When we play up-tempo football most teams have struggled to stay with us this year. We’ve actually got to make sure that we are not doing it for the first 10 minutes but for long periods of time.”
The Thunderbolts are currently in 11th spot on the NYC ladder with a 2-5 record.
Smith has made two changes for the Thunderbolts clash with the Warriors this Sunday at Sunshine Coast Stadium. See the full team here.
They will kick-off at 1pm against the Warriors, a team they fell short against back in Round 3 earlier this season.
Storm Queensland-based members will be given free access into Sunshine Coast Stadium and are encouraged to come and cheer on Storm’s players of the future.
Storm NYC Thunderbolts v New Zealand Warriors
Sunday 24 April, 1pm
Sunshine Coast Stadium
